Trouble Comes Knocking (Entangled Embrace) by Mary Duncanson Read Free Book Online Page A

guard.”
    Eli flashed an I’m-way-better-than-that-guy kind of smile. “You mean the scrawny kid at the reception desk?”
    My hackles rose at his obvious insult. “He’s a nice guy. And he’s not scrawny. He’s slender. I’m slender. You’re just big. And your shoulders are too wide.”
    His laughter sounded nothing less than smug. “Whatever floats your boat, Lucy. The kid looks like a stiff wind would knock him over.”
    John did not. In fact, after seeing him shirtless I could honestly say the guy had muscles on top of muscles. Lean but definitely not weak by any means. I huffed. “Are we here to talk about John or the investigation?”
    “You brought him up.”
    Crossing my arms, I waited for him to either apologize or keep going.
    “Fine.” He pulled a folder from his briefcase and took a sip from his steaming cup of coffee. “We’ve talked to everyone in accounting, and they all had alibis but one, and she didn’t have a reason to stand out.”
    “Names?”
    “Can’t give you those.”
    Well, that chapped me. “How am I supposed to compare what I have with what you have if I don’t have names to work with?” As I bit into my muffin, some of the crumbs slipped into my bra. Great, more for later .
    From the look on Eli’s face, he hadn’t missed the descent, either. Still, he had the decency to look up after only one ah-hem , which was nice.
    He folded his papers together, stuffing them back into his folder, and pulled out a notebook. “You’re unofficial right now. I can’t give you information because none of this is being released to anyone outside the department. If that changes, I can fill you in, but until then, I’m afraid it will be a one-sided dialogue.”
    I started to open my mouth to argue when he interrupted.
    “And why does it matter anyway? You get paid the same regardless of what I give you. You’re getting paid for what you give me.”
    Which squashed the argument. “Clive Brewster. I hope he’s not involved. He’s the boyfriend of a coworker, and he works in Central Processing. The only information Mr. Winters gave me on the day I talked to him was that department, so I’ll be starting there.”
    “And what makes you think Brewster might be involved somehow?”
    I explained to him about the party and the meeting. Also my suspicions about Diana.
    “So, really, you don’t like the way they met or the fact that he hasn’t proposed so you’re throwing his name out there.”
    Why, why, why had I agreed to be a part of this? I could have left HGR, gone on to find a job at some coffee shop, like the flirty barista here, and started my life over. Again.
    Thinking about Dee, I reminded myself I have to take care of her now. I took a deep breath. “You know what I do, how I don’t forget things. Well, it also makes me have strong gut instincts. Diana had my job before me. If Clive and she were trying to slip something through data entry, wouldn’t they need someone to pin it on in the end?”
    “Makes sense. Anything else?”
    The numbers changed. The day I came back I’d noticed but hadn’t wanted to tell Eli yet. I don’t know who swapped them out, but all the numbers from this week added up. I’m sure his analyst would figure out the same thing in no time, but if he held things back, I figured I should, too. Besides, if I could trace down the person who changed the numbers, I could maybe trace down who killed Mr. Winters. “Not yet,” I said. “But as soon as I have something, I’ll give it to you.”
    He finished his coffee, and we stood together. “Here’s the thing, Lucy. I don’t know who killed Mr. Winters, and I don’t want you to risk your safety. If at any point it looks like things are getting too dangerous, I will pull you. Do you understand me?”
    Apparently I wasn’t the only one with an eerily psychic ability to read people. “Trust me, I don’t want to die over a few dollars.”
    “Good.”
    He walked me to the door, placing his hand on