Dead Ringer by Mary Burton Read Free Book Online Page A

whispered. "To cut off my hand."
    Immediately,
Warwick had run his hands down the length of her arms and to her hands. "He
didn't take your hand."
    What
little fight she'd mustered had vanished. She'd nodded and closed her eyes. The
iciness had called, beckoning her to let sleep take her.
    "Kendall!"
Warwick's sharp voice had cut through the fog.
    Her
eyes had fluttered open. Fierceness had mingled with fear in his eyes. She'd
moistened her lips but couldn't seem to hold on to consciousness. God, but she
had been tired. Her eyes had slipped closed.
    "Open
your eyes," he'd commanded. "Help will be here soon. Hold on."
    Hold
on. It had sounded so hard. It would just have been too easy to let her grip
slip.
    "Listen
to me. You are a better fighter than this."
    "I'm
not." She'd been fighting for so long--against her mother's illness and past
secrets--suddenly she had become tired of struggling.
    "Listen,
you bitch," he'd hissed by her ear. "Open your goddamn eyes."
    Bitch
had been what had gotten her attention. Her eyes had opened and she'd felt a
rush of fire and outrage. "Jerk," she'd muttered.
    Satisfaction
had gleamed in his eyes. "Good girl."
    The
paramedics had arrived seconds later. They'd rushed her to the hospital and the
doctors had taken her into surgery almost immediately. She'd not seen Warwick
since.
    And
now as Kendall faced him she felt a rush of embarrassment. He'd seen her
well-cultivated veneer shatter in that basement. He'd seen her terror. She'd
given up.
    She
could play the badass diva reporter for everyone else, but Warwick knew under
it all she had cracked in that basement room. Shame had her straightening her
shoulders until they were ramrod straight. No one, especially Warwick, would
ever see her so vulnerable again.
    As
if sensing her, Warwick turned. Their gazes locked. The scene around them faded
and she saw only his intense gray eyes. For a moment she imagined she saw
regret. And then just as quickly it vanished.
    Warwick's
gaze shifted from her to Mike, who taped the scene. The detective strode toward
the crime scene tape, ducked under it, and headed toward her. He wasn't happy.
She'd snuck into his crime scene and there was going to be hell to pay for it.
    Kendall
preferred his anger. She could deal with that. She turned to Mike. "Aim the camera
right toward Warwick. And if he kicks us out, lower your camera but keep it on.
You never know what we'll pick up."
    "There's
the Kendall we all know and love." Mike swung his camera around as Kendall
rushed toward Warwick. He stopped and let her close the gap between them.
    "Detective,
can you tell us who was murdered?" Kendall asked.
    He
tossed a brief glance at Mike and then focused on her. "How'd you get down
here? The road is sealed."
    "There's
another path a half mile down the road. We hiked in."
    He
glanced toward the uniformed cops, his frown telegraphing his annoyance.
    "Can
you tell us who died?" she repeated.
    He
shifted his attention back to her. "We aren't able to release that information
yet."
    This
close she remembered just how tall he was. "Was the victim male or female?"
    "No
comment."
    "How
old was she?" This was a guess to see if he reacted to the pronoun.
    Warwick's
expression gave nothing away. "We'll release a statement soon."
    "Can
you tell us how she died?"
    "No
comment."
    "Was
it a suicide?"
    "Time to go, Ms. Shaw." He nodded toward the uniforms.
"Leave or I will have you escorted out."
    "What
about sexual assault?" Kendall asked. She could hear footsteps behind her and
knew she was about to be moved back to the main road.
    Warwick's
jaw tensed a fraction as he turned and strode away from her.
    Kendall
started after him. "What was the color of her hair? Was she tall or short?"
    He
kept moving, completely ignoring her. Getting information from Warwick was like
getting blood from a stone.
    Two
uniforms stopped within inches of her. "Ma'am, you're going to have to move
back to the main road."
    She
kept her sights trained on Warwick, who