Twin Targets by Marta Perry Read Free Book Online Page B

had died and gave him the information about the service. I guess she was surprised that he wasn’t here today.”
    “It doesn’t make sense. If he was involved with the men who killed Ruby, he’d know that she was dead. Why would he come looking for her?”
    She was thinking again, the shock fading from her face.
    “I don’t know.” There was way too much they didn’t know about this case, and he couldn’t investigate and protect Jade at the same time. “I promise you, we’re going to look into it. Now, let’s just leave.”
    “No.” Her jaw set. “I’m not running away.” She nodded toward the cemetery. “They’re almost ready. We’d better go.”
    “Jade—”
    She jerked her arm free of his restraining hand. “I’m going. Do what you want.”
    She set off, and he caught up with her in a few long strides. He took her arm, his grip tightening when she tried to pull away.
    “All right, all right. But you’ll stay close to me.” He didn’t make it an option.
    She jerked a nod, and together they walked to the canopy. The metal folding chairs were cold with an intensity that pierced through fabric to skin. The pastor must have realized that, as he kept the interment mercifully short. A final scripture, a final prayer, and then they stood together as the casket was lowered into the earth.
    “The Lord is my Shepherd…” Pastor Davison began, and the others joined him in saying the familiar words. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death… Had Ruby remembered that the Lord was holding out His hand to her in that final moment?
    Jade seemed to tremble, as if her legs wouldn’t hold her up any longer. Micah clamped his arm around her as the final amen was said. The sooner they got out of here, the better.
    “It’s not going to take much more time to see Ruby’s apartment.” She understood Micah’s urgency to get her away from Brownsville, but this might be her only chance to understand her sister’s life, if not her death. “What harm can it do?”
    “It’s running an unnecessary risk.” Micah sounded as if he was gritting his teeth. Still, he pulled up at the old home where Ruby’s apartment was on the second floor.
    “Let’s make it brief, okay?”
    “Yes, of course,” she said as she got out. She was getting what she wanted, so she’d try to be agreeable. “Pastor Davison said he’d make arrangements to have the apartment cleared and donate everything to charity, once I’ve taken anything I want to keep. And after all, it would look odd if I just left. I suppose if I weren’t here your office would handle that.”
    “We would.” He didn’t sound convinced that this was a good idea, but he led the way up the narrow stairway. At the top, he held out his hand for the key.
    “I can get it.…”
    He took the key Pastor Davison had provided out of her hand. “I’ll go in first. Stay put.”
    The steel in his voice reminded her that danger might still exist, even here. She nodded, standing pressed against the wall while he unlocked the door, eased it open and then disappeared inside.
    “Okay, come in.” He held the door for her. “It’s been searched, both by the shooters and by the crime scene team. They tried to put things to rights afterward. There’s no way of knowing if anything is missing.”
    Her stomach clenched. She walked into the rooms where Ruby had spent the last months of her life. The apartment was small and old-fashioned, but Ruby must have made an effort to brighten it up. She’d put a bright quilt on the sagging sofa and hung prints of Montana scenes on the walls. The kitchen was in one end of the living room, and the table against the window must have been Ruby’s dining room.
    “There’s not much to it.” Micah opened the door on the opposite side of the room. “The bedroom and bath are through here.”
    A framed photo of a group of women sat on one of the end tables. She picked it up. They were posed around a Christmas tree, and