K.J. Emrick - Darcy Sweet 12 - Death at the Wheel Read Online Free PDF Page A

anything she could do to help with the accident clean up.  She could always come back later or catch Helen at home.
    After knocking on the door, Darcy waited.  Helen stopped talking.  The entire building was silent around her.
    In that silence, the presence watched her.  Darcy felt a pressure along her skin like the air itself was thickening around her.  It brushed against her mind, just out of the reach of her senses, and Darcy didn’t dare turn around to look for fear that when she did, there actually would be a tall, dark man there, watching, waiting…
    The door to Helen’s office flew open in front of her and Darcy took an involuntary step back before she collected herself with a strangled yelp.  Like a bubble popping, the tension Darcy had felt pressing down on her disappeared and was gone.
    Helen stood there blinking at her, her graying hair falling out of its careful curls, her eyes a little unfocused.  The gray pants suit she wore was wrinkled and mussed.  In all respects, she looked out of sorts.  After a heartbeat, the mayor of Misty Hollow smiled and put her hand out for Darcy to take.
    “Oh, hi, Darcy.   I wasn’t expecting a visit from you today.  Come in, come in.  I’m a little busy right now trying to coordinate with the police and the town road crews.  Can you believe that accident?  Did you see it?  It was right in front of your shop, wasn’t it?”
    Helen stepped back and went around to sit behind her modest desk with its plexiglass top that was all but buried by a computer and files and loose papers and a ceramic mug that said “World’s Greatest Boss” on it.  Darcy followed her in, stopping to close the door.  Her eyes swept around the room.  Book cases.  A painting of a beach scene on one wall.  Three metal filing cabinets.  Helen.  Darcy.
    There was no one else in the room.
    “I thought I heard you talking to someone?” Darcy asked.
    “ Hm?  Oh.  Um.  I might have been on the phone, I guess.  I haven’t had anyone else here all day.  Just you.  So, what brings you down here?  It’s a little early for lunch, and I’m afraid I’m too busy at any rate.”
    “I’m sure you are.  I can’t remember the last time we had an accident this bad here.”
    “I think the last time was five years ago or so.  Remember?  When Christopher Nevell drove his car off the bridge on New Holland Road?”
    “That’s right.  Poor kid.”  Darcy hadn’t quite forgotten about that accident, but she had been able to put it to rest after a while.  Chris had died after his car slid on black ice and crashed through the guardrails to launch over the bridge and fall three hundred feet to the ravine below.  His spirit had come to wake Darcy out of a deep sleep and ask her to find his body.  Not one of her favorite memories.
    “Anyway,” Darcy said.  “I can’t stay long myself.  I need to get to the hardware store.  Plus, I need to go down to the station and give a statement to Jon.  Have you heard anything new about the missing driver?”
    Helen shook her head.  “Our officers searched everywhere they could think of.  They didn’t find anyone.  That’s all I’ve heard.  Mysterious, isn’t it?”
    Darcy nodded.  She heard that word so much in her life that she was thinking of having t-shirts made up that read, “The Mysterious is all around us.”
    Sitting at her desk, Helen shivered from head to toe.  “My goodness,” she said, rubbing her hands up and down her arms.  “Is it cold in here?  My office always seems so chilly.  I’ll have to ask our janitor to look at the heating system.  Well, I suppose I should get back to work.  There’s a lot more to do today than yesterday.  I suppose there will be even more tomorrow.”
    “I understand,” Darcy told her.  “If I can help at all just let me know.”
    “Thanks, Darcy.  I appreciate that.  My best to your sister.  Can’t wait to see her baby.  When is her due date?”
    “Next week, if