Murder List Read Online Free PDF Page A

pleasantries.
    “I need a favor. A big one.”
    “Rome was fine. Thank you for asking. What kind of favor?”
    “Say yes first.”
    Regan laughed. “I haven’t fallen for that ploy since kindergarten.”
    “Then meet me for lunch. Not today,” she hurried to add. “I know you’re probably swamped with work, and I’ve got two meetings back to back I can’t miss. Maybe we could do it tomorrow or the day after. I’ll need a couple of hours.”
    “A couple of hours for lunch?”
    “Lunch and a favor,” she corrected. “We could meet at The Palms at twelve-thirty on Friday.
    Cordie’s through at noon, and she could join us. Can you do Friday?”
    “I’m not sure I—”
    “I really need your help.”
    She sounded pitiful. Regan knew it was deliberate manipulation, but she decided to let her get away with it.
    “If it’s that important…,” she began.
    “It is.”
    “Okay, I’ll make it work.”
    “I knew I could count on you. Oh, by the way, I checked with Henry to make sure your calendar was clear next weekend, and I told him to pencil me in.”
    “For the entire weekend? Sophie, what’s going on?”
    “I’ll explain it to you at lunch, and you’ll have a whole week to think about it.”
    “I can’t—”
    “I loved the picture in the newspaper. Your hair looked great.”
    “Sophie, I want to know—”
    “I’ve got to get going. I’ll see you Friday at twelve-thirty at The Palms.” Regan wanted to argue, but it was pointless since Sophie had already hung up the phone. She checked the time, then grabbed her PDA and rushed out the door. Paul Greenfield, a senior staff member and a dear friend, was waiting in the lobby. Regan had known Paul since she was a teenager.
    She’d worked as his intern during the summer months of her junior year in high school, and for those three months she’d been madly in love with him. Paul had known about her infatuation—she’d been ridiculously obvious about what her mother called a bad crush—but he was very sweet about it. Married now with four children of his own who ran him ragged, he always had a ready smile for her. Paul’s hair was graying at the temples and he wore bottle-thick glasses, but Regan still thought he was extremely handsome. He was holding what looked like a five-hundred-page printout in his arms.
    “Good morning, Paul. Looks like you’ve got your hands full.”
    “Good morning,” he replied. “Actually, these are for you.”
    “Oh?” she took a step back.
    He grinned. “Sorry, but about an hour ago I got an e-mail from your brother Aiden.”
    “Yes?” she asked when he hesitated.
    “He was wondering why he hasn’t heard from you.”
    He tried to hand the stack of papers to her. She took another step back and smiled. “What exactly does Aiden want to hear?”
    “Your opinion of his report.”
    “He wrote all that? When in heaven’s name did he have time to write a five-hundred-page report?”
    “Two hundred and ten pages,” he corrected.

    “Okay. When did he have time to write a two-hundred-and-ten-page report?”
    “You know your brother doesn’t sleep.”
    Or have a life, she thought but didn’t dare say because it would have been disloyal. “Apparently not,” she said. “What kind of report is it?”
    Paul smiled. She was looking at the pages as though she expected a jack-in-the-box to jump out at her. “Aiden’s plans for expansion,” he said. “He needs to know what you think before he can go forward. All the numbers are there. Spencer and Walker have already gotten on board.”
    “Bet they didn’t have to read the thing.”
    “Actually, no, they didn’t.”
    She could see the guilty look on his face as he transferred the pages into her arms. She balanced the PDA on top.
    “Aiden didn’t even mention this when we were in Rome. He now thinks I should have already read it?”
    “There’s obviously been a mix-up. This is the second time I’ve had to have the pages printed for you.
    The first