LITMIR.BIZ

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Turning on his heel, he sauntered back to his desk that sat five rows closer to Stu’s office.

      Violet groaned. Because of Jimmy, she’d hung up on the very person who could provide information about the Martino family.

      She made a mental note to call Clay as soon as she got home from work. Maybe they could smooth out the rough edges of their rather tenuous relationship. She’d enjoy being on firmer footing with the handsome and mysterious cop.

      Violet transferred data for the revised article Stu wanted on the local police department on to her flash drive, as well as the information she’d compiled on the murdered women in Witness Protection.

      Pulling her coat tight, Violet left the Plaza Complex hours later and made her way to the now-empty parking deck, her breath hanging in the frosty February air. Her car sat in the last row, farthest from the door, another sign of her standing at the Daily News.

      She slid behind the wheel of her Mini Cooper, exited on to the main thoroughfare and snaked her way across town to the older neighborhood where she lived.

      A crescent moon hung in the night sky, casting a band of light over the mountains that wrapped around the city. The stark beauty of God’s creation wasn’t lost on her this night despite the lousy day she’d had at the paper. Violet loved Montana’s fertile valleys and snow-covered mountaintops. Perhaps God had known what she’d needed two years ago when she failed to land the job at the Gazette. Undoubtedly, He was guiding her path even now. Hopefully, something good would come from all her hard work.

      Please, God, make it happen.

      Turning on to her street, Violet angled into the alleyway and parked in the freestanding garage situated at the rear of her property.

      Leaving the warmth of the car, she tugged the coat collar up around her neck and hastened along the cement walk to the mailbox out front.

      Glancing up and down the empty street, Violet grabbed the stack of bills and shivered, not from the cold but from an immediate sense of foreboding. Usually she had nerves of steel. Tonight her steel had turned to rubber.

      She clutched the mail tightly in her hand, mildly comforted by the rhythm of her footfalls along the sidewalk, as if the sound could spook away the unwelcome and unwanted sliver of concern that shimmied down her spine.

      Moonlight spilled over the rear of the house, but the front remained cloaked in darkness. Stopping short at the bottom of the porch steps, Violet noticed for the first time how the windowpanes, huge squares of opaque blackness, stared back at her like faceless gargoyles, taunting her for her foolish fear.

      She should have left on a light.

      A stiff wind blew at Violet’s back, causing her hair to billow around her face. She yanked the flyaway strands into submission and climbed the stairs.

      The sound of a car engine broke the silence. Headlights turned on to her street. Violet’s neck tingled a warning.

      She jammed her key into the lock then glanced back as the car slowed. The driver’s face, hidden in shadow, stared in her direction.

      Violet turned the key, seeking the protection of her home. The door inched open, and she slipped into the dark interior.

      A floorboard creaked. She glanced toward the kitchen.

      A hooded, bulky form stood backlit in moonlight.

      Violet screamed.

      The man opened the back door and disappeared into the night.

      Heart pounding like a snare drum, Violet dug for the cell phone in her purse. Her fingers trembled as she clutched the cold metal. Before she tapped in 911, a rustling sounded on the porch behind her.

      Warm breath fanned her neck and a hand touched her shoulder.

      Violet pivoted, ready to strike, and screamed once again.

      TWO

      “Violet, it’s Clay West.”

      She stared at him, her eyes wide, limbs shaking.

      “What happened?” he asked.

      She gasped for air. “A man. In my kitchen. He ran out the back door.”

      “Call the cops. Stay inside. Lock your doors.”

      Clay raced through the house and out the kitchen door. A dog barked.

      Searching the darkness, he saw movement in the distance and raced into the alleyway. A fleeing figure turned on to the main road.

      Clay ran to the corner. The guy climbed into a late-model SUV, dark paint job, parked along the side of the road and drove away. Clay stood for a long moment watching the vehicle disappear then, hurrying back to Violet’s house, he tapped on the kitchen door.

      “It’s Clay. Open up, Violet.”

      She inched the door open and peered out at him from the shadows. Eyes wary, face drawn. His heart went out to her. For all her bravado, she looked scared to death.

      “I called 911,” she said. “The police are on their way.” As if in response, a siren sounded in the distance.

      “Did you see the guy?” Clay stepped inside and locked the door behind him.

      “Not his face.”

      Clay glanced around the kitchen. Nothing seemed out of place. Moving into the living room, he flipped on the overhead light.

      The home was an eclectic assortment of mix-and-match furnishings. Comfy and cozy. Bright colors, soft pillows and knock-off artwork blended into a warm and inviting atmosphere he instantly liked. A desk in the far corner held a laptop, table lamp, phone and an assortment of papers.

      Violet wrapped her arms around her waist. The color had drained from her pretty face. She raised a hand to her throat, her breath ragged.

      “What…what are you doing here?” she asked.

      As much as he wanted to reassure her, she needed the truth. “The FBI in Chicago feel you’re in danger. Special Agent-in-Charge Jackson McGraw asked me to pay you a visit. You’ve been digging into Mafia business, Violet. The mob silences anyone who comes too close.”

      Her brows rose. “This wasn’t the mob. A bad element’s moved into the city. This was local, Clay.”

      “And you came to that conclusion because—?”

      “Because the intruder fled. The mob would have killed me.”

      A visual flashed through Clay’s mind. He envisioned her bound and gagged with a gun to her head. Swallowing the bile that instantly filled his throat, Clay blinked twice, relieved to find a flesh-and-blood and very much unharmed Violet standing in front of him.

      “You can’t be sure it wasn’t the mob.” Clay noted her drawn drapes, needing to turn his focus back to security issues instead of the way his pulse quickened whenever he was near her. “Are all your windows and doors locked?”

      “Of course.” Then she hesitated. “Except in the laundry room.”

      Violet stepped into the hallway and opened the door to a small room containing a washer and dryer. “I keep the window open to let out the hot air from the dryer.”

      Just as she’d said, the window was open and the screen unattached. “Don’t touch anything. We’ll let the cops check it out. That might be the way the guy broke in.”

      The siren neared. Clay and Violet returned to the living area. He opened the door. A beefy cop, short hair, wearing a bulletproof vest and named O’Reilly shook his hand and then Violet’s.

      Clay explained he worked for Chicago P.D. and quickly detailed what had happened. After O’Reilly checked the house, he and Clay walked outside. Shining a flashlight around the laundry-room window and ground below, they found no evidence to prove or disprove the window was the point of entry.

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