Building Blocks of Murder by Vanessa Gray Bartal Read Free Book Online Page B

this between us. I’m sorry I caused you so much trouble, and I’m here if you need me.”
    She ended the call and stared at the phone, wishing there was more she could do or say to make amends. Then again, she didn’t want him to think she was chasing him. She had made a move toward reconciliation; now the ball was in his court.
    Keegan had a rental car and he had volunteered to drive to the Stakely building, so after Lacy was finished getting ready, she had nothing to do but wait for him to arrive. She decided to call Tosh while she was waiting, but there was no answer and she got his voicemail, too.
    “Tosh, I was just seeing if you’re coming with us today. You’re welcome to. I wasn’t sure if I made that clear last night.” She bit her lip, feeling like she should add more, but she didn’t know what. “If you don’t come with us today, I hope we can talk tonight.” She paused again, trying to figure out why she felt the urge to apologize to Tosh, too. “Bye,” she said at last. She hadn’t done anything to Tosh, had she? There was nothing she could think of, but she still had the uneasy feeling that he was upset with her.
    There wasn’t much time to brood, however, because almost as soon as she ended the call, Keegan was knocking on her door.
    “Hey, pretty lady,” he said as soon as she answered. Then he bent and kissed her cheek.
    “Hey,” she said. She felt comfortable with him, but she didn’t want to give him the wrong idea, so she made no move to return the kiss.
    “Ready?” he asked.
    In answer, she smiled, nodded, and followed him to his car. “Thanks for picking me up,” she said.
    “Tosh tells me you don’t have a car,” he said.
    She shrugged. Previously she hadn’t bought a car because she hadn’t been able to afford one. But now that she could afford one, she wasn’t sure she needed one. At least not yet, anyway. Here she could walk almost anywhere she needed to go, and she liked that.
    Keegan must have read a lot into her shrug because he laughed. “You’re a throwback, Lacy. Very retro.”
    Since she had no idea what that meant, she let it go.
    The drive downtown took less than two minutes, so there wasn’t much time for conversation. But when he parked the car and looked up at the building, he whistled. “You bought this? That is so awesome, Lacy! I love it.”
    They sat in the car for a full minute as Keegan peered through the windshield, taking in the building from top to bottom. As he studied the building, Lacy studied him. She couldn’t quite figure him out. On the surface of things, he seemed sweet and innocent, handsome and happy go lucky. But Lacy sensed there was something more going on behind the façade. Keegan was holding something back.
    She gave herself a mental shake. Of course he was holding back; they were strangers. Just because they had Tosh in common didn’t make them instant best friends. Why would he open up to her about his life when he didn’t know her from Eve? Still, she felt his inner conflict palpably, either because it was obvious or because she was attuned to him in the same mysterious way she was attuned to Tosh. As she watched his smile slowly fade and his eyes become troubled, she thought maybe it was the former. But before she could ask him if he was okay, he pasted his perfect smile back in place and opened his door.
    “Let’s take a look inside,” he said, sounding once again like a kid who was about to receive a new toy.
    His enthusiasm was catching, and she found herself laughing as she trotted behind him, half sprinting to reach the entrance. As soon as she unlocked the door, he clasped her hand and led her into the building before stopping short in the entryway.
    “Oh, wow,” he said, and by his serious expression she wasn’t sure if he meant it in a good way or a bad way. Then he turned his beaming smile on her and removed all doubt. “This is awesome.” He drew out each word. “Show me everything,” he commanded.
    And