An Act of Deceit: Book 2 of the Sarah Woods Mysteries Read Online Free PDF

tolerating bullshit from anyone.”
     
    * * *
       
         Carter was waiting with mug in hand when I arrived at the diner.
         “I spent a good part of yesterday trying to find a witness,” he said, skipping any sort of greeting. He sipped his coffee and leaned back against the bench.
         “Find anyone?”
         Carter shook his head. “But I have Harding’s profile. He’s thirty-six, has no kids, never been married, and lives with his mother. He’s a delivery driver for Sunrise Dry Cleaning; been there for six-plus years. His annual income is roughly thirty grand. There’s currently six hundred and change in his checking account. Credit cards are maxed out. Apparently, this guy has an online gambling addiction. He has one recent speeding ticket, which he paid.”
         Carter slid me a copy of Harding’s driver’s license photo. The guy looked like Joe Average: early thirties, scraggly facial hair, dismal grey eyes, and bushy eyebrows. “Wow. You got all of this information together in less than a day? That’s mind-boggling.”
         “What boggles my mind,” Carter replied, “is that this guy lives an utterly boring life. I mean, really … online gambling?” He shook his head.
         “Well, he might sound pathetic, but he must be a decent guy, taking care of his mother, and all.”
         “Yeah, either taking care of her or mooching off from her. Might explain why he can still afford online gambling. Anyway, there’s something else I thought was interesting.” Carter handed me a sheet of paper. “Found this article on the Internet. It’s about his sister, Kelly Harding.”
         “He has a sister?”
         “He had a sister.” Carter pointed to the page I was holding. “She was killed when she was sixteen. Lance was eighteen at the time.”
         “What happened?”
         “According to the article she was raped and murdered by her boyfriend. He was eight years older than Kelly and had a history of violence with prior girlfriends. They convicted him. He was serving a twenty year sentence until about five years ago.”
         “He got out early?”
         “No.” Carter chuckled. “He hung himself in his cell.”
         “Yikes. I guess he couldn’t handle prison life.”
         “He got off easy.” Carter turned serious. “If it had been my sister, he’d have died a more painful death.”
         “Do you think Lance Harding’s sister’s death is connected to Marty in some way?”
         “I wondered about that, too, but couldn’t find any connection. I went through all of his recent bank statements, credit card statements, and phone records. So far I can’t find a single thing that connects Lance Harding to Marty Quinn. I did find out that Harding was driving his employer’s brand new van when he hit Marty. I thought we’d head over there before he starts his deliveries this morning and have a little chat with this guy.”
         I cupped my hands around the coffee mug and let the warmth seep into my fingers. “Okay. And what do you think we’ll find out?”
         “Well, I don’t expect a confession, but there are other ways to get to the truth.”
         “Such as?”
         Carter reached inside his jacket and withdrew a rectangular metal object. “This is a tracking device. It’s state-of-the-art, and cost me a pretty penny. I also scored a copy of his daily delivery schedule.”
         “Where do you plan to put the device?”
         “Under his van.”
         I waited for the waitress to refill our mugs before I continued. “So what’s the point?” I asked. “How will tracking his vehicle help us after the fact?”
         “He might get spooked and try to contact someone after we question him.”
         “Someone who might have hired him,” I ventured, shaking some sugar into my coffee. ”According to the information you’ve gathered, he’s practically