In the Dead of Night Read Online Free PDF Page B

ears.

    …your father was a killer and your mother was a whore.

    Those were the words that hurt the most, she realized. She’d loved her parents desperately. To have their names tarnished when they weren’t there to defend themselves outraged and offended her deeply.

    “You’re wrong about them.” Sara jammed the car into Reverse.

    When she glanced in the rearview mirror, her heart stopped dead in her chest. “Oh my God.”

    Hitting the brake, she turned. Blood-red letters streaked from the rain were scrawled messily on the rear window.

     

    Curiosity killed the cat.

Chapter Four

    Nick’s temper was still pumping when he ran from the shop to catch Sara. He spotted her rental car just as she was backing away from the curb. He sprinted toward it. “Sara! Wait!”
    Of course, she couldn’t hear him with the windows rolled up tightly against the deluge of rain. But to his surprise, the car jerked to a halt. He waited, expecting her to pull back into the parking place, but the car remained still, idling halfway into the street.

    Only when a car horn sounded from the street did he realize she was blocking traffic. Crossing to the driver’s-side door, Nick bent and tapped on the glass. He wasn’t sure why he’d run into the rain after her. He wasn’t even sure what he was going to say. All he knew was that he didn’t want to leave things the way they were.

    The window hummed down. He started to tell her to pull forward when he noticed her shell-shocked expression. If he hadn’t been a cop, he might not have discerned the pale cast of her complexion, her white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel or the way her eyes kept flicking to the rear window.

    “I don’t have anything to say to you,” she said.

    “Yeah, well, I’ve got something to say to you.” He motioned toward the parking meter. “Pull in.”

    Shaking her head, she put the car in gear and eased it back into the parking space. Only when the rear window came into view did Nick notice the crude red lettering smeared on the glass. The rain had obliterated much of the letters, but there was enough left for him to make out what they spelled.

Curiosity killed the cat.
    What the hell?

    He stared at the words for a moment, then strode to the window. “How long has that been there?”

    “I don’t know.” She blew out a pent-up breath. “It wasn’t there when I walked into your mother’s shop.”

    He looked up and down the street, but the sidewalks were mostly deserted because of the rain. “Did you see anyone near your car when you walked out?”

    “I was a little preoccupied but, no, I didn’t notice anyone.”

    Realizing he was soaked, he motioned across the street. “Look, the police station is right there. I’d like for you to walk over with me so we can talk about this.”

    “You mean the fact that your mother slapped me? Or the adolescent cliché some clown wrote on my car?”

    “Both.” Nick opened her door. “Come on. I’ve got hot coffee.”

    To his surprise she acquiesced. Without speaking, they crossed the street, jumping over the torrent of water at the curb.

    The police station was a small office on the first level of a redbrick building that also housed the local phone company and two apartments on the second level. Nick shoved open the wooden door, bypassed the stairs, and took Sara through a glass door and directly to the police department.

    His dispatcher, administrative assistant and part-time officer glanced up from his desk when they entered.

    “Damn, Chief, forget your rain suit?”

    “Left it in my other bag,” Nick said sardonically.

    Behind him, Sara brushed rain from her jacket, but she was hopelessly soaked.

    Noticing his dispatcher’s curious stare, he frowned. “B.J., this is Sara Douglas.” Nick glanced at Sara. “This is B. J. Lundgren, one of my officers.”

    “Nice to meet you.” Rising, B.J. offered his hand. “You’re staying up at the old Douglas mansion?”

    Sara nodded