Shattered by Death (A Jo Oliver Thriller Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

again.
    “Babe?” His voice was quiet and solid.
    “The fireplace, my fireplace… there’s a murder weapon in it. Maybe.” The woman in me warred with the cop in me. I needed the cop to surface. Fast.
    “I’m heading over. Did you touch it?” He was always in cop mode. His tone gave nothing away.
    “I… I’m not sure. Part of me did. Just my knuckles though, I think.” Did I touch it beyond that first brush?
    “Whoever planted it there would’ve been smart enough not to leave prints. Let’s keep it as pristine as possible. Ever seen it before?”
    “I don’t know.” Del had had a sledgehammer, hadn’t he?
    “We’ll sort it out later. Why don’t you call this in and get a forensics team on the way?”
    “Yeah. Good. That’s good.” It was good, wasn’t it?
    My practically-ex-husband and his girlfriend had been found murdered on our lake property just a few hours ago. And then what must have been the murder weapon had turned up in my fireplace. Anyone with half a brain would know that I had plenty to gain by the untimely death of my husband in the middle of our divorce proceedings.
    Whoever was behind this was in possession of a devilish yet brilliant mind. No one was going to look better as the prime suspect than me.

 
     
     
    A bloody sledgehammer planted in my fireplace. Maybe this time I was up against something too big for me to solve on my own. Thank God for Nick. What would I do without him? Hummingbird wings fluttered in my chest.
    For the second time in the same day, I was trembling, waiting for Nick. To do what, save me? More bird wings beating in my heart. Did I need saving?
    Del and, and his other woman , murdered.
    Maybe I did. The beautiful creature blurred to a stop, wings merging into one large, veined leaf, with its own rhythmic swaying.
    Why couldn’t I manage my life on my own? Was my new life going to include being managed by other people? I don’t think so.
    Steel walls slammed down between my heart and my head. What kind of woman was I turning out to be? The veined leaf bent under the growing weight of the hummingbird. I didn’t need Del, and I don’t need Nick. I can’t live my life clinging from man to man, like Jane of the jungle in search of her next Tarzan. Stormy winds ripped the leaf apart, replacing its warmth with a steel ball inside my chest.
    Three short raps on the front door windowpane interrupted my ruminations. I shook my head once and rose to let Nick in. I’d grapple with the feeling of my life being in his hands later. I was no one’s damsel in distress. Not even Nick’s.
    He walked in, his crime scene go-bag clenched in his right hand, half-hugging me with his other arm. “Show me, beautiful.”
    I pointed to the hearth. He’d built more fires in it than I had during the past few months. He could have easily planted the sledgehammer.
    He walked past me to the great room, stopping to set his case down on the coffee table. Hesitating, he looked up at me. “Okay if I spread out here?”
    “Of course. Let me help you clear it.” I swooped in, moving cooking magazines and my mug of cold peppermint tea. Isolation cascaded down around me as he walked right by without reaching out to touch me. Was I invisible to him now?
    He pulled out his tools, put on his gloves, knelt down, and started snapping pictures with his phone. “So aren’t you going to ask me why I’m here?”
    I cocked my head at him. A travel-sized can of luminol sat on the floor next to him. “Uh, ‘cause I called you?”
    His jagged smile almost reached his eyes. “And because I’ve officially taken this one over for the good guys.”
    He still didn’t seem very happy to see me. Avoiding me out of guilt?
    “That good news or bad news?” That he could get permission this quick to have the Feds take over this case didn’t surprise me. That he found it necessary to do so, did.
    “Good news. Always and only good news when it involves you and me, beautiful.” He set up a small