Key Witness Read Online Free PDF Page B

nothing less.”
    Denton stayed close as they wove between people toward the dressing room. She had to admit—she felt safe with him nearby and, even without knowing a lot about him, she already trusted his competence and skill.
    Elle’s conversation with Brianna fluttered through her mind. She glanced over at Denton. “By the way, I apologize for my assistant earlier. She’s always been the one who speaks before she thinks.”
    “No apologies necessary. She’s your assistant?”
    “As of two months ago she became my assistant. Before that, she was simply my best friend.”
    “Your best friend now works for you? Sounds like an interesting dynamic.”
    “She and her husband just split, and she’s having trouble making ends meet right now. I needed an assistant so I hired her. It seems like a win-win...for now, at least.”
    “I see.” He paused for a second. “Tell me more about Bentley Davis.”
    Elle’s gaze cut to him, but she didn’t slow her steps. “Bentley? He’s worked with my dad for years, ever since Dad was a judge. Why do you ask?”
    “Until we know who’s behind these threats, everyone is a suspect.”
    “Even Bentley? He’s quite annoying sometimes, but truly harmless.” She pushed into the dressing room and spotted the papers atop her soft-as-butter leather briefcase. “Besides, if he’d been one of the robbers, I think I would have recognized him. They were strangers, remember?”
    “Remember that things aren’t always as they seem, Elle. And there could be a third person involved, someone you never saw or heard. Everything that happened yesterday could have been a ruse for something bigger. There are a lot of unknowns right now.”
    “I have a hard time believing anything other than that my involvement in this whole thing is random. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
    “Let me decide that.”
    She flipped through the correspondence with one hand while she grabbed her briefcase with the other hand and swung it over her shoulder.
    “Anything good?”
    “Any support of my father’s campaign is good.” She glanced up and smiled. “But yes, there are some pledges in here that look promising.”
    She paused when she got to a sealed envelope. Why hadn’t Bentley opened this one? She slid her fingernail through the paper and pulled out a card. She sucked in a breath, noting that this wasn’t their normal correspondence.
    “What is it?” Denton’s hand covered hers.
    She dropped the papers from her hands. They scattered across the floor as Elle backed away.
    “Elle?”
    She pointed at the floor. “There are pictures of me. From this morning.” Reading on her laptop inside the sunroom. Drinking coffee by the window. Sitting pensively on the porch.
    Denton picked one up. “Pictures? How did someone get pictures?”
    “There was a message, too, Denton, stuck on a sticky note.”
    “What did it say?”
    Terror seemed to freeze her expression, make her unable to move. “It said that ‘Agony awaits.’”
    * * *
    “Is it really necessary for me to leave right now? Can’t I just make an appearance at the reception?”
    Denton kept a firm grip on her arm as he led her toward a door at the back of the building. “More than necessary. You do understand that the person who’s threatening you was—maybe still is—here tonight, don’t you?”
    She nodded, her eyes dazed. “I do, but...” She paused from her distress to shake hands with a few people who tried to chat with her about the debate. Denton urged her onward. Once she escaped from the crowd’s grasp, she looked up at him. “I don’t know what to think right now. This is just crazy.”
    “The police are going to search for any evidence here. They’re sending me the security tapes so we can see who’s been in and out of your dressing room. No one, other than authorized personnel, should have had access to that area, though. I want to know how someone got back there.”
    “You need to talk to