Some Like It in Handcuffs by Christine Warner Read Free Book Online Page A

could restock the upstairs cooler. The perfect opportunity to go through the last section of Benny’s file cabinet since he was circling the room chatting with the regulars to get them to buy more drinks. Although convinced he hadn’t been involved in Karina’s murder, she hoped to come across something that would aid in her investigation. So far the file cabinet wielded nothing spectacular, just business receipts and correspondence from beer distributors.
    The door to his office stood open and the lamp on his desk filtered across the room, giving her just enough light to finger through the files. The beat of the music upstairs shook the walls and her heart thumped in the same rhythm.
    If someone discovered her snooping in Benny’s office, she’d lose her job for sure, and that would destroy her whole investigation. Not only that, but it could send her back to square one in trying to prove to her family she could handle this type of case.
    Sunny held her hand over her chest and stopped breathing when she stood midway inside the small windowless office to listen. Satisfied she hadn’t been followed, she pulled the remaining drawer open. Hopefully tonight the gray metal file cabinet would be more revealing.
    Sunny shuffled through the folders, glancing over her shoulder on occasion when her peripheral vision caught imaginary movement, or the hairs on the back of her neck prickled. Nobody was covering the bar, so she couldn’t afford to be gone long.
    At the back of the cabinet, a brown accordion folder looked out of place. It wasn’t filed in a slot, but laid flat on the bottom of the drawer. Karina was written across the front of it in bold block style letters which she recognized as Benny’s handwriting. Sunny sucked in her breath and pulled it from the drawer, turned to place it on Benny’s desk and stuck her fingers into the first compartment of the folder.
    What she pulled out made her gasp, there were at least twenty love letters written in flowery, feminine cursive writing on pink and lavender stationary. All signed With Much Love, Karina . This was private, but she couldn’t stop herself from reading some of the beautifully written letters that spoke of love, plans for the future, and the excitement of sharing their lives.
    Sunny swallowed a sob and slipped the letters back inside the folder. The other slots were filled with similar remembrances that only a man in love would cherish and save. Pictures of Benny and Karina taken at various areas around the city, their smiling faces filled with adoration.
    The stairs creaked, the weight of somebody moving down the steps forced her to tuck the pictures inside one of the pockets and shove the folder inside the drawer. Beads of sweat formed on her upper lip as she turned from the file cabinet at the same moment Slater stepped into view.
    “What ya doing little lady? Not lost are ya?” The dim lighting cast a shadow over Slater’s face to reveal his tightly twisted lips. A shiver clung to her spine, but she grabbed a pen from Benny’s desk, swiped the sweat from her lip and looked up at him smiling.
    “Lost? Not likely.” Sunny laughed, hoping it sounded natural. She’d almost been caught, hell maybe she still was. “I wanted to write Benny a note to order extra of that specialty beer he’s trying out. It’s selling like crazy, a great money maker.” She wrote a quick sentence on a pad of paper. Sweat percolated across the back of her neck, she brushed her free hand along the cool skin and tossed the pencil on Benny’s desk. When she looked up, Slater gave her his infamous stare, and even though her heart beat in her chest like a gorilla trapped in a bird cage, she matched it with one of her own.
    At least the beer had been a big hit, so it really was something she’d planned to mention to Benny. Her main concern at present was if Slater had seen her in the cabinet. She waited for his response. It took forever as he rubbed his chin while he regarded her