Past Tense by Freda Vasilopoulos Read Free Book Online Page A

a great deal in these cases. Eyewitnesses often make mistakes.”
    “Was anyone hurt?”
    “No. That’s what was odd about the incident. The victim was released less than a block away. It appears to have been simple robbery after all. Only her handbag was taken.”
    “I don’t understand what this has to do with me.”
    “We questioned people who were in the shop at the time, among them your professor’s housekeeper, Mrs. Howard. In fact, she agreed to come down to the police station with us.”
    That’s why she hadn’t returned by the time I left , Samantha thought. “But she must have told you where I was.”
    “Yes, afterwards. When the victim was brought to the station. You see, Miss Clark, Mrs. Howard caught a glimpse of the woman as she was being pushed into the car and thought it was you.”
    Sam’s mouth dropped open. “Me? But she knew I was still at the house.”
    PC Nelson nodded. “That’s what she said. She thought you might have gone out after all. She only caught a glimpse before the car drove off. It was a black Jaguar.”
    “A Jaguar? I saw a black Jaguar a couple of times in the neighborhood the past few days. I wonder if it was the same one?”
    “You didn’t get the license number?”
    Sam shook her head. “No, I didn’t. What happened with the woman?”
    “She was set free and called the police. We brought her into the station. Mrs. Howard saw at once that she was mistaken. But the woman did have blonde hair the color of yours, and a similar build.”
    “You haven’t recovered her handbag?”
    “Not so far. Probably in a bin somewhere by now.” He touched the brim of his cap, and opened the door. “Goodbye, Miss Clark. Thank you for your help.”
    What help? Samantha thought as she closed the door behind them and walked back into the living room. She hadn’t been any help at all, and she could have been if she’d been more observant.
    The black Jaguar must have been tailing her, possibly even before she’d noticed it yesterday. She could only take comfort in the fact that whoever was after her, and she no longer doubted that someone was, still wasn’t sure of her identity. But her tenuous anonymity wouldn’t last much longer.
    She had to be prepared.
     

Chapter Four
     
    Tony gave Samantha a couple of days’ breathing space, but she was never far from his thoughts, that pale beautiful face with those haunted eyes like silver rain.
    She intrigued him. The intangibles had hooked him, the change in accent, her evasiveness when he’d confronted her with it. She was in some kind of trouble, and while it might be something totally personal, he couldn’t help wondering.
    The mystery of her appearance at this crucial time—
    If she came from Montréal, and did translations, the chances were that she knew diplomats and politicians. Or she worked for import-export companies. Either way she probably had a fair knowledge of international trade. Had her presence in the Regal Arms been a coincidence? Or part of a plan?
    The upcoming trade conference between France and Canada had already been postponed once due to security leaks. That was why London had been chosen for the meetings, rather than the more volatile Montréal.
    Tony couldn’t afford to overlook any possible threat to the conference’s smooth execution. Not even the seemingly innocent Samantha Clark. While the dates of the conference had been obscured by tight security for weeks, speculations were beginning to appear in the press. The event would soon be announced in public, and then the dangers of its disruption would increase.
    Samantha was hiding something. He knew it as surely as he knew she’d been dismayed to find him at her door the other night. And he couldn’t ignore the dichotomy between her appearance and her demeanor. A self-effacing image might enhance her ability to find freelance work, but it could also hide a more sinister purpose.
    She was far better off than her simple clothing suggested. The flat was