Blind Faith by Christiane Heggan Read Free Book Online Page B

Kelly."
    Great. Terrific. How could she expect his cooperation with such negative publicity? "This isn't about me. Detective," she replied as sweetly as she could manage. "It's about a missing man."
    "It's also about an open investigation, which means I can't discuss it."

"Can you at least--"
    "Am I speaking Esperanto here? I can't talk about the case. I've told you too much already, considering you're not even a member of the Bowmans ' family."
    It took a tremendous effort on her part not to snap back at him. "I'm
    just trying to help out a friend, Detective. You could make my job so
    much easier if--"
    "No." Just as rudely as he had earlier today, he hung up.
    She stared at her phone. So much for groveling.
    She merged back onto the highway, wondering what other resources she had at her disposal. The list was meager. Practically nonexistent.
    Except for one possibility.
    She gave a mental shake of her head. No, no way. Too crazy. But the thought kept coming back, taking shape, gaining momentum. So what if it was crazy? When had that ever stopped her?
    By the time she reached the toll plaza, she knew what she had to do.
    The last time Kelly had talked to Nick Mcbride was in her hospital room.
    Unlike her other visitors, however, he hadn't come bearing flowers or to wish her a speedy recovery, but to give her hell on what had gone down in
Chinatown
.
    She had deserved every bit of his anger. Weeks earlier, when she had told him about the extortion rumors. Nick had warned her, gently, to back off, explaining the police were investigating.
    Because she and Nick were friends, Kelly had left the story alone. Until that fateful night when Randy Chen had run into Dr. Ho's dojo.
    Four days later. Nick stood in her hospital room, no longer the Nick Mcbride she knew. Each time she tried to defend herself, he cut her off.
    "You're as bad as those rag reporters that call themselves journalists," he had told her in one last parting shot. "Just because you write for a big newspaper and have a Pulitzer doesn't make you any better than the rest of them." And then the words that had hurt the most. "Why I ever trusted you, I'll never know."
    And now here she was, outside the
Walnut
Street
Training
Center
, considering asking him for help. Had she lost her mind? Or did she just enjoy being humiliated? Neither, she decided, gathering her courage. She just believed in hunches, and this one was too strong to ignore.
    Last year at this time. Nick's father, the chief of security at the Chenonceau , had been killed in the casino parking lot, the victim of a robbery gone wrong. It was widely known that Nick hadn't been satisfied with the police's theory. Nor was it a secret that he and Syd Webber had hated each other at first sight. On the surface, the chance that Patrick's death and Jonathan's disappearance were related was slim. The two men had nothing in common except for their connection to the Chenonceau . Yet the possibility of a connection had crossed Kelly's mind. If Nick came to the same conclusion, he might be curious enough to want to help her.
    Taking a chance he'd be inside, working out, she pushed the door open and walked into the building.
    The building was an old boxing arena an enterprising businessman had saved from destruction by buying the landmark and turning it into a training center for aspiring young boxers. At any other time, it would have been jam-packed with teenagers and instructors, even a scout or two, but at noon on a school day the place was practically empty.
    Kelly's gaze swept over the large room where a boxing ring held center stage. Off to the side, a man in gray sweats jumped rope while another ran on a treadmill. Nick Mcbride was on the other side of the ring, beating a punching bag.
    Kelly stood under the archway and observed him for a moment, hoping he wouldn't notice her until she felt confident enough to approach him. He was an attractive man, with reddish-blond hair, deep blue eyes and a physique any man