A Dark Mind Read Online Free PDF Page A

phone. She looked at Lizzy and her shoulders slumped forward. “Wow. That guy would not take no for an answer.”
    Lizzy said nothing. She’d met the woman only once before, but she felt her pain—nothing worse than a stubborn caller who wouldn’t listen.
    “As you can see,” Jennifer went on, gesturing at all the papers on her desk, “Michael and I are planning a party.” She began stuffing half-finished notes and invitations into the open file. She crumpled up the sticky note and tossed it toward the garbage behind her, missing by a few feet.
    Lizzy nodded. “I remember Michael mentioning that your anniversary was coming up.”
    “That’s right.” Jennifer smiled, but she was obviously still upset by the phone call. She rubbed her temple. “The man onthe phone was adamant about picking Michael and me up before the party, but I have already made arrangements with another couple. If he told me who was behind the idea of this ‘special ride,’ I would have been able to clear it all up with one quick phone call. With the economy spiraling downward, I think he was just desperate not to lose the job, which makes me sad.”
    “Understandable,” Lizzy agreed.
    “I’m sorry,” Jennifer said. “I’m rambling on while I’m sure you have better things to do than sit here listening to me worry and gripe.” She took a breath. “What have you brought me?”
    “It’s the contract for the Simpson case. As soon as it’s signed, I can get started.”
    Jennifer took the envelope Lizzy handed her, pulled out the papers, and read them over.
    The contract was short, basically stating that Lizzy would initially charge up to, but not more than, fifteen hours of surveillance over the next few weeks. She would use video and photographs to keep track of Simpson’s activities. Eli Simpson, an employee of J&M Realty, was claiming he slipped and fell while showing one of their foreclosed properties. According to his claim, there was little he could do without pain, and he was therefore housebound. The insurance company wasn’t working on the claim fast enough, so the Daltons had hired Lizzy to get proof to help them speed things along. If Simpson raised any red flags while Lizzy was watching him, she would meet with Jennifer and Michael again in a few weeks to view videos and pictures. At that time, they would decide whether they had enough evidence.
    “Everything looks great,” Jennifer said as she signed the contract. “Michael and I would like you to get started on this right away.” She stood and went to make copies. The moment she disappeared, her phone rang.
    The answering machine picked up after two rings. “Office hours are from eight a.m. to five p.m. Please leave a message and we’ll get back to you shortly.”
    After the beep, a man’s voice came on the line. “I’m calling about your property off Guadalupe Drive in El Dorado Hills.” There was a long pause as the caller waited for someone to pick up. Lizzy heard a noise in the background, a tinkling of bells, like someone had just walked through the front door of an antiques shop. “It’s late,” the caller said. “I’ll try again tomorrow.”
    Jennifer came rushing back into the room. She picked up the phone, but it was too late. “Damn. We’ve had that place on the market for over a year. He didn’t leave a number, did he?”
    Lizzy shook her head. “I don’t believe he did.”
    “It’s not usually so crazy around here,” Jennifer said as she sorted through the copies she had made. “Too many weird things happening to me lately.”
    “What’s going on?”
    She waved a well-manicured hand through the air. “Hang-up calls, dead bugs, bumps in the night, you get the drift.”
    Lizzy didn’t get the drift at all. “Are you being harassed?”
    Jennifer stopped what she was doing and shook her head. Her shoulders slumped a tiny bit. “My mother passed away six months ago. It seems every little thing is upsetting me lately. I need to take