Magic Rising

Magic Rising by Jennifer Cloud Read Free Book Online Page B

Book: Magic Rising by Jennifer Cloud Read Free Book Online
Authors: Jennifer Cloud
Tags: Horror, Paranormal, assassin, Damnation Books, commune, Dragonfly, Magic Rising, Jennifer Cloud
then maybe he could crack a school computer.
    “I get it. Keep going.”
    “I did find a divorce record between Shope and Haas. It seems our actress had a husband that she didn’t tell anyone about. One that became our stalker.”
    Deirdre felt her mouth fall open. If Haas had known who the stalker was, why didn’t she tell anyone? Shope could’ve been picked up much sooner and without all the drama.
    “A husband she didn’t brag about?” Her phone beeped as she spoke.
    “Okay you should have it now. The image might be a little blurry but you got to see this kid.”
    An image of a little blond-headed girl with blue eyes appeared on the display. Her hair was bound in pigtails by pink ribbons. Funny, she didn’t look anything like Tamara Haas and considering Jack was black, she didn’t resemble him either.
    “I got it but that can’t be Jack’s kid.”
    “I think it is. Why else would she deny the marriage? Why would he worry about his daughter and Tamara? DNA can be freaky shit. Who knows? She might’ve even cheated on him but he thought the girl was his.”
    “Did you get the name of the little girl with Haas?”
    “No. I’m trying to dig into birth certificates now. I’m hoping to put a birth date and a marriage certificate together, but I’m willing to bet that Lora is Tamara Haas’ daughter. The target from last night was married to her and no doubt there was going to be some sort of custody battle. Probably one he couldn’t afford against a wealthy actress, but that doesn’t explain why she claimed he was stalking her instead of telling the truth.”
    “What was the date on the divorce records?”
    “Twelve years ago. It was signed one week before Valentine’s Day. Isn’t that romantic?”
    It wasn’t uncommon for a custody dispute to turn ugly, but not this long after the divorce. A motive for Shope now existed. He may not have known about his daughter and recently found her. Haas must’ve been embarrassed. No, that couldn’t be right. Tamara Haas had never been embarrassed by love scandals. She seemed to thrive on them, giving press releases about her divorces, not hiding them.
    The actress’s daughter would’ve been noticed by the press before now. Tamara Haas won awards and occasionally grabbed the tabloid headline, yet no one had ever mentioned a daughter and why would Shope believe his daughter was in danger? Was that even his daughter? She certainly didn’t look like him.
    “Dig a little deeper for me. You may have to make a visit to the courthouse. I need to know if Shope or Haas had custody and if either had filed any appeals to the arrangement. I also need a verified picture of Lora Shope.”
    “Deirdre, why are you pursuing this? The case is over. There’s nothing we can do now. Even if Lora wanted to be with her father, she couldn’t.” Tech’s voice trailed away into silence.
    Deirdre couldn’t answer. There wasn’t a logical explanation for her behavior, not one Tech could understand. It was Jack’s eyes. The emotion in there appeared like a sane man that had been pushed too hard for too long. Perhaps he had custody and Tamara wanted to get him locked away to claim her daughter. That would’ve created an uglier scandal though.
    “I have my reasons. Just keep digging. I want to know why a woman who loves the press didn’t give out the correct stalker information. The man was in her hotel and she claimed to not know him. Shit like that doesn’t happen unless there’s a reason.” She started to end the call, and then stopped. “Listen, I may be out of range soon. I’ve got some business out of town. I’ll get back with you tonight.”
    “Have fun. Bring Chinese food when you come by.”
    * * * *
    Stone House was in the middle of nowhere; consisting of a main stone structure surrounded by smaller houses and storage buildings. A person could hike for a day before finding another home and the long stretch of interstate nearby was nearly a two-hour jog.
    At least,

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