PENITENCE: An Andi Comstock Supernatural Mystery, Book 2 (95,893 words) by Ann Simas Read Free Book Online Page B

without her.”
    “That’s good.”
    “My brother invited him for the Super Bowl party, so you can catch up with him then.”
    “I thought they only met once, at the Christmas party.”
    “I guess they got to talking about remodeling. You know those firefighters. Whenever they’re off duty, they’re doing some kind of carpentry or other. Dell discovered that Vaughn wants to add an outbuilding on his property for a home office, so he can work away from the kids, but still be close to home.” She added a little facetiously, “My brother is now an expert on home construction, you know, since he built his house.”
    Jack chuckled. “I do know that. He’s been trying to talk me into building one so he can come help with it.”
    “He needs to find a wife so he doesn’t have so much free time,” Andi said.
    “You don’t have to have a wife to occupy your spare time,” Jack responded. “A girlfriend will do just as well.”
    “You should know.” Andi had a different opinion on the subject, but she kept it to herself. Yeah, she’d thought about a long-term relationship with Jack, as in married to Jack, but he’d never given any indication that it was on his bucket list, so she sure as heck wasn’t going to bring it up. Besides, things were going well between them. Why rock the boat?
    “Did you hear from your Smokie today?”
    “Nope. No Clem, no Smokie whatsoever.” Should she tell him what Vaughn had to say about Clem, or save it until he returned?
    “I gave the LT a heads-up that you might be contacting her on a possible case.”
    “Good to know. I’m hoping Clem talks to me again tomorrow. I have this horrible feeling that time is running out for Denise.”
    “Don’t go getting yourself all riled up about it. Until you know all the facts, you can’t do anything about it, nor should you.”
    “Yeah, but if I knew—”
    “Andi, stop! You don’t even know how far along in the process he was.”
    “His exact words were, ‘I hired someone to kill her.’ I’d say that pretty much tells me exactly where he was in the process.”
    Jack’s huge sigh of either impatience or capitulation traveled over the line and left her wondering what would come out of his mouth next.
    She didn’t have to wait long to find out.
    “That’s one of the things I love most about you, Andi. You have a fine brain and you know how to use it.” He paused a moment, then continued. “You also have common sense and I hope to hell you’ll remember to utilize it when Clem speaks to you again.”
    Stuck on Jack using the word love in a sentence that pertained to her, she almost missed the lecture he’d imparted in the next breath. “I’m not twelve, Jack. You don’t have to scold me about using my common sense.”
    “I know that, babe, but sometimes I just think you forget you have common sense. You get caught up in the moment or something and it goes out the window.”
    “You should have stopped while you were ahead, Jack. I need to go.”
    “Andi, wait—”
    “I can’t. Someone’s here and it’s not someone who’s living.”
    . . .
    I did something bad, Andi, and I don’t know how to fix it.
    “I can help you, Clem, if you’ll let me.”
    How? I don’t even know the name of the person I hired.
    Andi felt like screaming. How could he not know who he hired? “Let’s start from the beginning, shall we? Once you decided to hire a hit man to kill your wife, how did you find someone to do it?”
    It’s so damned simple. You go on the Internet to a hitman site. He listed the URL and the steps he followed with rapid-fire delivery. You email them your details. In return, you get instructions on how to access their secure online forms. They find you a killer, based on your needs. You agree to the amount they charge, which includes expenses. You give them a down payment. You agree to make the final payment within seventy-two hours of the hit. You choose how you want it done, and when. Or you can be surprised.
    Andi