Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 84002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“This is your housewarming present or your moving in present whichever works. Try the stereo.” She fumbled with the controls until the first bars of her favorite song filled the inside of the SUV. He doesn’t miss a trick. She played around with the different dials and buttons as she made her way down the drive and didn’t lose that grin until she was well within the town proper.
Don peeped out from behind the curtains of this home and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the coast was clear. Last night had been a long one, and he had the welts on his ass and the sting there to remind him. That’s not what had him so worried this morning, though. As time went by, his angst grew stronger instead of waning. He knew as careful as they’d been, there was always the chance that something had been overlooked.
Now he was looking out his window every few minutes, expecting to see flashing lights and sirens blaring. Each time he looked and found nothing, the relief was tinged with more fear. The longer this went on, the more afraid he became.
He headed back to the bedroom and paced back and forth, giving serious thought to packing up and leaving. But on the off chance that no one ever made the connection between him and the dead girl, he didn’t want to bring attention to himself by making such a move so soon after her murder.
He knew on some level that he was being paranoid. If no one made the connection, why would they give a fig about him leaving town at a time like this, but he couldn’t escape his own thoughts. His overnight visitor who had only left a little more than an hour ago hadn’t set his mind at ease one bit.
There was nothing different in her actions last night that would give him any indication as to whether or not she was the one responsible. He hoped not, not after the hell he’d gone through to protect her the last time. Besides, he was getting too old to be picking up stakes and moving again.
He barely spared a thought for the young girl whose life had been lost. Women like her are a dime a dozen after all, and chances are he would’ve grown tired of her soon enough and moved onto the next best thing to come along.
But now, with this thing hanging over his head like a darkening cloud, he couldn’t drum up the strength to care about his profligacy. As long as the cops never caught his scent, he was sure he’d find someone else to take her place soon enough. But for now, he thought it best to lay low.
He debated staying home but decided going to the office was probably for the best. Just stick to the usual routine, and no one would be the wiser. He spent the time getting dressed, thinking about a ready excuse if his affair with the deceased did come to light, though. He wasn’t too much worried about himself; his online presence should be enough to prove that he hadn’t left the house the night before.
No, his fear was more to do with what else they might find if they went snooping into his affairs. One wrong move and his whole house of cards would come tumbling down. There was a way he could explain away their association, but only if she’d gotten rid of the stupid notes.
He was sure that she’d erased their texts since she didn’t want her husband to find out, but what about the little notes he liked to send her? Without them, he could always claim that she was a client or that she was interested in hiring him in any case.
He got the bright idea to falsify and backdate records once he reached the office just in case it came to that. He also did some digging to find out the name of the detective working on the case, but there wasn’t much more to go on than that. There was no news other than that the investigation was ongoing, and he didn’t know if that meant that they hadn’t found anything as yet.
In his drawer was the stationery he’d written the love notes he’d given to Melissa on along with some other keepsakes he’d held onto from their short time together. He ran his finger over the matchbox he’d taken from the strip club his last night there and wondered if he should toss it since it had the name of the place embossed on it.
He put everything away when he heard his assistant enter the outer office and tried to look less worried than he was when she opened his office door minutes later with her morning greeting. She just smiled as she brought his first cup of coffee and set it down in front of him.