A Penny for Your Thoughts Read Online Free PDF Page A

Williams.”
    Penny did her best to avoid eavesdropping, and she turned away, blinking at a pair of headlights that blinded her in the passenger side mirror. She glanced at the speedometer. Matt’s speed slowed while he focused on the phone...at least five miles under the speed limit. With no other cars on the dark street at the moment, she would have jumped into the other lane and passed. But not the car behind. The headlights stayed behind them, the driver obviously content to amble down the road at a leisurely pace. She shrugged. Matt drove in the right lane. Maybe the car behind them planned to turn soon.
    “Yes. I’ll be right there.” Matt clicked his phone shut and turned to her with a frustrated and apologetic smile. “I was afraid of this. I’m going to have to postpone dinner. I’ve got to get back over to the bank. We had a robbery there earlier today. That’s where I’ve been all day.”
    Penny’s heart plummeted. She bit her lip, disappointed with herself that she’d gotten her hopes up.
    “Oh, sure,” she mumbled as she returned her eyes to the headlights in the side mirror.
    “Unless... Do you want to come with me? It probably won’t take long.”
    Penny swung her head to face him. He cast her a quick sideways glance before returning his eyes to the road.
    “Yes! Yes, I do!” She clamped her eager lips shut. Too much. Slow down . “I mean, yes, that would be interesting. Sure.”
    Matt laughed...the first laugh she’d heard from him in fifteen years outside of her dreams. She had once craved the warmly unaffected sound of his laugh. It seemed she still did. Her toes curled in delight.
    “You haven’t changed, Penny.” He continued to chuckle as he shook his head.
    “I’ve tried,” she offered helpfully.
    “Not too much, I hope.” Matt threw her a quick smile before he returned his attention to the road. He made an unexpected U-turn in the road and picked up speed. They barreled back the way they had come, along the Gulf Beach Highway toward the center of town. The bright lights of the high-rise hotels and vacation condominiums bordering the beach spread a cheery light on the highway. It seems like Christmas every day down here, she thought.
    “Here we are.” Matt pulled into the parking lot of a local bank next to a grocery store. Police cruisers flooded the parking lot, several with lights flashing. She opened her door and stepped out. Matt came around to her side of the car and closed it behind her.
    A uniformed officer walked up to them.
    “Hey, Chief. I know you just left here less than an hour ago, but you said you wanted to know if we found anything. It’s this way.”
    “No, that’s fine, Brad. How are you guys doing? Need anything?” Matt turned around apparently to be sure Penny followed. Brad held up yellow crime scene tape for Matt and Penny to pass under.
    The tall, husky, young man with the heavy Southern accent laughed. “Yeah, we’re doing okay. How about you? Did you manage to grab some dinner?”
    Matt chuckled and shook his head. “Not yet. We were just headed that way. Brad, this is a friend of mine, Penny Brown.”
    “Miss Brown.” Brad tipped a finger to his forehead in Penny’s direction.
    “Nice to meet you.” Penny gaped at the crowd of onlookers behind the yellow police tape. The scene looked like one straight out of a television crime drama. An occasional camera flash from reporters caught her eye. Several video crews pressed up against the barricade, cameras apparently filming the outside of the bank and the multitude of law enforcement people who milled about.
    Instead of entering the bank, Brad led them down the sidewalk away from the bank and toward the grocery store. They came to a stop in front of a large garbage bin.
    “This is what I thought you should see.”
    Penny ogled a small pistol which lay on the ground near a small green canvas bag.
    Matt bent down on his knees and examined the gun closely. 
    “It’s plastic!” He looked up