In the Dead of Night by Castillo Linda Read Free Book Online

boss.”

    “Any particular subject matter?”

    Murder. “History,” she answered.

    “I must be mistaken, then.” But from the glint in her eyes, Sara wasn’t sure the woman believed her. “I’ll leave you to your work.”

    The instant the librarian was out of sight, Sara crossed to the row of file cabinets. Anticipation of getting her hands on information that wasn’t rumor or hearsay bolstered her, and she scanned the labels. Each was marked with a date range. Midway down the row, she paused and pulled out the drawer she needed. Setting it on the desk, she paged through each film until she came to the dates she wanted.

    The day after the murders, the Cape Darkwood Press ran the first of many stories. Even now the headline made Sara shiver.

Prominent Hollywood Producer, Wife, Local Author Found Murdered.
    Pulling out a small spiral notebook, Sara scanned the article, making notes as she went. The name of the lead detective who investigated the case. Possible witnesses. The journalist who reported it all.

    The following day the headlines read:

Douglas Killings May Have Been Murder Suicide.
    Sara read the piece with care, noting the evidence listed by police. Richard Douglas’s fingerprints were on the gun, a .38 caliber revolver. The gun had fallen to the floor as if Douglas had shot himself, then dropped it.

Richard Douglas May Have Killed in a Jealous Rage….
    She struggled not to let the words get to her. Though she’d only been seven years old at the time, Sara had spent enough time with her father to know he was a gentle man with a kind heart. A man who kissed her nose at bedtime and made her laugh. There was no way that same man had killed two people he’d cared for in cold blood.

    Working quickly now, she jotted down the name of a neighbor who’d witnessed an argument just a week before while out walking her dog. Emma Beasley. The newspaper reporter had evidently interviewed and quoted her.

It was around 6:00 a.m. when I heard Mr. Douglas shouting at his wife. Nicholas Tyson’s car was there. The lights were on in the upstairs bedroom. Strange goings-on in that house. Pity with those two little girls. I guess you never know about people.
    Disgusted by the woman’s unfounded assumptions—and the journalist’s willingness to print them—Sara shook her head, hating it that gossip and hearsay may have had as much to do with the outcome of the case as the evidence itself.

    Hitting the print button, she went on to the next story.

Love Triangle May Have Led to Douglas Murder Suicide.
    Below the headline, a photograph of her mother and Nicholas Tyson at an outdoor café covered half the page. They sat at a table, beneath a wide umbrella. The likeness between Nick and his father struck her. Same Pacific-blue eyes. Thick brows that gave both men a brooding expression. Strong square jaw.

    Something niggled at Sara as she stared at the photo. To the casual observer, they appeared to be friends enjoying a cold drink on a hot day. Upon closer inspection, Sara realized they were looking at an object on the table in front of them.

    “What are you doing?” she whispered.

    She hit the magnification button. The photo swelled, becoming grainy and losing some detail. But the enlargement was enough for Sara to identify what was on the table in front of them.

    A manuscript.

Chapter Five

    Darkness had fallen by the time Sara left the library. She’d lost herself in research and somehow spent the entire afternoon reading and printing enough material to keep her busy for a week. The most important thing she’d discovered was the photograph of her mother and Nicholas Tyson looking at the manuscript. Had her mother carried on a relationship with the true-crime writer? Was there, indeed, a missing manuscript?
    Sara couldn’t get the questions out of her mind as she parked the rental car in the drive. The anonymous caller had mentioned a manuscript. Until this afternoon, she’d dismissed the notion. Now