4 Big Easy Hunter Read Online Free PDF Page A

first name before. It must have sounded odd coming from me as our conversations had always been in a formal setting.
    “How did you know what I was doing last night?” I asked the detective.
    “Dick was patrolling in an unmarked car. He went by the deli and saw the Chevelle. He trailed you until you parked in the carport shortly before 2:00. Susan, you obviously don’t know what’s going on and why driving around last night was a big mistake.”
    I frowned at Mick and started to feel afraid. The detective didn’t seem to be teasing me, and something was definitely amiss. Dick was Larry’s cousin and usually kept us in the loop on police matters, but Samantha hadn’t tipped me off to anything from Dick, yet he had been following me last night.
    “There’s been a rash of break-ins around town,” the detective said. “The home is almost always a two-story house, and the thief or thieves have been going in during the night when the homeowners are sleeping. They seem to be in and out quickly, like within five minutes, and they aren’t taking big items, just valuables they find on the first floor that can be easily carried out. No one has seen them, and the only information just about everyone has been able to give is that by the time they get downstairs to investigate the noise, no one is there. But four people have been able to cite a red classic car being driven by a blonde. One man even named you by name. He said it was Susan Hunter driving away.”
    I was floored by his words. “Detective Bentley, I’m serious,” I told him sincerely. “I don’t know anything about any of this. Last night was the first I’ve been out after midnight since Mick and I got married.”
    “But you’ve seen the other car?” he asked dubiously.
    “Yes, early Saturday evening,” I said. “It seemed to be exactly like mine, but I didn’t see who was driving. The sun was low on that side of the building and caused a glare through the car windows as it went by.”
    “Other than the middle-of-the-night sightings, no one has seen another car around town like yours, Susan,” he said. “We have every officer on the force looking for one, but so far, all we have is yours. Dick seeing you out in the middle of the night doesn’t look good for you either.”
    I looked at Mick with real fear in my eyes. What did this mean?
    “Listen, Chuck,” Mick said. “What can we do? You know us, and you know Susan isn’t involved in this. How can we help?”
    “I know it’s an imposition,” he said, “but if you’d let a couple of officers do a search of your apartment and the Chevelle, it would go a long way to take Susan out of the mix for now.”
    Mick furrowed his brow, and I could tell he didn’t like the idea at all. “They won’t do any damage will they?” he asked.
    “None at all,” he said. “I’ll have Dick and Sasha conduct the search, and you know they’ll respect your things.”
    Mick nodded, and the detective immediately pulled out his phone and called for the two officers.
    I stood up and walked over to Mick. He put his arms around me as I tried to hold back the tears. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t do anything,” I whispered to him.
    “I know you didn’t,” he said holding me close.
    “Where are the car keys?” asked the detective. “Mick, how about the BMW, too? We might as well clear everything.”
    I sat down again while Mick went to get the keys. Dick and Sasha walked into the apartment. They had obviously been waiting downstairs for the call. A few minutes later, Mick was handing the keys to them, and they were handing papers to him to sign for the agreed upon search. I was absolutely heartsick.
    Mick sat down beside me and put his arm around my shoulders. He held my hand with his other hand, and I knew these were protective gestures. About fifteen minutes into the search, Darby and Nate walked through the open doorway with smiles as though they were expecting a party.
    “What’s going on in here?”