Damsel in Danger (Danger Incorporated Book 1) by Olivia Jaymes Read Free Book Online

hadn’t.” Stuart answered this time and Lisa twisted her hands together, the knuckles white. “Roger had simply lost his way, that’s all. The fact is we didn’t see much of him unless it was dinner time. He kept to himself. Strange hours. He would have gotten bored eventually and straightened out.”
    “What about his friends? Is there anyone he was close to? Maybe a girlfriend?”
    “Roger didn’t go out much. He was kind of a homebody these past months.” Stuart frowned for a moment. “He did have a good friend in high school and college. Brad Enright. Good guy. We liked him a lot.”
    Jason scratched down the name. “Is Brad local to the area?”
    Lisa smiled and nodded. “He certainly is. He took over his father’s car dealership on the edge of town. Enright Luxury Cars. Brad was such a good friend to Roger. They were inseparable for the longest time.”
    “We’ll want to talk to Brad. Can you think of anyone else?”
    Stuart shook his head, red streaks high on his cheeks. “Roger didn’t share much with us, and I didn’t want to pry. He was a grown man, after all.”
    Kind of. It sounded like Roger had never really launched into adulthood the way he should have.
    “Can we see his room? It might help.”
    The couple looked at each other, their expressions dubious, but finally Stuart relented, nodding his agreement.
    “I guess it would be okay. We haven’t been up there in several days and it might be messy.”
    “That’s fine,” Jason assured the man. “We’re not here to judge, only to try and find some leads.”
    Lisa seemed to breathe easier. “I’ll show you up then. If you’ll follow me.”
    The couple stood and she and Jason followed them past the laundry room to a set of stairs at the far side of the house. At the top was a closed door that Stuart opened, flipping on a light switch on the wall.
    “Here it is. I don’t know how it will help.”
    The smell was the first thing to hit Brinley. A combination of body odor and rotting food. She felt her stomach twist in her abdomen and she had to swallow down her rising breakfast that had lodged in her throat.
    This was beyond mere clutter.
    It looked like Roger had never put away anything in his entire life. Clothes, books, magazines, even dirty dishes were stacked everywhere. The only place that could be considered habitable was the desk area and still it was covered with papers and dust.
    Lisa and Stuart looked embarrassed and uncomfortable. They’d probably had no idea of what they were going to find in this hidden room.
    “You don’t need to hang around while we search if you don’t want to. We’ll call you if we need anything,” Jason offered.
    “Well, if you don’t mind.” Stuart looked eager to leave the room. “We do have some arrangements still to make for the funeral. If you need us we’ll be in the kitchen.”
    The couple practically fell over each other as they ran down the stairs. Brinley watched their hasty exit and then looked balefully at the room. “I can’t say as I blame them. This is beyond disgusting. How could he live in this?”
    “You should have seen the apartment I lived in with three other guys in college,” Jason chuckled. “It wasn’t quite this bad but it wasn’t good either. We never brought girls back home. They would have run screaming from the building and never looked back.”
    Brinley wrinkled her nose in distaste. “It stinks in here.”
    “It sure as hell does so let’s get to it so we can get out of here. First rule, don’t touch anything.”
    “No problem,” she retorted, eyeing a plate encrusted with something that looked like spaghetti with a layer of green mold. Acid rose in her throat and she shuddered at the thought of what might be buried in these piles. “I wasn’t planning to, believe me.”
    Jason pulled a set of rubber gloves from his back pocket. He’d retrieved them from a case in the back of his truck when they’d arrived at the Gaines home. She’d thought it