LITMIR.BIZ

Скачать книгу

looked. Her mind went blank, blocking out the terrible image of Veronica’s blood-splattered body.

      She shrieked when she felt someone pulling on her hand, believing she was at the morgue and Veronica had reached out and grabbed her. “You startled me,” she said, seeing Marcus standing over her. At six-one, he had dark hair and hazel eyes with flecks of green in them. His hooded lids gave him a seductive look. Bedroom eyes, her mother used to call them. “I must have dosed off.”

      “Have you been on the floor all night?”

      “I woke up early. I got out of bed because I didn’t want to wake you.”

      Marcus yawned, then stretched his back. “Jump in the shower while I make you some breakfast.”

      Carolyn let him help her to her feet, then wrapped her arms around his waist. “Oh, Marcus,” she sobbed, her head pressed against his chest. “It was so awful. One side of her head was gone.”

      He rubbed the center of her back. “Just relax, okay? You’re exhausted. How is Drew holding up?”

      “I’m not sure,” she said, clasping the lapels on his plaid cotton robe. “I don’t think it’s really sunk in yet. He couldn’t find Jude last night. I need to call and see if she came home.”

      “Not until you get some food in you,” Marcus insisted. “An hour won’t make any difference, Carolyn. This isn’t going to be over in a day. You need your strength. Are you going to be able to take a day off to get yourself together, or do you have to go to the office? We have a meeting scheduled with the caterers tonight at six.”

      “I have to work.” Carolyn began to panic, speaking so fast her mind didn’t have time to keep up with her mouth. “There’s no one else to run the…I’ll have to find someone to take over Veronica’s…we’re already slammed…The new people can’t handle the serious cases.”

      “Calm down,” Marcus said, tilting her chin up and kissing her. “When something like this happens, the best thing you can do is to go about your business. Although it might be better if you stayed at home and got some rest, you’d probably spend the day thinking about Veronica.”

      “We have to cancel the wedding. Please, I don’t want what should be the happiest day of my life to take place now. We’ll pick another date…maybe next month, or after the first of the year. Your secretary should start calling people today. They’ll understand when she explains. Most of my friends know Veronica. If we don’t postpone it, we’ll turn our wedding into a funeral.” She saw the look on disappointment on his face. “I can’t go to meetings with caterers, Marcus. I’m not sure I can get through today, let alone a wedding.”

      “Why don’t we wait a few days?” he said. “See how you feel then. We’ve already booked our trip. The airline tickets arrived just the other day. I don’t want to bring money into the picture, but we’re going to take a bath if we cancel.”

      “I’m not going to change my mind,” Carolyn said, telling him about the threatening letter.

      “Personally, I think it was a prank,” he told her. “People do sick things. I’ve received death threats before, one allegedly from a Middle Eastern terrorist group. That’s the world we live in today, honey. Intimidation and fear rule, but only if you let them.”

      Marcus owned a company that supplied custom software to the military. Because he transported classified codes, he employed a private security team. A man was parked in front of their house now. “I’ll hire more people to keep an eye on us. I’ll even get someone to shadow John in Massachusetts. Your peace of mind is all that matters.”

      “You’re the most wonderful man in the world. Please understand why we have to cancel the wedding.”

      “You don’t need to work, Carolyn,” Marcus said, a stern look on his face. “I can’t have my wife in constant danger. There are more worthwhile things you could do with your time. You could volunteer somewhere, take up golf or tennis, spend more time with Rebecca.”

      “We’ve already discussed this dozens of times.” This was the only conflict they had in their relationship. “There’s no way I can quit now. The police asked me to go through all of Veronica’s cases. Then I’ll have to find out who’s still in prison and who’s been released on parole, get their addresses, try to find them. Criminals move every week.”

      “I thought this Bramson guy was the killer.”

      “We don’t know that for certain,” Carolyn told him. “The clerk said the man who rented the room was black. Bramson is white. It could be anyone.”

      Marcus shrugged and headed off toward the kitchen. Even the way he walked intrigued her. His long legs and torso moved purposely forward, while his head seemed to remain motionless. It was a trick of the eye, created by his graceful but deceptively fast pace.

      In many ways, they made the perfect couple. They talked fast, moved fast, and made instant decisions. They worked with efficiency and determination, and they both possessed extraordinary memories. The only time Carolyn forgot anything was when she was emotionally distraught as she was now.

      She rushed to the closet to find something to wear. She stopped when saw Veronica’s maid of honor dress. Removing the plastic, she fingered the pale lavender silk. She’d give the dress to Drew to bury her in. It had come from the dressmaker’s a month ago. Veronica had never got around to picking it up.

      Pausing in the doorway of the bathroom, she stared out over the cavernous bedroom. Veronica and Drew’s entire house was only a few feet larger. Marcus’s sprawling home seemed like a disgusting display of wealth. The people who actually needed this kind of space were seldom able to afford it.

      As she was brushing her teeth, the three-carat diamond ring on her finger was reflected in the mirror. When she went to work, she turned it around backward. Would she ever get used to her new lifestyle? It was distancing her from her friends and coworkers. Even Brad Preston treated her differently, and they’d once been lovers.

      She jumped in the shower, relishing the feel of the hot water against her skin. After she shampooed her hair and got out, she dried it with a towel. What people failed to understand was it was Marcus’s money, not hers. She hadn’t reached the point where she felt comfortable having him support her. Except for the few years when her ex-husband, Frank, had taught school, she’d been the primary breadwinner. Paying her own bills allowed her to maintain a sense of independence. She hadn’t fallen in love with Marcus because he was successful. She loved him because he was a great man.

      Carolyn ran a comb through her hair, put on her makeup, dressed, and grabbed her briefcase and purse. She thought of herself as a wash-and-wear girl. Her naturally curly hair made it easy to care for. All she had to do was wash it. The only thing she went to the beauty salon for was haircuts. She filed her own nails, had never had a facial, and could be ready to go just about anywhere in less than thirty minutes. The first time she and Marcus had gone on a trip together, he’d nagged her to pack three days before they were scheduled to leave. While Marcus cooled his heels, certain they were going to miss their flight, Carolyn threw her clothes into a bag and was ready to walk out the door in fifteen minutes.

      Rebecca came down the winding staircase with a worried look her face. Her straight dark hair fell to the center of her back. She had inherited her father’s olive skin, hair, and hazel eyes. “I heard what happened,” she said. “When they said a probation officer was murdered, I was afraid it was you. Why didn’t you call us?”

      “I’m sorry, honey,” Carolyn said, embracing her. “I just did whatever people asked of me. I didn’t have time to do anything else.”

      “You have to quit that hideous job,” her daughter said. “You don’t need the money now that you’re marrying Marcus. He wants you to quit, too. How do I know what happened to Veronica won’t happen to you?”

      “Jude is missing, Rebecca,” Carolyn said, changing the subject. “I know the two of you have never been close, but have you heard anything

Скачать книгу