The Pursuit of Lies (Book #4, Paradise Valley) by Debra Burroughs Read Free Book Online Page A

you can expect. I talked to them again this morning to check on Jim. Donna had called their doctor to give him some kind of sedative to keep him calm, something that wouldn’t interact with his heart meds. She couldn’t stop crying. Sounded like she could have used some, too.”
    Emily sunk down on the edge of the bed, fighting back tears herself. “I’m sorry to hear that.” She hadn’t met Colin’s parents yet—they lived in San Francisco—but from the way Colin always spoke about them, they sounded like wonderful people. They were thrilled with the engagement, he’d told her.
    “What about your folks, Emily?”
    “Mom passed away before I married Evan, and Dad’s been in a facility for Alzheimer patients since before Mom died. He doesn’t even know me anymore.”
    “Sorry, Emily, I didn’t know. Any other family?”
    “A sister in Maine, but we’re not close. She doesn’t know anything about the engagement. So, if she’d heard that Colin Andrews was arrested for murder, she wouldn’t know who he was anyway.”
    “I feel bad you’re all alone.”
    “I’m not alone, Ernie. I have friends here—they’re my family now. Besides, I don’t want you spending time worrying about me.”
    “I’ll try.”
    “We have more important things to focus on, like this murder. Alex promised to try to get me in to see Colin today.”
    “That’s good. I hope he can get our boy out on bond.”
    “Me too.”
    “Well, I’d better let you go, Emily.”
    “Let me know if you find out anything else.” The search warrant was forefront in her mind.
    ~*~
    Emily slipped back into her little black dress, the only clothes she had at Isabel’s, and went downstairs to talk to her friend, carrying her high heels in one hand and her phone in the other.
    When she walked into the great room, she found Isabel sitting on the sofa, balancing her slim computer on her lap. She glanced up when Emily came in. “Hey, I recognize that dress.”
    “Funny.”
    “So what did Ernie have to say?”
    “He called Colin’s parents last night and let them know what was going on.”
    “How’d that go?”
    “Not well. His mom had to have a doctor sedate his dad. Ernie said Donna was a crying mess.”
    “That’s to be expected.” Isabel set the laptop down on the coffee table. “Come, sit.” She patted the sofa cushion next to her. “Anything else?”
    Emily set her shoes on the floor and took a seat on the sofa, curling her feet under her. “He said he heard the police got a search warrant for Colin’s place, and they’re probably over there right now tearing it apart, looking for the murder weapon.”
    “Alex said she was stabbed to death, so I’m guessing they’re searching for a knife that fits the dimensions of the wounds.”
    “I just wonder what else they’ll find that they will try to use against him.”
    “I’m sure the DA is breathing down their necks to hand him an airtight case, so anything they can use against him, they will.”
    “Any idea when your husband will be back?” Emily grabbed a throw pillow and hugged it in front of her.
    “He didn’t say. Why don’t you go home and change? I’ll have him call you as soon as I hear from him.”
    “I don’t have my car here. We came in Colin’s Jeep and I don’t have his keys.”
    “It wouldn’t make any difference, a tow truck already came and got it early this morning. I ran out there when I heard the noise, and the driver said he had orders to take it to the state crime lab. I’m guessing they’re having the CSI unit go through it.”
    “Great. Then I guess you’ll have to give me a lift home.”
    ~*~
    Once she was in her house, Emily shimmied out of her dress and hopped in the shower. The warm water cascading over her body was at least relaxing. After the night she’d had, she relished this small comfort.
    Her mind drifted to thoughts of Colin, sitting in a stark jail cell. After all the evidence Alex described, Colin’s chances of being