No One Left to Tell Read Online Free PDF Page A

address.’
    ‘Paige Holden and that building, right there.’ She pointed over her shoulder. ‘Three-A.’
    ‘Did you know the victim?’ he asked.
    ‘Just to see her around. I—’ She broke off, looking past Perkins to where a tall man was elbowing his way through the crowd. Clay was here. A piece of her settled.
    The cop saw him too. ‘Wait over there,’ Perkins said sharply, pointing, and Clay’s eyes flashed fury.
    ‘Please, let him stay.’ She held out her hand and winced when Clay grasped hard.
    ‘Are you all right?’ Clay asked quietly and she managed to curve her lips upward.
    ‘Shaken and stirred, but okay.’ She turned to Perkins. ‘I’m ready.’
    ‘Did you know the victim?’ Perkins asked again.
    ‘Elena Muñoz. She and her family do the maintenance here at the complex. Empty trash, mop the floors, clear sidewalks when it snows, cut the grass when it grows. Maria is their mother. She manages the business.’ She’d been forced to work after Ramon’s arrest. This will break her heart . ‘The building super will have a number.’
    ‘I’ll be sure to ask him,’ Perkins said. ‘So what happened?’
    ‘I was walking my dog when the van came at me. I jumped out of the way, the van crashed, and I tried to help. The EMTs had just arrived when the last shot was fired.’
    Perkins gave her a long look that made her want to squirm. The steady pressure of Clay’s hand holding hers kept her focused. ‘Did she say anything?’ Perkins asked.
    Paige had thought this through while waiting for the all-clear. There had been a small crowd behind her toward the end, but thanks to Peabody, probably not close enough to have overheard. ‘She begged me to help her, but that was about all.’
    Perkins nodded, his expression unreadable. ‘Most people would have run.’
    Paige shrugged. ‘It didn’t occur to me.’ And that was the truth.
    ‘What do you do for a living, Paige?’ Perkins asked.
    ‘Lots of things. I work part time in a gym. I’m a personal trainer. I also work for a PI.’
    Perkins’s brows rose. ‘What do you do for the PI, exactly?’
    ‘Mostly take pictures of cheating spouses.’
    ‘Could you have been the sniper’s target this morning? Maybe somebody who didn’t like you taking their picture?’
    Paige blinked, startled. ‘No. Somebody shot her before she got here. I assumed whoever fired the last shot was . . . finishing what they’d started.’
    Clay cleared his throat. ‘Can she go now, Detective? She’s pale as a ghost.’
    Perkins took a notepad from his pocket. ‘And you are, sir?’
    ‘Clay Maynard,’ Clay said.
    ‘Your relationship to Miss Holden?’ he asked.
    ‘We’re friends,’ Clay said and squeezed Paige’s hand again. ‘If that’s all . . .?’
    ‘For now. Please stay available. We’ll have more questions as we investigate.’
    ‘Thank you,’ Paige said to Burke. ‘I hope you don’t get suspended on my account.’
    ‘Just promise you’ll come to the hospital if you have any issues later on.’
    ‘I will.’ When hell freezes over . ‘Thanks again.’
    ‘I’ll get an officer to escort you to your apartment,’ Perkins said. ‘There are a lot of reporters who will want your story. I hope you won’t talk to them.’
    ‘I won’t. That you can count on.’ Keeping a tight hold on Peabody, Paige started for her apartment. The reporters began shouting for her attention and she ignored them.
    Until one called, ‘Hey Paige, where’d you learn to jump like that?’
    ‘What does that mean?’ she asked Clay. ‘What are they talking about?’
    Clay urged her forward. ‘Keep walking, Paige.’
    She held her tongue until they reached the door of her apartment. ‘What did they mean about my jump? The crash had just happened. Nobody was out there but me.’
    ‘Somebody was taking a video of you when the crash happened,’ the officer said, looking pained on her behalf. ‘It was on the news minutes later. You’re an internet star.’
    Paige