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Ep9
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LIES OF HOPE Ep10
I stood for a moment outside the shiny glass doors of the sleek ten-story building that housed Bowler & Brothers. I needed to catch my breath after racing the five blocks I had traveled from the garage, since the gated lot was “permit-only”. Why hadn’t I thought to ask about the parking situation? I looked down at my sturdy, flat boots. Thank God I wasn’t a stiletto kind of girl. I wondered if Anders went for the phony, high-maintenance type. Probably not, I decided. He seemed like a man who enjoyed getting his hands dirty, maybe in more ways than one.These thoughts were certainly not helping slow my heart rate, so I pretended I was watching a round of golf until a yawn nearly split my face in half. Worked like a charm.I pushed open the door and was met with a swirl of cool air and vanilla musk. The faux marble lobby was empty and my steps echoed as I moved toward the bank of elevators on the opposite side of the room.
LIES OF HOPE Ep11
Hello officers,” Elroy said with an expansive smile as he ushered Jason and Dillon into his office.“Detectives,” Jason corrected with an edge to his voice. He knew his dislike for the smug bastard was evident, but didn’t really care. He pushed his way past the man, leaving Dillon to follow behind. Elroy, however, gave no indication that he had picked up on the disdain that oozed from Jason’s, thick as molasses.“Please, have a seat,” Elroy said, and damned if the man wasn’t preening at the attention. “I assume this is about that reporter who persecuted me yesterday.”“Persecuted?” Jason echoed. “That’s a rather strong word, don’t you think?”“Not under the circumstances,” he said. “She was wantonly disrespectful.”“Wantonly,” Jason said. “Another interesting word choi
LIES OF HOPE Ep12
Jason was thinking about Elroy, Jessie, and the unholy mess this case had become when he opened his front door and was nearly toppled by thetempêtewho hurled herself at him, tears streaming down her tiny face.“She’s gone, Daddy!” the little girl cried, burying her head in the crook of his neck when he knelt down to her level. “Mouse’s gone.”Jason looked up at Tess, who stood behind his distraught daughter.“A kitten,” she answered his questioning look. “There was a stray kitten outside this morning and this ’possede’,” she said, borrowing her employer’s Cajun slang for “mischievous child”, “brought her in and tried to give her a bowl of milk. We’ve spent the whole day entertaining the little thing, but I made the mistake of stepping outside, and she shot out of here like a bat out of you-know-where.”
LIES OF HOPE Ep13
I stepped from the buzz of street noise into the throb of music and jangle of voices raised to be heard over the jukebox. A single muted television above the bar cast a blue glow that tinged a darkened corner a hazy gray. I could see a man sitting in the niche; the lone occupant of a table near the now defunct payphone. He was lanky with a long, patrician nose and receding hairline. He wore a well-cut suit and expensive loafers.“Feeling a little melodramatic?” I asked as I slid onto the chair opposite him.“Not in the slightest,” he answered, that mellifluous voice contrasting with the cacophony surrounding us. “I simply wanted our chat to take place on neutral ground, away from our respective comfort zones. I trust this isn’t a place you spend a great deal of time?”“No,” I said. The bars I tended to frequent were even worse than this one, but he didn’t need to know that.
LIES OF HOPE Ep14
Too bright. That was my first conscious thought – even with my eyes shut tight, everything was way too bright. And loud. I couldn’t make sense of what the sounds were, but they, along with the damned lights, had jolted me out of a wonderful, deep sleep. I desperately wanted to return to that warm fuzzy oblivion, but I couldn’t ignore the distractions. I lifted my lids a tiny crack. Big mistake! Laser beams seared my eyeballs and shot straight up to my brain.“Ack,” I croaked, slamming them shut. I had been trying to curse, but that was a close as I could get, my throat absorbing sounds in the absence of moisture. I had been in a bright room like this nearly 10 years ago. The heartache that accompanied that thought was unbearable.“Jessie?” I heard a familiar voice pierce my eardrums and scatter the fog in my head. “Jessie, baby, are you awake?”Baby? No one had ever called me baby
LIES OF HOPE Ep15
What?” he asked, confused by the quick change in tone and subject.“My head is too muddled right now to deal with more than one thing at a time,” I answered. “So, let’s get to work on solving my father’s murder. All cards on the table.”“Fine,” he said, heaving a sigh and sinking back into the hard hospital chair. “So talk.”“Uh-uh. I’ve already shared a couple of things. Now it’s your turn.”“I don’t think . . .”“All cards on the table,” I repeated. “I give you my word nothing will appear in print without your permission.”He raised one of his expressive brows.“Do you want a blood oath, or what?”A smile lit his beautiful face. “I don’t think we need to do anything that drastic. Besides, I hate the sight
LIES OF HOPE Ep15
What?” he asked, confused by the quick change in tone and subject.“My head is too muddled right now to deal with more than one thing at a time,” I answered. “So, let’s get to work on solving my father’s murder. All cards on the table.”“Fine,” he said, heaving a sigh and sinking back into the hard hospital chair. “So talk.”“Uh-uh. I’ve already shared a couple of things. Now it’s your turn.”“I don’t think . . .”“All cards on the table,” I repeated. “I give you my word nothing will appear in print without your permission.”He raised one of his expressive brows.“Do you want a blood oath, or what?”A smile lit his beautiful face. “I don’t think we need to do anything that drastic. Besides, I hate the sight
LIES OF HOPE Ep16
“Okay,” he said. “So, let’s hear your plan.”Shit! “I don’t have a plan, exactly,” I said. “It’s more of an outline.”“I’m shocked,” he deadpanned.“Look, smartass, we have too many villains and no way of knowing which one committed which crime. We do know that one of them wants me dead.” Jason flinched when I said this, but didn’t interrupt. “If we figure out a way to make him or her think they’ve got an easy shot at me, we’ll have ’em.”“And how do you propose we do that, seeing as how we don’t know who they are?”That was a good question, and I didn’t have an answer – at least not a good one. I did have an idea, but it was mediocre at best.“We make sure all of them know that I’m breaking into Cara’s house to
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