BIG SKY SECRETS 01: Final Exposure Read Online Free PDF

man had left Erin feeling uneasy, and she’d barely slept last night. But looking into his eyes now, she saw no cunning, no sly effort to conceal the truth, just soul-deep sorrow, tinged with anger.
    “So with Ted gone, there’ll never be a trial. No chance to give public testimony about your innocence.”
    “Exactly. A lot of dry, interminably long reports are filed away someplace that proved it enough to the police investigators.” He lifted a shoulder. “But public opinion doesn’t easily change. There’ll always be those who figure I was crafty enough to get away with the loot.”
    “So what happens now?”
    “I’ve still got a number of loyal clients and can handle my business via the Internet and phone from up here—at least for a while. But once my lease here is up, I’ll have to figure out what to do next…and I have a hunch that moving back to Texas won’t be my best choice.”

FOUR
    “Y ou’ll never guess what happened!”
    At the sound of Ashley Tompkins’s breathless voice on the phone, Erin smiled and leaned against the front counter of the store. They’d been friends since college and had shared Ashley’s condo for the past two years. “You were promoted to head nurse?”
    “That’s a job I wouldn’t want.”
    “You found your dream house up in the mountains?”
    “Not yet…though the realtor did call about bringing a prospective buyer to see my condo on Tuesday.” Ashley took a deep breath. “My car was vandalized in broad daylight last week while it was parked on the street—right out front.”
    “No way.” The condo was in a nice, upscale part of Birch Valley, one of the farthest Denver suburbs. It was a community that prided itself on its safe streets and family environment. “Was there a lot of damage?”
     
    “The lock was jimmied, but the guy must’ve had trouble getting it open, because he kicked a dent in the door. Then he ripped out the stereo, slashed the leather seats and stole my new GPS.”
    “Wow.”
    “You said it. My insurance man said that with the damage and theft, it’ll total over two thousand dollars, and my deductible is five hundred.” Ashley sighed. “You’d think the vandal would’ve grabbed the valuables and run, not wasted time slashing my seats.”
    “A teenager, maybe.”
    “That’s my guess. I just can’t believe he got away with it in full view of the windows on the west side of the building.”
    “Anyone passing by might’ve assumed the guy was the owner and not looked twice. It sure must’ve been a shock to go out and see what happened.”
    “There was one cool thing, though.” Ashley’s voice turned soft and dreamy. “I’d worked all night at the hospital and got home around eight like always. I’d just had breakfast and was going to turn in when an off-duty cop knocked on my door. He’d noticed something suspicious while driving by, and when he slowed down, the guy in my car took off and ran between the buildings.”
    “This cop saw the guy? Did he catch him?”
    “Nope. By the time he could pull over, the guy was gone, and he was wearing a sweatshirt with thehood pulled up, so his face wasn’t visible. Bob called in my license-plate number to find my address so he could come in to tell me.”
    Erin smiled into the phone. “Bob, eh? Sounds like you got to know this officer pretty well.”
    “He was a doll. Came right in and sat at my kitchen table while I found my registration papers. Had coffee and everything! And he was really nice about those papers. They were supposed to be in the car glove box, not in my desk.”
    “You…um…let him in your house?”
    “After I saw his badge and ID, of course.”
    Erin could picture her friend giving a dismissive wave. “Ashley…”
    “The ID was real, I know it was.” Ashley sighed. “And you wouldn’t believe how handsome he was. Late thirties and good-looking in a rugged sort of way. He…he asked if he could call me sometime.”
    Oh dear. Erin said a swift, silent