Sooner or Later by Debbie Macomber Read Free Book Online

Within seconds a crowd had gathered, scrambling for the clean clothes, creating a commotion behind him.
    “You can’t do that,” Letty cried again. “Those things are for Luke.”
    She might have entered the fray herself if he hadn’tstuffed the empty suitcase into the closest trash can. Two toothless old men battled for that.
    “Why…what about Luke?” Letty looked as if she were about to burst into tears.
    “Let’s get something straight right now,” Murphy barked. “If you come into Zarcero with me, you do exactly what I say without question. The minute you contradict or argue with me, the whole deal’s off. Understand?”
    A rapid transformation came over her as she straightened her shoulders and nodded. “It would be crazy to pay you this ridiculous fee if I didn’t bow to your expertise,” she agreed, but glanced longingly at the clothes that had once belonged to her brother. “I’ll trust you to supply whatever Luke needs when we locate him.”
    Murphy resisted the urge to remind her Luke was already dead. Far be it for him to burst her bubble. If she chose to believe her brother remained alive, it was her problem.
    “We wait over there.”
    Together they crossed the street. Traffic buzzed past with little regard for safety. Rotting garbage was heaped up against the curb, the stench bad enough to make him want to gag. Murphy saw a rat crawl over it and wondered if Letty had seen it, too. As if she’d read his mind, she glanced at him and grimaced.
    “You can wait in a clean hotel while I go into Zarcero if you want,” he suggested, hoping she’d see the wisdom of his offer.
    As he suspected she would, Letty rejected him with a hard shake of her head.
    Murphy groaned inwardly. This was supposed to be his vacation, a little R & R before going back into the field. Instead he’d allowed himself to be outmaneuvered by the sister of a dead missionary. He just hoped Jack had the decency not to tell the others about the mess he’d gotten himself finagled into.
    A jeep careened around the corner, and Murphy recognized Ramirez. He’d worked with the dark-skinned contact a couple of years earlier. Not only was Ramirez capable of providing the necessary supplies, his information was generally accurate.
    The contact slammed on the brakes in front of the curb and smiled at Murphy, revealing a row of brown teeth. Without further delay, Murphy tossed his duffel bag into the back of the jeep and leaped into the front seat. Letty had a bit of difficulty and wasn’t completely inside when Ramirez stepped on the gas and drove off. From his peripheral vision, Murphy saw Letty fall face first into the back, and he laughed silently. To her credit, she didn’t cry out or complain, although he was certain her feathers had been ruffled.
    “Who’s the woman?” Ramirez asked in Spanish.
    “No one important,” he returned.
    “What’s she doing here?”
    Murphy wasn’t in the mood for long explanations. “You don’t want to know.”
    Ramirez frowned. “Is she trouble?”
    “No,” he returned with a deep sigh, “just a royal pain in the ass.”

5
    Jack Keller played back the message on his answering machine twice, certain he’d missed something. It was Murphy’s voice all right, but Keller had a difficult time believing what his friend was saying.
    He’d done it. By heaven, Murphy had actually agreed to escort the do-gooder’s sister into Zarcero. Keller wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t heard it with his own ears. His fellow mercenary didn’t sound any too pleased about it, either. From the background noise, he must have phoned from the airport.
    Ignoring the pain in his ribs, Keller sat back, folded his hands behind his head, and propped his feet on the ottoman. He couldn’t help wondering what had brought on this bout of altruism. Jack grinned, knowing full well Murphy’s feelings about this assignment. Either this postmistress had more money than God or she’d fed Murphy one hell of a