Checkered Past (A Laurel London Mystery Book 2) by tonya kappes Read Free Book Online Page A

did me. And when she saw me today, she wanted me to know. But why? Had she seen him?
    My phone buzzed. An hour had passed and I was late in picking up Sharon Fasa from her appointment.
    “I have to go.” I sucked in a deep breath. “If he happens to drop by to see either of you, don’t tell Jax. Tell me.”
    “I’m going to tell the authorities.” Derek was being all high and mighty cop.
    “You do that.” I rolled my eyes. “Besides, he won’t come to you. He never trusted you.”
    That was the truth. Willie Ray and Derek tolerated each other only because of me. Willie Ray claimed Derek wanted in my pants and Derek claimed Willie Ray was going to break my heart.
    Derek was right. Derek was always right.

 
     
    Chapter Six
     
    I parked the car exactly where I had dropped Sharon off at the clinic and waited. It was too hot for her to wait outside and she was too slow for me to keep my foot on the brake.
    I noticed Jax Jackson’s big ole Buick parked in the visitor’s section. He and Eric were sitting inside the car, looking as though they were having a conversation. Jax didn’t notice me, but Eric did. He got out of the car and walked toward me.
    Casually and without looking down, I dragged the pouch to the edge of the front seat and let it drop on the floor. I used my foot to slide it closer to me and used my heel to work it under the seat.
    I was going to tell Jax about the pouch, but I wanted to see the hand Willie Ray was holding first. Something in my gut told me I was going to get a visit from him anytime now. I wanted revenge. And not the kind of revenge going back to prison was going to give him.
    “Where have you been?” Eric asked when he strolled over to my open window. Jax walked over.
    “Working.” I glared at him.
    “In the mud?” He pointed to my tires. “I don’t recall you having mud on your tires earlier.”
    Jax’s eyes lowered and he glanced back up at me.
    “I take clients all over the place.” I laughed. “Besides, are you accusing me of something?”
    “No.” His lips thinned into a flat line and dipped down. His brown eyes narrowed. “Just making an observation.”
    “What are you doing at the clinic?” I asked, throwing questions back at him. “Are you sick?”
    “Checking to make sure there haven’t been any walk-ins with injuries that needed to be treated.” Eric didn’t take his eyes off me. “When someone is shot, or say, grazed with a bullet, they should be treated. And our little friend, Willie Ray Bowman, was shot at several times on his way out of the prison during his escape.” He whipped out his phone. His finger swiped the screen several times. The blood he was referring to looked like small oil spills on dark pavement. “Here are some pictures of the blood he lost.”
    “Maybe he’s dead.” The thought stung me. Willie Ray dead? Not possible.
    My chest heaved up and down at the thought. Why did I care so much? I hadn’t let myself think about him since the day I burned all of his crap and my memories went up in smoke.
    “Dogs even tried to find him, but the trail went cold.” He snapped the phone away from me and put it back in his pocket. “Seems like someone picked him up on the road next to the prison.”
    “Whoohooo!” Sharon Fasa toodled from the sliding doors of the clinic. “Over here, Laurel!” She waved her umbrella in the air.
    I’ve never seen Sharon move so fast in my life. She looked like she was at batting practice waving that thing all around.
    “Where in the Sam Hill have you been? Officer,” Sharon Fasa nodded toward Eric before she got into the front seat of the car with a big white paper bag in her grasp. “I told you one hour, Laurel London. One hour.” She slammed the door and twisted around until she was sitting comfortably facing front. The bag rested on the seat between us.
    Eric walked back to Jax’s car without saying goodbye.
    “Rude.” I glared at him. “I have other customers and sometimes I can’t