Jarod's Heart (King Brothers Stories #2) by Elise Manion Read Free Book Online Page B

cartoonish voice, and eyes that took in everything. She was speaking softly but animatedly down toward her right hand, where she held the hand of a child whom Jarod couldn’t see below the counter.
    Jarod’s neck hair prickled.
    Why are they bringing a child here at this time of night?
    Instinct propelled him out of his office to greet them before the detective could fully inform Marguerite whom they were and whom they were here to see.
    “Right this way, please,” Jarod instructed, gesturing toward an interrogation room, out of Marguerite’s line of sight. She wore her plastic smile, but she was annoyed at him for not allowing her to discern the identities of his mysterious guests.
    “That’ll be all for tonight, Marguerite. Make sure you lock the front doors when you leave,” he commanded.
    She studied him for only a second before giving him a nod, then turned to continue closing down her computer.
    Assured now that he wouldn’t be interrupted, he turned down the hall and opened a door to a small room that contained a table with four chairs. He again gestured for them to enter, but the woman stayed back and told the child—who, Jarod could now see, was a little girl—to sit on the bench outside the interrogation room and wait until the adults were finished speaking.
    For the second time today, Jarod’s breath got stuck in his lungs when he caught the little girl’s gaze. He was staring into a pair of deep blue eyes that seemed as familiar to him as his own. His prickling neck hairs became a stinging chill down his spine.
    The detective placed a hand on his shoulder, breaking the spell. “Sheriff,” he said quietly, “come on in and we’ll get this business taken care of quickly.”
    Jarod didn’t miss the sympathy in the man’s voice.
    “Uh…” was all he could manage. He met the man’s weathered eyes and followed him inside. The patrolman stood guard with the woman and child outside the room.
    The detective sat down first. Jarod noticed the file in his hands. The last thing he wanted to do was sit down and look through a rap sheet, so he didn’t. In order to keep control of his boiling temper, Jarod began to pace the small room because, deep down in his gut, he knew exactly who that little girl was.
    Detective Cane cleared his throat. He opened up his file and said, “I can see you’re shaken up, so I’ll make this brief. Miranda Becker King was killed in a car accident three days ago. She was with a man named Michael Trapp. She had no identification on her when she died. I’m sorry it’s taken us this long to contact you.”
    “Miranda is dead?” He didn’t know how to feel about the news—not yet, anyway. He hadn’t seen her since she had walked out, and now she was dead. How was he supposed to process that?
    His heart began to beat faster because he knew that this wasn’t the only news the good detective was about to impart.
    “Yes, sir. We did some investigating, and the little girl sitting outside is Miranda’s daughter.” The detective cleared his throat again.
    “Miranda’s daughter,” Jarod repeated. Inside his chest, he felt his heart beating… k’thump-k’thump-k’thump.
    Detective Cane flipped through the pages in the thick folder. Jarod could see the edges of mugshot photos and other legal documents. “Yes, Mrs. King listed your name as the father on Jessica’s birth certificate, Sheriff.”
    Jessica.
    Stunned, Jarod finally sat down. He was working very hard to keep a cool head, but damn, his world had just been rocked off its axis.
    Detective Cane sat patiently. Jarod looked at him and pointed to the file folder. “May I?”
    “Of course,” he said and passed the documents to Jarod.
    Jarod flipped through the thick folder and found detailed arrest records. Miranda had been busted for selling meth several times; Jessica’s birth certificate did, indeed, list him as the father. He noted by her birth date that she was almost four and a half years old, but the