The Heart of Lies by Debra Burroughs Read Free Book Online Page A

whole truth until I do.”
    Just then, the Lexus pulled in and parked. A middle-aged, balding man with a paunch climbed out and headed into the hotel, carrying a briefcase. Emily recognized him from the photo her client had provided.
    He didn’t come with anyone. He must be meeting her at the room.
    “Sorry, Colin, but I need to go.” Emily kept her eyes on the man.
    She hung up, then stuck the small camera in her front jeans pocket. Emily glanced around the parking lot as she hurried to the hotel.
    Entering the lobby, she saw Trudi standing behind the check-in counter, her red hair neatly pulled back in a French twist, dressed in her forest green hotel uniform. Catching her eye, Trudi nodded her head toward the bar. Emily hung back and peeked in. The man was talking to the bartender, ordering drinks to be brought up to the room perhaps.
    Emily eased backward, around the corner and out of sight, before the man turned to come out of the bar. She inconspicuously waited for him to get on the elevator. Then she glanced around the lobby before ducking into the hotel bar to wait, giving the man time to get to his room and become involved in whatever questionable activity he had planned.
    Standing in the doorway, she took a quick look around the dimly-lit room, searching for a small table where she could sit alone and wait. Her breath stopped as she caught a glimpse of Lucas, sitting at a table in the corner, with a dark-haired woman. The woman’s back was to Emily, and she couldn’t tell who she was, a potential investor maybe.
    Lucas leaned over and whispered something in the woman’s ear and she looked to the side and laughed. It was Fiona.
    Surprise mixed with anger sizzled just below the surface, sending heat to Emily’s face. Should she go and confront them? Were they carrying on behind Maggie’s back? Maybe it was just an innocent drink after work with a co-worker. Either way, she didn’t have time to deal with it right now, especially with the wig and glasses, but it would not be overlooked.
    She checked her watch, then peeked again in Lucas and Fiona’s direction. She figured she should wait at least twenty minutes for her mark to settle in and his guest to arrive, so she had a few minutes to do a little reconnaissance. Feeling her wig and glasses to make sure her disguise was in place, she nonchalantly moved to a table next to theirs.
    “Can I get you anything, ma’am?” a young waiter asked, taking Emily by surprise and putting her on the spot. Now she’d have to speak, which may expose her.
    “No thanks, I’m waiting for a friend.” Emily raised her voice a few decibels and answered sweetly. She watched out of the corner of her eye for any hint of recognition by Lucas or Fiona, but there was none. The pair was speaking to each other in low tones, and Emily’s conversation with the waiter obliterated any chance of overhearing what they might have said.
    The waiter left her alone as Lucas and Fiona stood. Lucas threw a fifty on the table and they walked out. Either Lucas is a big tipper or they’ve been here awhile .
    Maggie taught an aerobics class at the Y on Monday evenings, so she’d never suspect Lucas would be with anyone else. Emily shook her head, trying to focus. Maybe it was all these wayward men she’d been tailing that made her hypersensitive to the situation.
    Checking her watch again, she decided she’d left the man upstairs long enough—it was time to pay him a visit. She went to the front desk.
    “Room three-ten,” Trudi muttered, looking around as she discreetly handed the hotel jacket to Emily.
    “Did you see anyone come in who may have gone up to his room? A woman perhaps?” Emily asked, keeping her voice down.
    “No, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t have let someone in through the side door,” Trudi uttered lowly.
    “All right. Thanks.” Emily turned toward the elevator.
    “Go get him, girl.”
    “Will do.” Emily smiled, grateful for the help, and moved to the