Fatal Trust by Diana Miller Read Free Book Online Page A

before the
fire.”
    “Were there any remains?”
    “A few bones. Enough of his jaw to match dental records and
confirm it was Grandfather. Not that he’d have let anyone else drive his
Ferrari.”
    Lexie closed her eyes for a moment, her fingers tightening
around Ben’s. It was hard to think of a vibrant person like Max reduced to
blackened bone fragments. “He wanted to be cremated, but I don’t think this was
exactly what he had in mind.”
    “The only thing we can do for him now is figure out who
killed him.”
    “Assuming anyone did.”
    Ben released her hand. “That’s what we’re here to find out.”
He slipped under the car.
    Rosy dusk had darkened to an eerie gray, turning the other
vehicles into shadowy forms. Lexie’s pulse accelerated, and a shiver slithered
across her shoulders and neck, then slid down her spine. “This place gives me
the creeps,” she said, hoping the sound of her voice would calm her. “Max
should have used it in one of his books.”
    “He did, or at least a place like it,” Ben answered from
beneath the car. She could see the reflected light of his flashlight. “In The Key. ”
    “His second book,” Lexie said, nodding. “He wrote that so
long ago I forgot about it.” Maybe that was why her subconscious found this
place spooky. “Didn’t a woman die in a car lot?”
    “The accountant pushed a car on top of her to keep her from
disclosing that he was an embezzler,” Ben said. “He later hid in a car wash and
was electrocuted when he accidentally turned it on and it shorted out. That
book was followed by Water over the Bridge , where the
sleazy lawyer tried to drown the hero and instead fell into the water himself
and was eaten by an alligator.”
    Lexie smiled faintly. “Max wrote both of those before he was
successful enough to have to admit accountants and lawyers have their uses.”
    “True.” The light flickered, and she heard Ben fiddling with
something under the car. “Don’t worry. If this car crushes anyone, it’ll be
me.”
    While he examined the car, Lexie stood hugging herself and
looking around, alert for the slightest movement. After several minutes Ben
emerged from beneath the car and flipped his flashlight off.
    “Did you find anything?” she asked.
    He shook his head, wiping his hands on his jeans. “Too much
fire damage. Damn .”
    The flash of approaching car lights and roar of an engine
indicated someone was pulling up to the fence.
    Ben grabbed Lexie’s hand and started sprinting. “Come on.”
    “Who is it?” she asked, running beside him.
    “Be quiet.” He pulled her behind the building.
    She had no idea what was going on, but from Ben’s reaction,
it wasn’t good. Over the heartbeat drumming in her ears, Lexie heard a metallic
rattle, then the creak of the gate opening. Heavy footsteps crunched over
gravel, coming nearer, stopping. A flashlight shone along the edge of the
building.
    She pressed her back against the bricks to make herself as
flat as possible, trying not to breathe.

CHAPTER 4
    The gravelly footsteps resumed, but this time they were
moving away. A moment later Lexie heard the gate close, followed by a car door
slamming and an engine turning over. She let out a relieved breath.
    “We’re lucky Al’s in a hurry to finish his rounds tonight,”
Ben said. “Otherwise he would have checked this place out closer.”
    Lexie released her tight grip on Ben’s hand, relief shifting
to anger. “You made me sneak in here tonight when you knew there was a security
guard?”
    “I didn’t expect anyone to show up this early,” Ben said.
“Al’s actually a cop. This is the police impound lot. They’re holding the
Ferrari until the beneficiaries tell them what to do with it.”
    She forced herself to count to ten. Twice. Getting angry was
a waste of what little energy she had left after today’s events. “Great,” she
said, managing with monumental effort to keep her tone level. “I’ve been here
less than a day