Leave It to Cleavage Read Online Free PDF

store were open by the time Blake made his way back up Main Street. Diane Lowell was turning on lights in the Blue Willow Antique Mall and Sandwich Emporium. At the end of Main, Blake stamped his feet on the mat outside the Truro Police Department and stepped through the door into the luxurious warmth of the brand-new building. Unlike the original hundred-and-fifty-year-old structure, which had been moved to a final resting place just outside of town, this one had shiny linoleum floors and smooth plaster walls. It also had new desks and an even newer computer, but its most impressive feature—at least in light of recent temperatures—was the central heating and cooling.
    Blake stepped into the toasty warmth of the reception area, hung his coat on the hall tree, and stopped at the front desk for messages.
    Anne Farnsworthy’s fingers flew over her keyboard at top speed, and she had a phone cradled between her shoulder and ear. When she noticed him, she stopped typing long enough to hand him a pile of message slips, then finished up on the phone.
    “Morning, Anne. What do we have so far?”
    “Well, Tyler Poole’s pickup got stuck in a snowdrift, and I sent Jim out to help him. Got a couple more of those strange hang-up calls—evidently somebody only wants to talk to you—and Andie’s math teacher called. She left her homework at home again, but I called your grandfather and asked him to run it on over. Ed’s going to be a little late getting in. Other than that it’s been real quiet.”
    She looked him up and down. “Did you have breakfast? I brought in some sweet rolls in case you didn’t have time to—”
    Blake groaned. “How in the world did I get appointed chief when the female population of Truro believes I can’t feed or clothe myself? How helpless do I look?”
    “Those are trick questions, right?”
    “Absolutely.”
    In Blake’s experience, which was vast, watching a man and child get dumped by their respective wife and mother did one of two things to a woman. It either turned her on or heightened her maternal instincts. And it almost always sent her scurrying to the stove.
    The phone rang and Anne picked up on the second ring. “Truro Police Department,” she said. “Uh, wait, hold on. He just walked in.”
    She clamped a hand over the mouthpiece and motioned to Blake. “It’s her,” she said quietly, “the one who keeps calling and asking for you, but won’t leave a message. She’s calling from a pay phone.”
    “I’ll take it in my office.” Blake moved quickly through the reception area and closed his office door behind him. A second after he picked up the phone, the call was put through.
    “Chief Summers.”
    “I want to report foul play.” It was a woman’s voice, muffled and distant sounding, but definitely a female.
    “Who is this?”
    “It doesn’t matter who I am. What matters is that Tom Smith is missing and nobody’s doing anything about it.”
    “Mrs. Smith?” He tried to picture the elegant Miranda Smith huddled in a phone booth placing an anonymous phone call to the chief of police.
    The woman’s laugh was muffled, but he could tell how lacking in humor it was.
    “Hardly. But then maybe she hasn’t noticed he’s gone. The Ladies’ Guild can be
soooo
time-consuming.” Though her voice remained unidentifiable, the sarcasm came through loud and clear.
    “And what makes you think something’s happened to Tom Smith?”
    “Because he’s disappeared. And I know he would have contacted me if he were able to.”
    “If you want me to investigate, you’re going to have to give me more than that.”
    There was silence on the other end, but he could hear the woman’s breathing.
    “If you don’t identify yourself or give me something concrete, there’s not much I can do.”
    “Wouldn’t want to upset the Ballantynes, would we, Chief? Sort of like taking a stab at the Royal Family.”
    He ignored the jibe. “It
is
up to the family to file a missing persons