Nothing But the Truth by Kara Lennox Read Free Book Online Page A

Griffin Benedict off her mind. It was like the guy had planted a seed in her brain, where it had firmly taken root.
    You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.
    She had emailed him all the names of the people she’d talked to at her bank, and she had given the bank permission to discuss the matter of the mystery deposit with Griffin. And she’d finally gotten into her cell phone provider’s website and emailed a copy of the phone bill in question. She assumed she wouldn’t hear from him again, a thought that should have pleased her.
    “Maybe lunch is a good idea.” Beth would no doubt have some distracting story to tell during lunch. She was one of those people to whom strange things always happened.
    “Did someone say lunch?” Mitch Delacroix slipped through the open office door behind Beth.
    Great. Now Raleigh’s office was Grand Central Station.
    “I’m trying to drag Raleigh’s nose away from the grindstone,” Beth said. “Want to come with us?”
    Mitch looked undecided then abruptly shook his head. “Can’t. Meeting. I just stopped by to give you this, Raleigh.” He held out a bulging manila folder.
    Raleigh couldn’t remember asking Mitch for research with any of her cases. She must have looked at him blankly.
    “Griffin Benedict?”
    “Ohhh.” She slapped a hand to her forehead. “Mitch, I’m so sorry to have put you to a lot of trouble for nothing. I don’t believe Griffin Benedict will bother me again.”
    Mitch shrugged. “It’s okay. Digging up dirt on people is fun for me, you know that, and I didn’t have anything else urgent—or half as interesting. Glad you worked it out, though.”
    He handed Raleigh the folder. “Enjoy it. Then shred the contents, okay? A few bits and pieces in there aren’t, ah, fully in the public domain.”
    Meaning he’d done some hacking. On her behalf. Raleigh felt guilty as hell.
    She set the folder on her desk, grabbed her purse and headed for the door. “Does Lancer Steak-house sound okay to you? They have good lunch specials.”
    “Wait!” Beth’s single word stuck her to the floor.
    “What?”
    “Aren’t you going to look inside the folder?”
    “No way,” Raleigh said. “I no longer need information on the man. It wouldn’t be ethical for me to snoop—”
    “Ethical, shmethical. This will make excellent lunch entertainment.” Beth grabbed the folder. “Let’s go.”
    “I don’t think we should read the information on Griffin,” Raleigh said again a couple of minutes later as she signed out. Celeste seemed to be heavily involved in a Danielle Steele novel.
    “But aren’t you curious?”
    “Curiosity killed the cat.”
    Celeste gave a disapproving harrumph, reminding Raleigh that even when she seemed not to be paying attention, she was. Celeste was a little sharper than most people gave her credit for.
    “Look, Beth,” Raleigh said once they’d exited the building into a gloomy, overcast day. “I think I’ve convinced Griffin of my innocence. He’s not going to print any lies about me. End of threat, as far as I’m concerned.”
    “But you don’t know what he’s really planning to write. Even if he told you he believed you—reporters can say anything. You should be ready. Just in case. Knowledge is power.”
    “And you’re grasping at straws because you’re nosy. I had a hard enough time ejecting him from my apartment yesterday—”
    Beth gasped. “He was in your apartment?”
    Raleigh’s face warmed as she imagined what Beth was thinking. “I brought him there to show him evidence that would exonerate me. He seemed convinced. He even warned me that I might be in danger.”
    Again, Beth gasped. “Maybe you are!”
    Raleigh waved away her concern. “People who commit crimes with paper and computers seldom turned to guns, knives or bombs. He was just trying to manipulate my feelings, so I would agree to…” Agree to what? She wasn’t sure.
    “Anyway,” she concluded, “I’m done with him.”
    “Well,”