Ring Around the Rosy by Roseanne Dowell Read Free Book Online

why would he kill for it? It
didn’t make sense. Something still nagged at her. She couldn’t help think there
was a connection.
    She put her hands back on the
keyboard and typed.
    Neither was employed in the
immediate area. George worked at a bank on the East Side of town, and Jack
taught fourth grade at a suburban elementary school. According to police
sources, there are no suspects in the case.
    If anyone found out Dave was her
source, she had a feeling he’d be in big trouble. Well, no one was going to
find out from her.
    There, she hit the fax button on
her laptop and sent the follow-up story. She still didn’t care to divulge the
phone calls. Both victims had lived within a few blocks of her. Maybe their
paths had crossed, too. Mrs. Meliti said George shopped in the grocery, and she
had seen Jack in there several times. Did they know each other? What was the
connection? The motive? Did they know their killer?
    She stood and stretched. Her body
tense from exhaustion. The sun was coming up, but thanks to the shades, her
room wasn’t bathed in sunlight. She lay down on her bed, not even bothering to
undress, and pulled the sheet to her chin. Bella jumped onto the bed and curled
up next to her, fitting her body in the curve of Susan’s arm. Her last
thoughts, before she fell asleep, were of Dave and that kiss.

 
    * * *

 
    Dave maneuvered his car through
traffic. Thoughts of Susan took over his mind. That wasn’t the Susan Weston he
talked to on the phone, the self-assured woman he encountered a couple days
ago. No, she was scared. Sure, she tried to hide it, but he saw the trembling.
And the way she threw herself into his arms. Not that he minded.
    He grinned. Even now, he felt the
softness of her body. He probably should have booked her bracelet into
evidence, but what the hell, who was going to know? Why slow down the
investigation? He’d have to be more careful what he said to her, though.
Tomorrow’s public was going to know the police were clueless.
    She sure recovered quickly enough.
One minute, a frightened little thing, and the next, an investigative reporter.
Maybe that was part of her plan. Appear helpless to get him talking. Damned if
he’d let that happen again.
    Yeah, she had a job to do, but
damn if she was going to manipulate him. Still, her fear was real. She couldn’t
fake that terror- no one was that good an actress.
    Too bad he had to leave her. She
looked so vulnerable, so trusting. His laughter   startled him. He shook his head. Susan was getting to him. His lips
still felt warm from hers. “Damn it.” He slammed the steering wheel. What the
hell was he doing? She’s a witness. It was against everything he believed in to
become involved with a witness.
    He pulled into his drive. He had
to quit this. But damn it, he hadn’t been able to resist the look in her eyes.
She wanted him as much as he wanted her.

 
 
 
 
 
    Chapter Four

 
    The ringing phone woke Susan
several hours later. She rubbed her eyes, sat up, and tried to listen to the
machine, but couldn’t hear it. On her way to the bathroom, she caught the sound
of the voice, but couldn’t hear what he said.
    She played it back while she
called Dave from her cell phone. “Don’t forget Wee Willie... Oh, and Susan, I
don’t like the shades.” Click the line went dead. Oh God, he was watching her.
Thankfully, Dave answered on the first ring. Did the man never sleep? She showered
and changed while she waited for him.
    When Dave arrived, he took the
tape and wasn’t very social, leaving immediately with the same words of
caution. He looked tired, with dark circles under his eyes, his wavy hair in
desperate need of a comb.
    Susan had a full schedule with
numerous errands to run, and lunch with her mother and sisters. After feeding
Bella, she got ready for the day.

 
 
    ***

 
 
    Something stuck out of her wiper
blade — a single red rose. She pulled it out and held the limp flower, looked
around, and