Crime Seen by Victoria Laurie Read Free Book Online Page A

making a check sign in the air. ‘‘Be discreet.’’
    ‘‘There’s also your boyfriend to consider here,’’ she added. ‘‘Does he know you think that Bruce Lutz was just a stool pigeon?’’
    ‘‘Uh . . . not exactly,’’ I said, looking at my shoes.
    ‘‘By ‘not exactly’ you mean not at all, right?’’
    ‘‘That would be a fair assumption,’’ I said with a shrug. ‘‘He and Milo are all gung ho on making sure Lutz does as much time as possible. I don’t think he’d take kindly to the thought that Lutz wasn’t the triggerman.’’
    ‘‘And how do you think he’s going to feel about finding out that his girlfriend is sticking her nose into the middle of all this?’’
    ‘‘Oh, he’ll probably be totally pissy about it, which is why I vote for not telling him.’’
    ‘‘I see,’’ Candice said with a grin. ‘‘That’s fine, but you have to remember that he’s FBI, and they know stuff, you know? So if this gets back to him, you’re going to have to deal with it and make sure I’m left out of the blame game, ’kay?’’
    ‘‘Got it,’’ I said, making another check mark. ‘‘Leave Candice out of it. Anything else?’’
    ‘‘Yeah, I need to know how you’re doing physically. And don’t sugarcoat it. If I help you with this, I’ll need you along for the ride, and I’m concerned that it may wear you out so soon after your injury.’’
    ‘‘I’m okay,’’ I said with another shrug. Candice dropped her chin and gave me a ‘‘yeah, right’’ look. ‘‘Seriously,’’ I insisted. ‘‘Yes, I do get tired more easily, but as long as we’re not running any marathons I should be good to go.’’
    ‘‘Can you run at all?’’ she asked me. ‘‘There have been lots of moments I’ve needed to get the hell out of a situation fast, and throwing you over my shoulder would just slow me down.’’
    I smiled as that visual came to mind. ‘‘If I were being chased, you mean? Yes, I could probably run a short sprint, but I’d need a milk shake or some French fries or a combo like that really soon afterward, you know . . . to get my strength back.’’
    Candice smiled broadly. ‘‘French fries and milk shakes—the other Gatorade,’’ she said.
    ‘‘Is it in you?’’ I giggled.
    ‘‘You’re making me hungry. Still, I think it would be good if you trained with me in the mornings.’’
    ‘‘ Trained with you?’’
    ‘‘Yeah. If we’re going to do this partnership right, you’ll need to get your butt in shape. I work out every morning at six a.m. sharp. In fact, before I came over here, I joined that gym right down the street from Nan’s. We’ll need to get you a membership too.’’
    ‘‘Whoa, hold on there, gal pal,’’ I said, holding up my hands. ‘‘I don’t think my physical therapist is going to go for that so soon after my injury.’’
    ‘‘Baloney,’’ Candice said. ‘‘I used to be a certified personal trainer, and I had plenty of accident recovery clients training under me. I figure your injury’s got to be similar to a car accident, and I know exactly what regimen to put you on.’’
    ‘‘Regimen? You want to put me on a regimen ?’’ I asked. My heart rate picked up, and I felt my palms go sweaty. I’ll admit it: I’d gone soft in my thirties. I hadn’t done more than take a few yoga classes, along with the two flights up to my office.
    ‘‘Yeah, low on the cardio at first. You’re looking a little scrawny anyway, and we don’t want you to lose weight. We’ll build up some muscle first, then ease you into some endurance work.’’
    ‘‘Who sent you?’’ I asked, leaning way back in my chair like she was contagious. ‘‘Did my sister put you up to this?’’
    Candice laughed and reached out to put a calming hand on my knee. ‘‘Abby, relax. This will be good for you. It’ll give you confidence and you won’t be as tired all the time. Trust me. I know what I’m doing.’’
    ‘‘How