Buried Evidence Read Online Free PDF Page B

was a handsome man was offering to buy her friend a drink. She had no idea she was speaking with Henry Middleton’s attorney, let alone Lily’s former lover.
    “Everything’s under control,” Wells said, her throaty voice echoing in the empty courtroom. When Lily glared at her, the woman placed her hand on her back and pushed her, almost causing her to fall into Richard’s arms. “You guys go on now.”
    “Fine,” Lily said, her teeth clenched. “I’ll meet you in front of the building.”
    As soon as Richard left the courtroom, Lily opened her purse and pulled out her brush, running it quickly through her hair. Then she yanked out her lipstick, her car keys, a small container of breath spray.
    “If you want to primp,” her friend said, watching as Lily tried to apply lipstick without a mirror, “there’s a bathroom right down the hall. And why is your hand shaking?”
    “Tell Kingsley that Middleton made bail, okay?” she said. “I’ll go over the lab reports with him in the morning. I’ve already read them anyway. I only wanted to get him out of my hair for a few hours.” She jerked her head around. “I look awful, don’t I?”
    “Here,” the investigator said, using her finger to wipe a smudge of lipstick off the side of Lily’s mouth. “What’s the deal with this guy? I’ve never seen you so… “
    Before Wells could finish her sentence, Lily had swept all her personal items back into her purse and raced out of the courtroom.
    R ICHARD FOWLER stood on the sidewalk, inhaling the freshly mowed grass, the salty scent of the ocean, admiring the magnificent Spanish architecture of the historical courthouse. When Lily came bounding down the steps, the people milling around her disappeared. Time stood still for her, he told himself. Not everyone might agree, but in his eyes she was as lovely and captivating as ever. She reminded him of a female Einstein, not strictly on the merits of her intellect, but also due to her personality and mannerisms. She lived so completely inside her thoughts that it shouldn’t have surprised him that she failed to notice himthat morning. Her ability to focus on her work was mind-boggling, though, and he had been pleased when he’d heard she’d taken a position as a prosecutor again.
    “Where are you parked?” she asked, shielding her eyes from the sun.
    “Down the street,” he said. “We could walk somewhere. There’s a nice little bar about three blocks away. I haven’t been there in a few years, but I’m certain it’s still there.”
    “I don’t want to go to a bar,” Lily said crisply. “Get your car and follow me.”
    A troubled expression appeared on his face. “I don’t have that much time. I’m supposed to see Greg tonight. And the traffic—”
    Lily felt her stomach churning. Was she nothing more than an old acquaintance, someone to share a drink with before embarking on a long drive? “Maybe we should just forget it, then,” she said, taking off down the sidewalk.
    Richard was flabbergasted. How could she walk away twice in one day? He turned around in a small circle, trying to decide what to do, then had to jog to catch up with her. “You’ve been living in Santa Barbara for months now,” he said. “If anyone should be hurt, it’s me. Why haven’t you called? It’s not as if Ventura is in another state.”
    Lily stared down at the cracks in the sidewalk.
    “When we last saw each other,” he continued, “you said the door was open, that there was still a chance for us. Then you never returned my phone calls.”
    Lily slowly raised her head. “Why did you agree to represent Middleton?”
    His voice was low, seductive. “Maybe because I knew it would give me a chance to see you.”
    “Then you did know I was prosecuting the case,” she said, thinking he had lied to her. “You sandbagged me. You should be ashamed of yourself.”
    “Give me a chance to explain,” he pleaded. “Just because I was aware you’d accepted a