Material Witness Read Online Free PDF Page B

thinking and
wondering about Cassie Alvarez and how all those names rolled into one woman.
    He drew in a deep breath of air,
feeling a slight tremble in his hand as it gripped the steering wheel. He
didn't want to know anything more about Cassie Alvarez, or any of her aliases,
than he had to know. All his years on the force filled him with the gut
instinct that he should just drop her on the curb, make sure she got into her
apartment building and then drive away without looking back. After this case
was wrapped up, he’d do exactly that.
    “What about you?” he asked, going
against his reasoning. “Ever been married?”
    “Almost, once.”
    He squashed the sudden protective
feeling that swept through him. The birthdate on her driver’s license showed
she was twenty-nine years old, a good six years younger than him. No matter how
innocent Cassie appeared to be, she probably had relationships in her past just
as he had. He just wished the image of her with another man didn't feel like a
kick in the gut.
    “Did you grow up here?”
    A grin tugged at his lips as he stole
a quick glance at her. “Still researching?”
    She slouched a little in her seat and
smiled sheepishly. “Some habits are hard to break. Call it small talk this
time.”
    “New Jersey. West Orange to be exact.
Most of my family still lives there.”
    “I grew up in Stamford. But I went to
school in the city.”
    “Really?”
    She chuckled. “Why does that surprise
you?”
    “It doesn't.”
    They rode in silence for a few
blocks, past more streetlamps and lonely locked storefronts.
    “Okay, maybe I'm a little surprised.
I'm having trouble figuring out why an obviously intelligent and accomplished
woman like you thought she could just walk into a place like Rory's alone and
walk out unscathed,” he finally admitted. “I mean, did you even think about how
dangerous a place like that is?”
    “I certainly didn't expect to be in a
war zone. I guess being on deadline makes you do…stupid things.”
    He pushed his foot on the brake to
stop for a red light. He thought he heard a soft sigh and wondered if he’d
imagined it or if it was real.
    “I guess maybe I've just become
immune,” she said.
    “ Someone like me who sees this stuff every week, I
don’t think I’d ever be immune to what happened tonight. So I find it hard to
believe someone—”
    “Like me?” she said, eyeing him with
such intensity he hadn't noticed the light had turned green. “Forgive me, but
beyond knowing my name and professional alias, you know very little about me.”
    “I’m all ears.”
    “We have one block to go before you
reach my apartment building and not enough time to give it justice.”
    A sudden sadness enveloped her, but
she quickly brushed it aside.
    Jake drove the last block in silence,
fighting his strong desire to know something more about Cassie. He needed to
stay detached.
    He double-parked in front of her
building and left the car running.
    “Thank you for the ride,” she said,
slipping out of his leather jacket. “I'd say I had a nice time, but given the
events of the evening, and the fact that we weren't on a date, I don't think
it's appropriate.”
    “How about nice to have met you?”
    She paused for a second with her hand
on the door handle. A slow smile played on her full lips, but she didn’t
answer. She just pushed the door open and climbed out.
    “I'll call you,” he said as she
stepped out onto the sidewalk.
    Cassie swung around to look at him,
the question written across her tired features.
    “If I need more information for my
report,” he clarified.
    This time she didn't smile as she
nodded. Jake waited as she took the steps up to the front door, unlocked it and
stepped inside. He made sure the door had locked behind her before pulling away
from the curb.
    It had been an endless night in a
string of long nights. As he drove his car onto the boulevard, the streets were
vacant. Jake usually welcomed heading home after a long