Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91622 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91622 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
“Let’s do this thing.” Mike opened the door.
Sam and the woman across from him turned their way, as Mike, followed by Cole, stepped into the small room. A table, the two chairs, dingy walls, and not much else.
“What’s up?” Sam asked, rising from his chair.
“Seems she’s telling the truth.” He slapped the folder onto the table.
The other woman jumped at the loud sound. Cole would have felt sorry for her if this mess weren’t so serious.
“I told you I’m not Victoria,” she said, pinning Sam with a triumphant look that had her cheeks flushed pink with victory. The other man actually squirmed.
She surprised them by rising from her seat.
Mike stepped in front of the door. “Where do you think you’re going?”
She blinked, startled that the answer wasn’t obvious to them. “I’m not the person you’re looking for, so I’m leaving.”
The hell she was. “Not so fast.” Cole braced his hands on the table. “You were still found trespassing, and we have questions about your sister, so sit. Down.” His voice rose and the woman flinched.
Cole realized his initial impression was right. She was nothing like her sister.
Before he could moderate his tone, Sam jumped from his seat so fast his chair hit the wall behind him.
“Back off,” the younger Marsden snapped at Cole. “This isn’t your interrogation.” The easier brother was suddenly every inch the defender, the in-charge cop Cole knew him to be.
“Everyone calm down.” Mike stepped to the table as Sam righted his chair. “Miss Farnsworth? This is Detective Cole Sanders. He’s NYPD and he has a—”
“You’re Cole? The same Cole my sister’s gone crazy over?” Her light blue eyes settled on his.
“What do you know?” Cole asked, controlling his frustration with her lack of answers. Sam was right. Scaring her wouldn’t accomplish his goal of getting her to talk.
“Why don’t you sit back down?” Sam asked, gesturing to her chair.
She lowered herself into her seat.
“Drink?” Sam asked.
Mike whipped his head around to stare at his brother.
“No, thank you. I’m fine.” She shot Sam a grateful look before glancing at Cole. “Before I answer your questions, I want to know what my sister’s been up to. You tell me that, and I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”
Cole glanced at Mike, then Sam. “You don’t know? You haven’t been in touch with her?”
She folded her arms across her chest and waited. Apparently she was serious. They answered her first. Maybe there was more steel in Nicole’s spine than Cole had previously thought.
Knowing whose jurisdiction he was in, Cole deferred to Mike. “Well?”
The other man shrugged. “Tell her what she wants to know.”
Cole did. From the shooting to disabling Erin’s security, breaking into her home and destroying her clothes, he ran down a laundry list of what they believed Victoria had done to Erin.
Nicole Farnsworth’s face paled. “It’s worse than I thought,” she said, more to herself than to him.
“Now will you tell us what’s going on with your sister? When you last spoke to her, what you know, and why you were at Erin Marsden’s, looking into her side window?” Sam asked, his voice gentler than Cole had ever heard him.
Cole shook his head, hoping the other man knew what he was doing.
“First, drop the charges against me,” she said, taking all three of them by surprise.
Cole stiffened. “That wasn’t the agreement. You asked what your sister had done, and we told you.”
“Well, forgive me for not thinking about everything important all at once. It’s not like I’ve been arrested before! Cuffed, printed, humiliated—” She scowled at Sam. “I’ll tell you this. I was trying to find out what was going on with my sister, and if she’d gone looking for this Erin. And I was going to warn Erin if I saw her.”
“By lurking at her windows and scaring her?” Cole asked in disbelief.
“If I rang the doorbell and either one of you saw my face, would you have let me in for conversation and coffee?” she asked, her sarcasm thick.
Sam let out an unexpected chuckle. “She’s got a point.”
“Shut up,” Cole muttered.
“Drop the charges or I want my lawyer.” Ignoring Cole and Mike, Nicole’s gaze settled on Sam, as if she’d already figured out he was the key to getting what she wanted.
Or she was just responding to the same mental deficiency that had hit Sam.
Mike groaned. “I’ll take care of it. Meanwhile, you.” He pointed at Nicole. “Talk. This is my sister’s life we’re talking about.” Mike stormed out and slammed the door without looking back.
Silence surrounded them, until Sam cleared his throat. “We’ve all got a personal interest in this case. Erin’s my sister too. We need whatever information you can give us about your sister and her plans. Start from the last time you heard from her.”
Nicole ran a shaking hand through her hair. “It’s not that simple. Vicky’s always been . . . unstable is the best word I can give you. She has emotional issues.” She hesitated, as if debating how much to reveal.