Everywhere She Turns by Debra Webb Read Free Book Online

nothing
. He dusted off his khakis. “whatever it is, you know it won’t be this easy.”
    “It never is.” She cocked her head, narrowed her gaze thoughtfully. “I figure it’s an anagram.”
    “That makes the most sense.” He reached for his Wayfarers, then slid them into place. “But you’ll have to knock on doors just the same.” They’d spent most of the morning tracking down and interviewing everyone close to Shelley. They still hadn’t located Banks, the ex-boyfriend. But Braddock had a plan in place for that hurdle. They’d have him before this day was over.
    He wanted Ricky Banks. Though he didn’t believe for a second Banks was the killer, with the right incentive Banks just might decide he was far more afraid of losing his freedom than he was of the repercussions of seeking immunity.
    “Yep,” she agreed. “Gotta follow all leads, no matter how unlikely.” Stripping off her gloves, Cooper started back in the direction of the street. “Thanks, guys,” she called to the techs as she ducked under the tape. “Gimme a ring when you finish up here.”
    Once beyond the tape, Braddock shed his gloves and shoe covers.
    “So, what’d the sister have to say?”
    Braddock trailed after his partner, ducked to avoid a limb that went right over her head. “Not much.”
    “You think she knows anything that might be useful? Maybe she heard from the vic recently.”
    “She doesn’t know anything,” he assured Cooper. “I’ve got Jenkins watching her just in case she makes contact with Banks.” If he knew CJ, she would be pounding the pavementlooking for the scumbag. Having Jenkins keep an eye on her was as much for her own protection as it was to observe any contact.
    “Good idea. About the other . . . did you tell her?”
    “No.”
    “That’s going to come back to bite you in the ass, partner. She already doesn’t like you. She finds out you’re keeping something like that from her, she’s going to be out for blood.”
    Yeah, well, he was used to CJ going for his jugular. That was his fault, too. Just something else to regret.
    He paused at the street. “I’ll just have to deal with whatever she tosses my way.” He glanced around even though he knew Cooper’s truck wasn’t here. It wasn’t like it could be overlooked. “Where’s the monster?” She didn’t like that he called her vehicle that, but she’d given up trying to win him over to the joys of owning something fully capable of climbing over small buildings.
    “I was running a little behind after lunch.” She hunched her shoulders in one of those careless shrugs she was famous for. “I got dropped off.”
    “Uh-huh.” Which meant lunch wasn’t about dining.
    “About the carving.” She paused before opening the door of his G6. “Could be the first move in a game.”
    Braddock opened the driver’s-side door. “Could be an invitation to play.”
    “Or a riddle.” She dropped into the passenger seat and propped a sneakered foot on the dash. Braddock grimaced.
    “It might”—he started the engine and pulled out onto the street—“be a reference to a place or an event.”
    “True,” she agreed. “I’ll run it through the system and make some calls.”
    As unnecessary as he knew it would prove, ruling out
E. Noon
as a name was step one.

CHAPTER EIGHT
     
     
    Mill Village
3:48 PM
     
    CJ shoved her three-quarter sleeves higher up her arms. Sweat slid down between her shoulder blades. She raised her fist and banged on the next door.
    She’d been knocking on doors for the last hour. This house had been her initial stop, but no one had been home. She hoped against hope that was no longer the case. Frances Jennings never missed a Sunday in church. Surely by now church was over.
    If the cops couldn’t find Ricky Banks, it was because they didn’t know the right places to look. Or simply didn’t care, like Braddock. CJ had grown up in this neighborhood. She knew where to look.
    The door opened a tiny crack.
    Thank