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

exonerated seemed slim. Her chest tightened as she envisioned him there, probably worried and confused. She leaned her head against the tile wall, struggling to understand how their lives could be veering so far off course. Sure, they had been through a lot since they’d met, but this—this was too close to home.
    Heartrending tears began to fall as she thought about last night. It had started out so romantically, so perfectly—his soft warm kisses, their bodies swaying in unison to their new favorite song as his lips gently brushed her neck.
    Not wanting to leave the intimacy of their private dance, they knew they had to. She played the evening over in her mind—the lavish engagement party, the champagne glasses filled and lifted to toast the happy couple. Their perfect evening crashing down on them with the sound of Isabel’s doorbell.
    Emily’s tears turned to wracking sobs. Her shoulders shuddered and her knees went weak. With her arm against the tile, she slid down the wall, where she fell into a heap, the warm water sweeping her tears down the drain.
    She slumped there, naked and crying, until the warm water was gone, left with nothing but icy cold.

Chapter 7
    As Emily turned the shower off, her phone began to ring on the bathroom counter. Quickly wrapping a towel around her chest, she snatched it up and hit the answer button. “Hello.”
    “Emily, this is Alex. I just got home and wanted to bring you up to date.”
    “I was expecting to go with you to see Colin this morning.”
    “Isabel and I thought you should—”
    “I know, I know. But I’m up now and anxious to see him. How’s he doing?”
    “They put him in gen-pop, against my wishes. He was in a couple of fights last night.”
    “How bad is it?”
    “I think the other guys got the worst of it. I convinced them to move him this morning.”
    “They aren’t allowed to do that, are they? Put him in general population I mean.”
    “Detective Roberts claims the order slipped through the cracks somehow. I think Roberts and the other cops probably messed up the paperwork on purpose. They’re treating Colin like a cop killer when he hasn’t even been convicted yet.”
    “Allison wasn’t a cop.”
    “I know, but she was part of the law enforcement community.”
    “I suppose. So when can I see him?”
    “It’ll be more difficult now, but I think I can arrange it for this afternoon.”
    “Have you heard anything about the search they did at his apartment?”
    “Nothing yet. How did you know?”
    “Ernie. What about his Jeep? Isabel said a tow truck picked it up early this morning.”
    “Yeah, but I don’t have any word on that yet either. I doubt we’ll get anything from the Boise police until Monday, after the arraignment.”
    “Call me with the time you want me to meet you at the jail and I’ll be there.”
    “Will do, but be prepared, Em. Colin looks pretty messed up.”
    If she wasn’t already all cried out, the thought of his being hurt might have drawn a tear. Instead, she just got angry. She began to pace around, fuming. “That Detective Roberts thought he was sending a message, putting Colin in the general population. I promise you this, Alex, that Neanderthal will be licking his wounds when I’m done.”
    ~*~
    Emily hurried to get ready for the day, then decided to go to the shooting range to release some stress while she waited for Alex to phone back with the time to meet. The laser focus and power between her hands did relax her and helped clear her head—her new go-to, it worked the way cleaning house used to, when she was upset.
    Oh, how much she had changed since leaving her life as a real estate agent and diving headfirst into her new career as a private investigator. She chuckled at the thought of it, then pulled the trigger—three shots straight to the heart of her paper target. Not bad.
    She emptied the rest of her clip into the target and reloaded for another round.
    Having recently solved the complicated mystery