Even In Darkness--An American Murder Mystery Thriller Read Online Free PDF

protection, and none of us are happy with the result.
    I see a man and woman on my doorstep, both wearing business formal, and there is one uniformed officer at their back. I am aware that there may be more people out there in the front of my yard – I get the impression of more official vehicles than I can count on one hand, but Leo is on his hind legs, front ones paddling with the effort to break away from my grip and get down to the serious business of protecting me from the people trying to crowd through my door.
    Both the man and the woman are talking to me; the woman, actually, is shouting, something about
the dog
, but my ears ring with the near painful volume of Leo’s bark and I can’t hear anything except
the dog … dammit
.
    I wave at them, which can mean whatever it is they want it to mean, and put both hands on Leo’s leather collar, which is stretching as much as leather can stretch. I drag him backward toward the bathroom. My wrists are already aching, as they have ached since I started leash training this dog, and pulling him along backward is a new trick that gives me a little bit of leverage as it tips him off balance. He flips sideways – that’s a new one too, but we’re right in front of the bathroom door now, and I shove him inside, telling him to hush, more a wish than a command, and shut him in. He continues to bark and scrabble his toenails against the door, and I know he is adding a new layer of nail tracks to join the other ones that travel up and down the panel of wood. More paint flecks on the floor. I can’t see them, but I know they are there.
    â€˜Leo. Quiet. Now.’
    A small whimper then a sad yelp, and silence followed by a tremendous thud. Leo is lying down.
    The man and woman in business suits and a deputy sheriff are in my living room. Different faces, but the same sort of crew that stood there seven years ago to the day.
    â€˜The dog is safe,’ I tell them, trying to catch my breath. I nod toward the bathroom door. ‘He’s still in training, that’s all.’
    â€˜No kidding?’ the woman says.
    The sheriff nods in Leo’s direction. His bullet-shaped head is shaved to a fine blondish crew, his uniform neatly ironed, and he affects the posture of the alpha male, shoulders square and confident.
    â€˜I used to work K-9. Shepherds can be the best dogs in the world, but you need to get him in hand, ma’am. That one looks like he’s not going to stop until he achieves world domination.’
    â€˜You must be a dog whisperer. It’s like you can read his mind.’ This from the woman in her tight navy skirt and snug little blouse.
    I don’t like her.
    The man in the suit, also navy, seems off balance, thanks, I think, to Leo. He seems less than patient with our chit chat.
    â€˜Agent Russell Woods, FBI, and this is my partner, Agent Mavis Jones. And this is Deputy Sheriff Bernard Collins.’
    I look at their official identifications, check names and faces against pictures, shake all the hands, while my heart beats faster and faster. I don’t introduce myself. They know who I am, don’t they?
    â€˜Ma’am, you are Joy Miller?’ Agent Woods says.
    â€˜Yes, I’m Joy Miller. Is there some kind of trouble?’
    Agent Mavis Jones narrows her eyes at me. ‘You tell us.’
    â€˜Let me rephrase that, Agent Jones. What in the hell do you mean by beating on my door in the middle of the night and scaring me half to death?’
    Agent Jones glares at me and it is Special Agent Woods who explains.
    â€˜Mrs Miller, we’re very sorry to disturb you, but we got a call from the Little Rock office in Arkansas …’
    This. Cannot. No.
    â€˜â€¦ regarding a Caroline Miller, age twenty-nine, and her daughter, Andee Miller, age seven.’
    My ears are buzzing and my vision tunnels. I can see Agent Woods, his mouth is moving, but I cannot hear what he says. I am sliding