Gypped by Carol Higgins Clark Read Free Book Online Page B

right.” It felt good to walk and stretch her legs, after being cramped on that chair. When she reached the four-door sedan, and started to put the key in the door, a thought occurred to her. The valet last night had mentioned a hiking trail was right here. Should I take a quick look? If Jack and I decide to stay in LA for the weekend, a hike might be fun.
    She walked around the car and started on a narrow path heading into the woods. Twigs crunched underneath her feet as her high heels started to sink into the soil. Maybe I shouldn’t do this now, she thought. Turning around, a glint of silver caught her eye. It was a few feet off the walking path, and mostly covered by leaves. What’s that? she wondered, slowly moving toward the shiny object. She leaned over, and carefully cleared away the leaves on top.
    “Oh my God,” Regan breathed.
    She’d uncovered a long, shiny butcher knife.
    What is that doing here? Regan wondered. It looks brand new. Once again, her heart started racing. Why would someone bring a knife like that into the woods? Did they hide it here? This is not good. Regan grabbed the handle, pointed the blade downward, and hurried back to the car. She opened the trunk, dropped the knife, and slammed the trunk shut. A minute later she was racing up Zelda’s driveway.
    It might be nothing, she reasoned, as she parked, got out, and went back into the kitchen. But that knife could be deadly. She double locked the door. If you go hiking, you might bring apocket knife, but that’s it. I’ll talk to Jack later. The best thing to do would be to turn it over to the police. If the owner is looking for his butcher knife, let him go claim it at the precinct’s lost and found.
    Regan prepared a tray of tea and toast, enough for both her and Zelda. If she’s not awake, I’ll make more later. Regan headed upstairs and tiptoed into Zelda’s room.
    “Regan, hi.” Zelda started to sit up.
    “How do you feel?”
    “A little wiped out.”
    “Tea?”
    “Sounds great,” Zelda said, propping herself up on the pillows. “I am thirsty.” She sipped the tea Regan gave her and ate a slice of toast. “I’m glad I can get something down.”
    “I am, too,” Regan agreed. Here goes, she thought. “Zelda, you mentioned yesterday we might go on a moonlight hike last night.”
    Zelda rolled her eyes. “Such big plans.”
    “You’re not planning to go hiking in the next few days, are you?”
    “Not the way I feel. But earlier this week I went for walks in the woods with my clients. Sometimes it’s good to be out in nature and get all the cobwebs out of your head. This area is perfect for that. Even taking a walk on the block is great. No traffic!”
    “Zelda, I just went down to the end of the road to get my car.”
    “One of the valets didn’t bring it into the driveway last night?”
    “No.”
    “That’s terrible!”
    “Well, maybe it’s good they didn’t. I walked down to take a look at the hiking trail but my sandals were getting stuck in the ground. I hadn’t gone very far when I discovered a large butcher knife that was mostly hidden under some leaves.”
    “A large what?” Norman said excitedly as he strode into the room. “A knife? I was just coming up the steps and couldn’t help but overhear.”
    “Oh, hello, Norman” Regan said. “Yes. I found a knife in the woods. And what’s more troubling is that it obviously hasn’t been there very long. It looked brand new.”
    Norman flopped in the chair.
    Zelda glanced at him. “You look tired.”
    “It was very busy last night,” Norman sniffed. “At least I’m not still in bed.”
    “Right after you left I got very sick,” Zelda said reproachfully. “That’s why Regan is here. She stayed with me.”
    “You got sick?”
    “Yes.”
    “I’m so sorry,” Norman said sincerely, as he put his hand to his mouth. “Regan, you should have called me. I would have come right back.”
    “It’s okay,” Regan said. “I wanted to