Reasonable Doubt by Carsen Taite Read Free Book Online Page B

She’s a bit of a cad.”
    “I am not. I just believe in taking life by the horns. Enjoying every moment. Even when I find myself at a stuffy event, I’m bound and determined to have a little fun. Besides, I was paying a compliment. Nothing wrong with that, is there?”
    The candor Ellery had found annoying at the courthouse was refreshing in this venue full of people posing in order to garner votes. What harm could come from engaging in a little light banter? She raised her bottle. “Thanks for the compliment. Special Agent, huh? Is that a nickname or do you have a badge to back that up?”
    “Oh, I have a badge, a gun, the whole thing. Would you like to see it?”
    Danny cleared her throat. “Okay, that’s my cue to find Ellen and see if she needs anything. You two have fun. Sarah, if you’re going to leave without me, at least have the courtesy to send me a text.”
    As Danny walked away, Ellery took a long pull on her beer and tried to remember that she too was here with a date. Sarah’s flirting was fun in the abstract, but she had no business flirting back when she planned to leave with April at the end of the evening. Time to strike a more serious tone. “Seriously, what agency are you with?”
    Sarah looked around, like she was searching for an exit, and Ellery was instantly sorry she’d asked the question. She started to change the subject, but Sarah replied, “FBI. I just transferred from D.C.”
    “No wonder we’ve never crossed paths. What division?”
    “Fraud. Nothing flashy.”
    “Do I detect a slight bit of regret?”
    “No, it’s just been a big adjustment for me. I mean the move. Different place, people. You know.”
    Ellery sensed there was more to this adjustment than Sarah was letting on, but she didn’t push. “How do you know Danny?”
    “Uh, I met her through work. You know, all paths lead to the same place kind of thing.”
    Again with the evasiveness. A local assistant district attorney and an FBI agent stationed in the nation’s capital weren’t likely to just run into each other at work. There was something about their connection that Sarah wasn’t willing to share, which made Ellery instantly curious. It’s none of your business. Before she could process her thoughts, Sarah changed the subject.
    “So, Danny says you used to practice law, but now you’re doing something else?”
    “I restore and repurpose furniture.”
    “That’s a bit of a change.”
    “Sometimes you need a change to make you feel alive. You know what I mean?”
    Sarah didn’t answer right away, but Ellery could tell by the light in her eyes, the idea resonated. Finding comfort in the warmth reflected back at her, she stared a bit too long into Sarah’s eyes. She was still staring when she heard a voice over her shoulder and the feel of an arm around her waist.
    “Ellery, dear, I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” April’s voice held a low, possessive growl. “Jana Kaplan would like to meet you. She’s running for city council and she has some great ideas about small business development that I told her you would love to hear.”
    Ellery glanced at April and then back at Sarah who didn’t appear to have broken her stare. She cast about for some way to keep the connection. “April Landing, meet Sarah Flores.”
    April reached out a hand. “A pleasure to meet you. Any chance you’re related to Angel Flores, the city councilman?”
    Ellery shook her head at April’s inability to turn off the networking gene.
    “Not that I know of,” Sarah said, a hint of mischief in her eyes. “Is he one of the honest ones?”
    “She’s new in town,” Ellery said, offering April a fake smile. Ellery knew April well enough to know she was conducting an internal calculation of how nice she had to be to the new girl based on how valuable she might be to her in the future. FBI agent might hold a lot of credibility for some people, but for April, a politician or business mogul was much more interesting.