Key Witness by Christy Barritt Read Free Book Online Page B

nodded, and he slipped out. He used Elle’s key to unlock the door and slip inside. He was surprised at her soft and feminine decorations. She always came across as so professional, but her home showed a different side of her. He’d pay attention to that later, though. Right now, he needed to check everything out and make sure it was safe.
    Once he’d swept the area, he went back to the car for Elle. She stepped inside and deposited her purse on the honey-colored dinette. Her eyes scanned the place with obvious unease.
    “What’s wrong?”
    “Something feels different.” She stepped toward her living room, her brows furrowed.
    “What?”
    “I don’t know. It’s just a feeling. You know, that instinct that something has been moved.” She whirled around to him. “Did you move anything?”
    He shook his head. “Not a thing.”
    “I’ll put my finger on it eventually.”
    “Let’s get your things and get out of here.” He nodded toward the door, not liking the implications of what Elle said. What if someone had been in her condo, not to harm her but to take something—or plant something? Why would someone do that?
    “I’m not going to argue with you there.” She disappeared into her bedroom.
    Denton lingered in the doorway, close enough to keep an eye on her, but distant enough for privacy. His gaze wandered the wall of pictures beside him. Elle with her parents. Elle with some girlfriends. An older picture of Elle with another girl when they were probably fourteen or fifteen years old. No pictures of Elle with any men, which seemed to confirm his initial impression that she was single. Not that it mattered to him. He wasn’t looking for a serious relationship—any relationship, for that matter. Despite that, his heart still lifted slightly at the realization.
    Elle charged from her room, walking toward the living room like a woman on a mission. “I think I know what’s different.”
    Denton followed at a close clip behind her. She stopped at an end table and picked up a picture frame holding a snapshot of her and the senator. With a shaky finger, she pointed at it. “This is my frame but that’s not my picture.” She scrambled to remove the backing.
    Denton put his hand over hers. “Let me.” He didn’t know what might wait beneath that picture. It could be an airborne disease, for all he knew. Or it could be nothing.
    Carefully, he slipped off the back of the frame. His heart raced as he waited to see what waited underneath. He blinked. Nothing. Except a picture of Elle hugging her father.
    “Where’d my picture go? Why would someone take it?”
    “What was the picture of?”
    “My sister.”
    “Your sister?”
    Elle wiped the corner of her eye, obviously trying to conceal the fact that she was crying. “She’s been dead for six years.”
    “I’m sorry, Elle.”
    “It was my favorite picture.”
    “Do you parents have another copy?”
    She wiped her eyes again before wrapping her arms over her chest. “Probably. I’ll ask them.”
    “Where did someone get this snapshot?”
    She shrugged. “Anywhere. It’s on my dad’s official campaign website.”
    “Of course,” he muttered. “You have a paper bag?”
    “Under the microwave.”
    He walked into the kitchen and pulled out a lunch-sized bag to slip the frame into. “I’m going to have this tested for fingerprints. I’m pretty sure they didn’t leave any, but I want to make sure.”
    She pulled in a deep breath, her face pale and her voice on the edge of fragile. “This feels like... I don’t understand why someone would do this.”
    He resisted the urge to touch her, to try and comfort her. It wasn’t his place. But he hated to see her struggling as she was. He stuffed his free hand into his pocket instead. “You witnessed a horrific crime. Sometimes people are just sick. They want someone to pay for what happened. They’re playing a game, basically.”
    She swallowed and nodded. “Let me finish getting my stuff and