Deception with Murder (A Rilynne Evans Mystery, Book Two) Read Online Free PDF Page B

was held out of his face by a backwards baseball cap. His tight black shirt showed every muscle he had, stopping just below the waistline of his oil stained cargo shorts. “I wanted to get it mowed before you moved in, and this was the only time I had free all week. I’m so sorry if I woke you up.”
    “Don’t worry about it,” she said warmly. “I had to be up for work anyway.”
    “Dad,” yelled a small voice from behind him. “We have to go. I’m going to be late!”
    Rilynne peaked around him to see a young boy, no older than eight, standing on the front porch with a schoolbag in hand.
    “Sorry, that’s my son. I’m afraid he gets his lack of patience from my late wife,” he said as he turned toward the boy. “Harper, can’t you see that I’m talking to our new neighbor? Where are your manners?” Harper mumbled something that sounded like an apology as he sat down on the step.
    “I’m Joe Ackerman, by the way,” he said, holding out a hand. “And that’s my son, Harper. If you wind up with any balls or toys in your yard, they’re probably his.”
    “I’m Rilynne Evans,” she said, taking his hand. “It’s nice to meet you. Well, don’t let me keep you,” she said with a smile as she started again toward her car.
    *
    “Evans,” Wilcome called out as she placed her purse on the corner of her desk. “Were you able to get anywhere with the reports?”
    “We’re about half way through them, but so far nothing stands out,” she said, dropping down in her chair. “We should be finished going through the rest of them by lunch time.”
    “Good, let me know,” he said, walking back to his desk in the corner.
    She was on her third report when Detective Matthews walked in and took his seat. “I was beginning to worry,” she said, taking in his disheveled appearance. “Is everything okay?”
    He nodded, rubbing his hands over his tired looking face. “I was up until almost three with Katy. She always takes it hard when an officer is injured or killed, but she knew Shane very well. We end up having the same conversation every time there’s an incident about me taking a desk job and staying away from the ‘danger of the streets.’”
    “I don’t imagine that was fun.”
    “No,” he replied. “It really wasn’t. Usually we only get into it once every year or two, but this was twice in two months.”
    “When was the last one?” She gave him a puzzled look.
    “You and Ben Davis,” he said firmly.
    “Ah,” she nodded. “Sorry about that.”
    “Don’t worry about it. It’s not like you did it on purpose.” He pulled the reports out of his drawer and started flipping through them. Rilynne was glad he had looked away so he didn’t notice the guilt on her face. “Have you found anything?”
    “Nothing about who might have had a problem with him,” she said, thumbing through the reports. “The ones I have managed to go through this morning were about the same as the others. He did note that he believed the operation was run on a tier system.” Matthews leaned back in his chair and listened. “At the top he believed there were two men who ran everything. They chose the homes and arranged the robberies. The next level was the actual home invaders. He thought there were two separate groups, but he wasn’t positive. The last group was in charge of fencing the objects and handling the money. They were the only ones he had any direct contact with. That was up until three months ago, at least.”
    “Okay,” he said, grabbing the files and pushing up out of his chair. “Let’s lay this out.” Rilynne followed him as he carried everything to the conference room. “Tylers,” he called out. “Can you grab me a white board?”
    When Tylers wheeled one in a few moments later, Matthews grabbed a marker and started drawing on it. “We know from the victims that there were always three men performing the breakins. So, if his information was correct, that puts six men here-” he