SEE HER DIE by Debra Webb Read Free Book Online Page A

wrapped her arms around herself again, feeling cold. “No, but it puts me at the top of the suspect list.”
    Gloria frowned suddenly, as if she’d just remembered something important. “You said this MacBride is from the FBI?”
    Elizabeth nodded.
    “Why would the FBI investigate a simple homicide case?”
    Not sure she could answer that one, Elizabeth could only speculate. “They must think his murder is connected to others or,” she turned her hands up, “to some other criminal activity where the feds have jurisdiction.”
    “Or maybe we’ve just seen too many TV dramas,” Gloria teased, acting more like her old self now. “Maybe the cops asked for their help since it’s such a high-profile case. The media will be all over every aspect of the investigation.”
    “Could be.” Another thought occurred to Elizabeth. She shook her head in frustration. “It’d be just my luck that they think I’m some sort of serial killer.”
    Gloria started to smile, then gasped and pressed her hand to her chest “Speaking of murder, I almost forgot” She grabbed the newspaper she’d tossed on the bench seat next to her. “Look at this.” She spread it open on the table.
    She pointed to a headline that read Fashion Designer Found Murdered. Elizabeth skimmed the brief article. The details were gruesome.
    “Remember her?”
    Elizabeth glanced from the unnerving article to her friend. “Should I?”
    “Look at the picture.” She tapped the photo to the left of the article.
    Recognition dawned. The long-legged, raven-haired beauty at the funeral. The one with the Johnny Depp lookalike for an escort. “Oh, my God.” She looked up at Gloria. “She sat a couple rows in front of us at the funeral.”
    Gloria nodded. “The scuttlebutt is that someone in the industry did in the hottest new competition.”
    “My God,” Elizabeth repeated. She stared at the article. Who gave the press permission to print such grim specifics? Weren’t those details supposed to be kept hush-hush? The woman’s body had been found in her bedroom. Her throat had been slashed. “What kind of person could do that to another human being?”
    “Yeah, really.” Gloria tapped the newspaper. “That’s the murder your FBI agent should be investigating. Not wasting time on some bastard who only got what he deserved.”
    Elizabeth refolded the paper so she wouldn’t have to look at the woman’s picture. It was definitely too much right before lunch. “I’ll be sure to tell him that at our five o’clock meeting.”
    Gloria tensed. “You have to talk to him again today?”
    Elizabeth nodded. “At Twenty-Six Federal Plaza.” Seeing Gloria’s gaping expression, she added, “I think he’s trying to intimidate me into a confession.”
    “Don’t tell him anything he doesn’t need to know,” Gloria warned again. “In fact, I’ll talk to a friend of mine about a good attorney for you, if you’d like.”
    A worried sigh escaped Elizabeth. “I hope it doesn’t come to that.”
    “I don’t think it will.” Gloria sounded a lot more confident than Elizabeth felt. “But it would be nice to have the right name to toss around. It might even get the feds off your back.”
    “Good idea.”
    The waitress zipped by, pausing only long enough to deposit their salads and ask if they needed anything else, to which they both replied no.
    Elizabeth dribbled ranch dressing over her salad, noting that Gloria did not. Her friend was extremely calorie-conscious. Elizabeth supposed it paid to be when you spent twelve hours a day behind a desk. Gloria had made the comment on several occasions that the asses of her female coworkers got wider every day. Gloria had no intention of following that trend. The one good thing about Elizabeth’s line of work was that she got plenty of exercise.
    She smacked her forehead with the heel of her hand. She’d almost forgotten again. “How’s your niece?”
    Gloria appeared taken aback by the question. “She’s