Sidney Sheldon's Angel of the Dark Read Online Free PDF Page B

help us?”
    The short answer to that was no. Andrew Jakes’s business dealings had been clean as a whistle. He was a prominent philanthropist, not to mention a significant donor to the LAPD’s Policemen’s Benevolent Association.
    Danny thought, I knew I’d heard the name somewhere. Strange a charitable guy like that left nothing to good causes in his will.
    The old man had no known enemies, and no family, close or otherwise, other than an ex-wife he’d divorced more than twenty-five years earlier who was now happily remarried and living in Fresno.
    The door opened suddenly. Officer John Bolt, a shy redhead and one of the most junior members of Danny’s team, burst into the room clutching a piece of paper. Everybody looked up.
    â€œMrs. Jakes’s lawyer just released a statement.”
    The mention of Lyle Renalto made Danny’s shoulders tense. Detective Henning’s background search on Renalto had come up with nothing out of the ordinary, but Danny’s suspicions lingered.
    â€œDon’t keep us in suspense, Bolt. What does she say?”
    â€œShe’s giving away all the money she inherits from her husband’s estate to children’s charities.”
    Danny said, “Not all of it, surely?”
    Bolt handed Danny the paper. “Every penny, sir. Over four hundred million dollars.”
    Reading the statement, Danny felt a strange sense of elation.
    I knew she wasn’t a gold digger. I just sensed it. I gotta learn to trust my instincts more.
    Â 
    A N HOUR LATER , D ANNY PULLED UP outside the gates of a large, neo-Tudor mansion in Beverly Hills. Twenty-twenty Canon Drive was the address Angela Jakes gave when she was released from the hospital. It belonged to a friend.
    â€œI can’t go back to Loma Vista, Detective,” she’d explained to Danny. “It’s too painful. I’ll stay with a friend until the estate is sold.”
    A uniformed maid showed Danny through to a warm, sunny sitting room filled with overstuffed couches and big vases of heavily scented freesias and lilies. It was a feminine room, and Angela Jakes looked quite at home in it, walking over to greet Danny in bare feet and jeans. It was now two weeks since the attack and the bruises to her face had mellowed to a soft apricot yellow. For the first time Danny could see the color of her eyes: a rich, liquid brown, like melted chocolate. No woman had a right to be that beautiful.
    â€œDetective.” She shook his hand, smiling. Danny felt his mouth go dry. “Is there any news? Have you found him yet?”
    â€œNot yet.”
    A flicker of disappointment crossed her face and Danny felt disproportionately upset. Angela Jakes was the last woman on earth he wanted to disappoint.
    â€œWe’re still in the early stages of our investigation, Mrs. Jakes,” he assured her. “We’ll find him.”
    Angela sat down on one of the couches and gestured for Danny to do the same. “Please, call me Angela. Can I get you anything? Some tea perhaps.”
    â€œI’m fine, thank you.” Danny loosened his tie. Is it me, or is it hot in here? “I wanted to ask you a couple more questions if I may. About your marriage.”
    Angela looked perplexed. “My marriage?”
    â€œThe better the picture we can build up of your life together, the easier it’ll be for us to figure out who might have done this. And why.”
    She considered this, nodding thoughtfully. “All right. Well, what would you like to know?”
    â€œLet’s begin at the beginning. How did the two of you meet?”
    â€œAt an art class at UCLA.”
    Her eyes lit up at the memory and Danny thought, My God, she really did love him.
    â€œIt wasn’t a regular degree course or anything. Just a night class I was taking. I used to enjoy art when I was in high school. Not that I was ever very good at it.” It astonished Danny how such a gorgeous woman could have