Dirty Deeds by Sheri Lewis Wohl Read Free Book Online

The overwhelming silence made her feel as though she was alone in the house. Her gut told her the same. Still, only a fool would forego a search.
    Her gun lowered, Louie finished her exploration of the house and was just outside the doorway to the kitchen when a noise brought her hand back up with the gun pointed. Her back against the wall, gun held out, she sidestepped into the kitchen, taking a well-practiced shooter's stance.
    For just a moment, she thought she was hallucinating. Only for a moment though and then as her finger moved slowly away from the trigger, she snapped. "What're you doing here?"
    Did he have any idea how close she just came to shooting him? Damn fool. This was the last place she expected to see him. To see anyone for that matter.
    Paul McDonald's face registered shock at about the same level of annoyance she was feeling. "Are you going to kill me too?"
    Louie lowered the gun, clicked on the safety, and then tucked it back into the holster. "Am I going to what?"
    "Kill me."
    "Why on earth would I kill you?" she asked. Was the guy as nuts as his brother?
    "You tell me." His gaze traveled to the hallway where Kendall lay, sprawled and bloody.
    Shaking her head, Louie ran a hand through her hair. "Oh, for heaven's sake, I didn't kill her."
    "You're the one with a gun."
    "My handgun aside, Mr. McDonald, you're seeing the same thing I did about five minutes ago when I came in."
    It should be obvious if he had two eyes in his head. She hated civilians at crime scenes. Oh yeah, she forgot, technically she was a civilian these days. Well, she hated the uninstructed at crime scenes like Mr. Hockey Coach here.
    "You didn't shoot her?" he asked, and it sounded a bit like disbelief to Louie.
    "No, Mr. McDonald. I didn't kill her."
    Louie noticed the hockey stick he gripped with both hands. Raising an eyebrow, she asked. "And you were going to do what with that?" She pointed to the stick.
    He possessed the good grace to look sheepish. His shoulders lifted. "I don't carry a gun."
    "So I see. Come on." She motioned to the door. "We need to get out of here. Did you touch anything?"
    "No."
    "Good. Then let's go."
    He paused at the door, his gaze on Kendall. "We can't leave her like this."
    Louie put a hand on his back and pushed. "We can't be here when the police show up."
    He didn't move. "We didn't do anything."
    "True, but have you ever been forced to sit at the police station when you were a witness to something?" she asked.
    He shook his head.
    "Well, I have and trust me, it's better to just get the hell out of here. We can call the police from a public phone."
    "I don't know." Paul and his lethal hockey stick still weren't moving.
    "Trust me. Let's go somewhere and talk." She nudged him again.
    "You're sure?"
    "I'm sure."
    * * * *
    One down, one to go.
    A smart man probably would have left the second his quarry was down. He was a smart man, though he was still compelled to stay and savor the moment. Outside it was dark, the neighborhood was quiet, and he assessed the danger level to be quite low. And so he stayed under the cover of the big old maple tree, soaking in the sweet smell of success. The air was fresh and the night sky cloudless. Stars sparkled as if turned on just for him.
    He did indeed savor the moment until noise broke into his pleasant introspection. He made up his mind to call it quits at the sound of light steps. Someone was heading his way. He shook his head, not at all surprised to see the spunky bounty hunter Louie Russell. Or, rather the first visitor, Louie Russell. She was being cautious and he was convinced she was unaware of his presence.
    Not long after she slipped into the darkened house, visitor number two made an appearance and turned out to be a huge surprise. Big brother showed up on the girlfriend's doorstep. Now that made him smile. Sooner or later hockey boy was going to blaze him a trail right straight to little James and then all his problems would be solved.
    It was only a