Last Night by Meryl Sawyer Read Free Book Online Page A

She ' d said as little as possible, afraid he ' d detect that she wasn't telling him the whole truth.
    "I ' ll follow you home, " Rob said as he pulled his silver Porsche up behind her Toyota. " Where do you live? "
    "Go— " She hesitated, almost saying east, but quickly changed it to, " Diamond Head. "
    Islanders didn ' t rely on geographical terms like east/west. They used points on the island like Diamond Head or mauka, meaning toward the mountains that dominated the center of the island. Even after living in the islands for almost twenty years, she still had to stop herself from giving proper directions. Vanessa always said Dana was too formal to be a real islander.
    "I live on Lanai Road. Number four eleven. "
    " Don ' t worry, you won ' t lose me. "
    So true, Dana thought ten minutes later as she again glanced at her rearview mirror and found Rob ' s Porsche hugging her bumper. No doubt her pace irked him, but she ' d never gotten a speeding ticket and she wasn ' t going to get one tonight. Finally they pulled into her drive, and Dana was relieved to see that Mrs. Hurley ' s lights were out. The fewer people who knew that she was associated with Rob Tagett the better.
    Inside her kitchen she poured water into the Brewmatic while Rob stood beside her at the counter, reading the note and inspecting the rabbit- skinning knife. She threw open the windows and switched on the ceiling fan, conscious of how warm the room seemed after being shut all day.
    " I ' ll run a fingerprint check on the knife, " he said.
    " I don ' t want the police involved. That ' s why I hired you. "
    He stared at her, his incisive blue eyes saying he wasn ' t accustomed to being questioned. " I never said I was using the police lab. "
    She motioned for Rob to sit at the dinette, then took mugs out of the cabinet. " I forgot. You have your own security company. "
    " True, but it ' s not a private investigation firm. Rent-a-cops. I specialize in hotel security. This is paradise, remember? We don ' t want tourists' rooms robbed or hookers sol iciting in the bars. Private se curity, dressed like tourists, handle potential problems. That kind of operation doesn ' t need a lab. "
    " Garth said— "
    " Occasionally I do some investigating—when the case is interesting and the price is right. I ' m taking the evidence to the lab at the University of Hawaii. They have a first-rate criminology department with equipment that ' s better than what the HPD has. " Suddenly she felt foolish for questioning him. Garth was right; Rob knew what to do. She poured the coffee into blue-striped mugs and sat down opposite him.
    " I don't expect to get any prints though. The perp ' s probably been careful. " He inspected the knife. "This handle looks really old and the blade is slightly loose. " He stared directly into her eyes, expecting an answer.
    "It ' s exactly like the one I grabbed off the wall that night, " she heard herself whisper. " The blade was loose, the handle worn from years of skinning rabbits. "
    His gaze never wavered. " That ' s an amazing detail for anyone but you or your sister to know. "
    "Exactly. That ' s what has me worried. This isn ' t some wild guess. "
    Her voice must have had more of an emotional edge than she realized, because he leaned forward and covered her hand with his. She couldn ' t help noticing how wide and strong his hand looked. Ev erything about Rob Tagett projected strength, from his long runner ' s legs to his powerful torso to his personality.
    He withdrew his hand and took a swig of coffee, his eyes never leaving her face. "At work next week, keep to your normal routine. Don ' t— "
    "I ' m on vacation next week. I ' m going over to the Coltrane ranch on Maui to spend time with Vanessa and my nephew, Jason. "
    "Perfect. I'm coming with you. "
    "What for? " she gasped, stunned that he'd even suggest such a thing.
    He leaned forward until he was halfway across the small table, face to face with her. " I want to check out the