Cool Shade Read Online Free PDF Page B

him like the village idiot, when suddenly she came somewhat to her senses and decided he was probably politely waiting for her to leave.
    "I have to go," she said, getting to her feet.
    The dog lifted its head, then let it drop, bored.
    She was walking away, feeling awkward about having him watch, wondering if he was watching, when he jumped off the porch and fell into step beside her. "What about the road you were looking for? I might be able to give you directions."
    Enid.
    She'd completely forgotten about her sister.
    She had no idea why she'd made up the business about being lost. What could she say now that would make any sense? That wouldn't make her out to be a total fool?
    Before she could open the car door, he was there, beating her to it.
    She slid in, her mind in a turmoil.
    He shut the door. Then, bent at the waist, hands braced on the window frame, he looked in at her. "Who's place were you trying to find?"
    She would have to come clean. She would have to tell him the truth.
    She was trying to get the words lined up in her head when his beautiful eyes shifted from her face to the seat beside her.
    He frowned.
    His eyes lost their soft look.
    She followed the direction of his gaze.
    There in plain sight was the map Evelyn had given her. Circled in red magic marker was his place.
    He reached across and snatched the map. With it fisted in one hand, he looked from it to her. "According to this—" he shook it at her, "you aren't lost at all. In fact, you seem to be exactly where you want to be."
    She grabbed the map from his hand, tearing it. She stuffed it between the driver's seat and console.
    "You're a reporter, aren't you?" he asked, suspicion giving way to certainty.
    Then he laughed in a self-deprecatory manner. "You're good." He nodded, agreeing with himself. "You are really good. And I'm an idiot. You, with that wide-eyed look. The shaking. That was a nice touch. You really had me going."
    "I'm not a reporter." A reporter. She'd never been a reporter. That might be a job she'd like. "I wish I were. Actually, I-I'm a hooker."
    His eyebrows lifted in disbelief.
    Where had that come from? Is that what they called themselves? Hookers? How about prostitute? Whore? Lady of the evening?
    "I didn't call for anybody."
    She almost collapsed against the steering wheel in relief. "I know. Someone gave me your name."
    He was watching her, looking her over in an almost analytical way. "You don't look like a whore," he said, still suspicious.
    "I'm kind of new at this. And hey. We don't all have to have short skirts, cleavage, and black eyeliner." She lifted her arm. "I told you my skin was white because of a night job."
    "Who told you about me?"
    "Who?"
    "Yeah. You said someone told you about me."
    "Oh. Yeah. Enid. Her name is Enid."
    His face closed. The eyes she thought were so soft were now hard. Emotionless. He straightened. "Get the hell out of here."
    She'd be happy to. More than happy to.
    She watched as he turned and walked toward the house, his boots making a shushing sound in the tall grass. On the porch, the dog rested, his eyes never leaving his master. In the sky above the house, waiting for darkness, was a pale, full moon.

Chapter 7
    Where Is My Mind?
    "I think Eddie Berlin may know something about my sister's disappearance."
    Maddie stood in front of—she checked the name plate—Officer Gable's desk.
    Gable looked to be in his mid-thirties, with the completely bored, wiped-out attitude of a car salesman. Someone who wished he could be on a golf course instead of in an office. Anyplace but behind a desk with a woman badgering him about something he wanted no part of.
    "Berlin is harmless."
    Maddie thought about the almost hypnotic power Eddie Berlin had lazily emitted. Thought about her sister's notes. Evelyn's claims. Her own reaction to the man. Harmless wasn't the word she would have used to describe him. Beguiling, maybe, but never harmless.
    She'd been around him only a few minutes and she couldn't