Heartless by Janet Taylor-Perry Read Free Book Online Page B

point Raif hugged Chris and gave her a resounding kiss. "Well,
we're back now. Ray and I had to do a brotherly thing."
Ray sank into his chair.
"Where did you two go?" asked Chris.
"New Orleans. I guess you have to stay and work, or I'd
show you what I brought back. I suppose you'll have to see it
later." Raif winked at his wife and left the police officers to
work.
Dantzler immediately said, "Ray, I wish you hadn't left
town."
"Why? I needed the time with my brother. It really helped
me to deal with the loss of a man that I once considered a
brother."
"Did you?"
"Yes, why?"
"You do realize you're on the short list of suspects who
might've wanted Robert LaFontaine dead, don't you?"
"No." Ray laughed hard until he realized Lawrence was
serious. "There was no bad blood between us anymore," he
said soberly. "Since Robert hit Washington, we haven't even
argued. I actually attended his wedding and a couple of parties
at his house in Baton Rouge. Damn! I'm his twins' godfather.
Why would I be a suspect?"
"Ray, you've threatened to kill him on more than one
occasion. Let's see: One—at Larkin's house; two—in the
hospital; three—in Raif's car; four—sitting at your desk talking
to me; and, oh, five—you beat the hell out of him in public."
"That was thirteen years ago. Lawrence, are you serious?"
"I'm afraid so."
"Oh, give me a break!" Ray jerked his head to the side. "I
didn't even know any of the other victims."
Dantzler shrugged. "It could be argued that they were just
to throw us off track and that Robert was your intended target."
"Lawrence, do you believe that?"
"No, but you need to know the gossip. Some could question
if you and Raif were disposing of the murder weapon. You
didn't help yourself by telling a certain newswoman that the
last reporter who followed you ended up dead."
"Is that what this is about?" Ray fisted his hand. "I hate
reporters."
"Just stick around." Dantzler gave him a lopsided smirk.
Ray clenched his teeth. "Chris, what is this bullshit? Is this
why you snorted earlier?"
She nodded. "Ray, it gets worse. I think they've hooked
Lawrence up with the dumbest agents ever."
"Me, too, if you'd like to know," Dantzler said with an
impish grin on his face.
"How could it get worse?" asked Ray, rubbing his head as a
migraine attempted to come on.
Chris laughed. "Larkin's on the suspect list, too."
"You can't be serious!" Ray said, his hand coming down on
his desk in a hard slap. "Larkin wouldn't hurt a fly."
"That's what I said," assured Lawrence. "But my little team
argues that she has the capacity to kill to protect you. After all,
she did once. She killed Latrice."
"Self-defense!" Ray's nostrils flared.
"Bullshit, I know, but she did teach the young woman with
Robert."
"Really?"
"Yep. One semester of lit."
Ray rolled his eyes.
Lawrence held up his hand. "However, the third suspect
holds a little merit. It's Deanna LaFontaine."
Ray shook his head. "No, she didn't kill him. She's been
covering his tracks for him from the beginning. She wanted to
be First Lady. Moreover, what reason would she have had for
killing the other people?"
"She got tired of her husband's philandering. The missing
hearts were to show how heartless he was, and his mistress
might as well go, too. Who knows? Maybe Robert was into
men, too. Maybe all the vics were former lovers."
Ray cackled. "Robert was a fool, a womanizer"— and,
maybe, bisexual —"but he did not bed dogs or cows. Did you
see the Byrd woman? Woof, woof. She looked like a pug. Her
eyes even bulged. And the DHS woman! She weighed more
than you and was a foot and a half shorter."
"Yeah, Ray. I've looked at the file pictures. I can't imagine
Robert touching them either." Dantzler sniggered.
Ray fiddled with a pen on his desk. "No. There's definitely
a connection somewhere between Robert and the other
murders. I think Miss Horn just got in the way. No. None of
your suspects hold water, and you know it."
"Yes, I do, Ray. So, help me come up with