Diamonds Are Truly Forever: An Agent Ex Novel 2 Read Online Free PDF Page B

“Don’t leave this house under any circumstance—”
    “Not even fire.”
    “Not if you value your life. Don’t let anyone in. No one. Don’t even open the door. Understand?”
    “Yes, Mom.”
    He stared directly into her eyes. “Promise me you won’t leave while I’m gone.”
    She bit her lip, wishing she had another option. “Promise.”
    “You’ll be here when I get back?”
    She took a deep breath. “Yes.”
    “Good.” He looked relieved. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
    She sighed. “Drive safely.”
    “Always.” He headed out.
    “Bring some clean sheets back with you!” she called after him.
    *   *   *
     
    After Drew swept up the glass from the kitchen floor of his former home, he ran a laser beam through the holes in the door into the pantry, tracing the bullets’ trajectories. The bullets had to be lodged in there somewhere. Unfortunately, the beam landed on empty divots in the wall. Drew moved in for a closer look. Both bullets had originally lodged in a stud. He could see tiny scrapes as if from a pocketknife around the holes.
    Damn! Someone beat me to it and has already dug the bullets out.
    He surveyed the room, just as he had when he’d first come in. The cookies were still out en masse, undisturbed on cooling racks. The window glass appeared to have missed them. He grabbed one and munched on it. There was no trace of an intruder. Or glass in his cookie.
    He finished his cookie and aimed the laser out the pantry toward the broken window, trying to trace its path back to its point of origin, memorizing the line of the beam.
    He glanced at his watch. The window repair guy would arrive any minute. Nothing more he could find out here. He covered the holes in the pantry door with dabs of white filler putty he found in the junk drawer. He finished just as the window glass guy pulled up. He grabbed his full-size bird-and-bad-guy-watching binoculars and met the van in the driveway. The repair guy got out and took a look.
    Drew remembered the sound of his neighbor mowing and had already thought up a cover story. “Neighbor’s lawn mower threw a rock.” Drew shook his head.
    The repair guy laughed. “Tough luck for the neighbor. He’s paying?”
    “Nah, neighbor’s a good guy. My insurance will cover it.” He winked.
    Leaving the repair in the window guy’s competent hands, Drew followed the path of the trajectory and found the spot where the sniper had shot at Staci from.
    It was an ideal location in the water retention pond area next to their neighbor’s house. Concealed, isolated, yet with a clear bead. Any noise the sniper made would have been concealed by the lawn mower.
    Definitely the work of a pro.
    Drew squatted, resting on the balls of his feet, and studied the area, looking for clues and forensic evidence. As he suspected, there were none. Finally, he stood and scanned the area with his binoculars, pretending to be interested in birds. Back at the house, the window guy looked busy.
    Drew headed for the sidewalk.
    He’d taken no more than half a dozen steps toward home when Emmett Nelson walked out of hiding and fell into stride next to him. “Bad luck with the window?”
    “Bad luck? Is that what we’re calling failed sniper attacks these days? I’d say it was good luck neither of us was hurt.” Drew paused. “Thanks to my finely honed reflexes.”
    He didn’t bother looking at Emmett. Drew knew better than to be surprised when the chief showed up out of nowhere. The guy was like poisonous gas, invisible until you felt the effects of his presence.
    “Are you in town long?” Meaning, was Emmett going to be breathing down Drew’s neck this mission.
    “No idea,” Emmett said. “I’ll be here as long as it takes. How’s Staci?”
    “As well as can be expected. She’s shaken and locked up safely at my place.”
    “Take good care of her. Staci’s one of my favorites. Always has been. Sweet girl.”
    Drew was in no mood to listen to Emmett sing