Lies That Bind Read Online Free PDF Page A

she wanted after the hours spent in church, next to the Haggerty girls. She pulled a big silver mixing bowl from the shelf next to the sink and assembled a few ingredients, going to the locked pantry that Billy, DuClos’s “assistant,” had tried to get into a few days before, and opening the door with the key on her key ring. She moved a few items around, looking for the new large bottle of vanilla extract that she knew she had bought a week earlier but which now seemed to be missing.
    First the flour that needed to be thrown out, and now the missing vanilla. At this rate, replacing ingredients would bankrupt her in no time.
    Although she heard the door that led from the front of the store to the kitchen creak ever so slightly, she didn’t have time to turn around, down on her knees inside the pantry, before a blow to the back of her head sent her face-first onto the floor. But she did smell something before she blacked out, and although she wasn’t sure when she woke up, she was thinking it might be garlic.

 
    CHAPTER 6
    Why hadn’t she ever noticed that local police detective Chris Larsson’s eyes were the deepest blue? Or that when he smiled, the skin around them crinkled in a way that masked the fact that he spent most of his time in serious pursuits, keeping the village safe from crime? From her place on the floor, inside the shallow pantry, she looked up at him, smiling herself.
    What a nice sight to wake up to, she thought.
    “If I’d known you were coming, I’d have baked a cake,” she said, attempting to sit up.
    “Whoa, stay there,” he said, pressing a gentle hand against her clavicle. “Let’s get you checked out before we start moving around too much.”
    Behind him, Jo was leaning against the butcher-block counter and wringing her hands. “Is she okay?”
    “Does she always talk about baking?” Chris asked, standing up and moving away from the pantry.
    He was replaced by an EMT, a kid she felt sure was not much older than Heather but who seemed confident in his ministrations. He finally sat Maeve up. “I think we should take her to Northern Westchester for observation.”
    Maeve put up a hand. “Nope. That’s not necessary.” She stood, and although she felt a little woozy at first, that feeling was replaced with steadiness and a pounding headache. She put a hand to the back of her head and felt a hard lump. “Who hit me?” she asked, taking a seat at the small desk at which she did her accounting and invoicing. She looked around and took in the concerned faces of another EMT and two uniformed cops. “What happened?”
    “I don’t know,” Jo said, “but I passed a car on the way over here. I came to see if you needed anything from me, if you’d be okay. I found you on the floor of the pantry.”
    Chris Larsson crouched down in front of her. “Do you remember anything, Maeve? Any sounds?”
    “I remember a bad smell.” Chris and Jo exchanged a look that told her they thought she had sustained a far more serious head injury than she had. “Garlic?” She went through the papers on her desk and found Sebastian DuClos’s card. “Here. Ask him.”
    Chris took the card and looked it over. “He’s your landlord, right?”
    Maeve nodded, and just the simple act of moving her head up and down intensified her headache. “Yes. He smells like garlic.”
    Jo was nodding vigorously. “He does.”
    “Okay, Maeve, we’ll find out where Mr. DuClos was around the time of this incident,” Chris said, even though the look on his face told Maeve that he wasn’t convinced she would be attacked by her landlord. “Are you behind on your rent?” he asked.
    “No,” she said. “On time. Every month.”
    “Are you sure we can’t convince you to go to the hospital?” Chris asked.
    “I’m sure,” she said. She looked over at Jo. “Please put some things together for everyone here. As a thank-you.” She motioned to the EMTs. “Go with her to the front of the store and pick out what