The Seductive Impostor by Janet Chapman Read Free Book Online Page B

same smell earlier, when he had walked from the car into the house. Had his thief hidden in the bushes?
    Impossible. Kee knew security systems, and Sub Rosa’s system was state of the art. Until he had turned it off at the gate, nothing larger than a mouse could have gotten onto the property.
    So where had she come from? And what had she wanted?
    â€œKee? Where’s Joan go—Hey, man. What happened to you?”
    Kee looked up to find Jason standing in the doorway with a surprised look on his face. “Did you catch her?” Kee asked.
    Jason frowned at him. “Joan?” His eyes widened, and he grinned as he shook his head. “She did this to you?”
    Kee finally stood up, the knit cap still in his hand. He held it up for Jason to see. “No, not Joan. The other woman.”
    â€œWhat other woman, boss?” Jason asked, suddenly serious.
    Kee stiffly walked into the hall and looked toward the stairs. “Did you come up the front way?”
    â€œYes.”
    He turned back to Jason. “Then you must have seen her.” He held the hat up again, at shoulder height this time. “A short woman, dressed in black, limping and using a cane. She headed for the stairs.”
    Jason shook his head.
    â€œWell, dammit, find her! Before she leaves the grounds. I want to know what she was after.”
    Kee didn’t have to ask twice. Jason all but ran in the same direction the intruder had taken.
    â€œAnd find Duncan!” Kee shouted after him. “And tell him what happened.”
    That last order given, Kee hit the wall switch, flooding the library with light. He walked to the closet and looked inside, and immediately spotted the crumpled backpack sitting against the far wall. He picked it up and opened it, and pulled out an equally crumpled towel. Other than that, it was empty. He turned and looked around the library.
    What had she been after?
    Kee shook his head, disgusted with himself. If nothing else, his thief had certainly gotten an earful. She had been sitting in the closet the whole time Joan had methodically listed off each and every one of his impressive flaws.
    Which was probably why the lady had been daring enough to take such a dangerous shot at him.
    Kee slowly walked back to the library door and looked down the hall in the direction she had run. Where had she disappeared to that Jason hadn’t seen her when he came up the stairs? Could she still be in the house?
    Kee stepped into the hall, intending to find out, when his foot sent something skidding across the marble floor. He walked across the hall and picked up the object, turning it over in his hand to examine it.
    It was a hair clip. Heavy, metal, in the shape of a lobster boat. The light glinted off the colorful enamel.
    It wasn’t a cheap hair clip, but a finely crafted piece of jewelry. The boat was white and red, with a delicate gold chain wrapped around the miniature pulley that hoisted the lobster traps onto the boat. Several tiny traps sat on the stern, and orange and green buoys littered the open deck just behind the tiny wheelhouse.
    Delicate. Precise. Handcrafted.
    Kee remembered then the sound of something hitting the floor at about the same time he had.
    The hair clip belonged to his intruder.
    Well, hell. What sort of thief wore expensive jewelry to a break-in? For that matter, what idiot broke into a house when she needed a cane just to get around?
    Kee closed his fist over the clip and adjusted the front of his pants. He was going to ache like the devil for at least a week. His intruder, who’d barely come up to his chin, was suicidal. If she’d missed by even an inch, he might have instinctively retaliated and done her serious harm.
    He adjusted his pants again, deciding he still might.
    Just as soon as he discovered who she was.
    Which he would. She was a local, considering her taste in hair clips. And the reckless lady didn’t know it, but she had just crossed the path of a