Armed With Steele by Kyra Jacobs Read Free Book Online Page A

scattered around on the floor or seats?”
    He glanced back down at his notepad. “Not that I can recall.”
    “Then would it be reasonable to assume that when the accident occurred, the purse was likely still zipped?”
    He looked up, down right glaring at me now. “I never assume anything at an accident scene, Miss Hartley.”
    Apparently Officer Steele didn’t like to be second-guessed. But if he thought one dirty look would shut me up, he was sadly mistaken. “Well, seeing as Grace was unconscious when you found her, I kinda doubt that when her car stopped rolling she reached around, found her purse, set it on the seat next to her, unzipped it, and then proceeded to slip into a coma.”
    “Are you accusing me of doing a sloppy investiga—”
    “Of course not!” I hadn’t expected him to go on the defensive. I scrambled to think of a way to break back down the mental wall he’d just erected. In a gamble, I reached out and set a hand on his knee. “I’ve just had a lot of time this weekend to do nothing but think this over,” I said in a soft voice and batted my eyes—nothing like a little flirting and ego-stroking to tame the wild beast. “But I called you because I knew you would have all the answers.”
    The scowl faded from Officer Steele’s face. “Oh. Well, I obviously don’t have all the answers. But I did promise to hear you out.” He watched as I pulled my hand back from his knee. “So you’re suggesting someone came along while she was unconscious and got into her bag? Hmm. Have you checked—”
    “Nothing’s missing from her wallet. Money and credit card are all still in tact.”
    He grabbed another cookie. “Good.”
    “In fact, everything I would expect to see in her purse—”
    A strange look came over his face.
    “We’re roommates, dude, and we’re female. We share everything. Anyway, everything I’d expect to see in there is still there. But one item did catch my eye.” I lifted her day planner off the end table nearest me and pointed to the pad of paper tucked inside. “This.”
    “A blank notepad?”
    “Yes, but look.” I slid to the edge of my seat and flicked the spiral binding.
    “And…you lost me. What am I supposed to be looking at?”
    “The paper, left in the spiral binding.”
    “Let me guess. Another quirk.”
    “I know what you’re thinking. I’m crazy, right? But I swear it’s true! Grace hated having any sort of jagged edges left on her notepads. I’ve seen her waste thirty minutes in one sitting, picking away at their remains before. I don’t even know if she’s aware she does it, but I’m telling you, she does.”
    Officer Steele took a long drink from his glass, then set it down with a light thunk. “Okay, the car door locks are definitely something to be considered. Her window’s already busted out, someone reaches in, flips the switch to unlock the passenger side door, and retrieves her purse. But you say nothing’s missing from her purse—not her wallet, money, credit cards. In fact, the only thing suspect is a tiny piece of paper stuck in a spiral binding.”
    He started to close his notepad. I held out a hand, stopping it midway.
    “Wait, there’s more. Something I found at the accident site yesterday.”
    His right eyebrow twitched.
    “Not that I was second-guessing your investigation or anything. It really hadn’t even been my intention to go there, but I kinda got lost in my thoughts.” The admission was out before I realized what I was saying.
    “Driving recklessly around town. Lovely.”
    I scowled at him “Hey, I wasn’t speeding, and I didn’t run any red lights this time. Well, at least I don’t think I did.”
    He scowled back.
    “Regardless, I ended up over there, so I got out and took a look around.”
    A lump formed in my throat. My gaze swept to our mantle and settled on my favorite photograph of Grace.
    His eyes followed mine. “I’m glad you weren’t there to see it,” he said quietly.
    I nodded and dug my