Take the Money: Romantic Suspense in Costa Rica Read Online Free PDF

were called to the scene about ten o’clock.  The name of the victim is being withheld pending notification of relatives.”
    The charred crumpled car was spotlighted, and ambulance drivers were shown carting away what appeared to be a corpse.  Maggie sat up, stunned to think that Julie had been in such an accident and survived.  The newscaster’s voice interrupted her thoughts.  “Apparently, the victim was alone and there were no other cars involved.”
    “Alone?”  Maggie echoed his words and turned to look at Jed.  “Why did she run away?  Do you think she was driving and panicked?”
    “Not Julie.  If she was to blame, and there was something she could have done to help, she would have done it.  That is, unless she was in shock.”
    “But I saw her, she was sane and lucid.  Where did she go?”
    Jed shook his head. “You’re probably going to have to make some kind of a decision here.  You’ll have to call the police if Julie doesn’t come home by tomorrow.”
    “Doesn’t come home?”  Maggie felt the panic rising in her chest.  She was too frightened even to cry.  “What do you mean?  Of course she’ll come home.  Why wouldn’t she?”
    Jed said, “Let’s turn off this TV and try to get some rest.”  He had an incredible ability to fall asleep when the world around him was falling apart.  Was it strength, or simple denial?  On the other hand, Julie’s father was a man whose manic energy often kept him up all night.  Maggie knew she had consciously chosen a second husband who was a total opposite of her first--which could be why Julie found him so hard to accept.
    But sleep was not an option for Maggie.  She lay in the darkness, watching as the wind and moonlight sent leafy shadows dancing across the bedroom walls.  Hope surged each time a car passed on the road outside, then faded as it failed to stop.  As soon as she was sure Jed was asleep, Maggie got up and went downstairs to sit on the sofa.
    Hours went by.  The rain finally stopped, and there was only the slow drip of water coming from the gutters along the porch.  The moon and the stars were hidden, but Maggie kept her eyes on the wet pavement that glistened under the streetlight, longing for Julie’s car to appear. Finally, she saw the gray light of dawn and lay down. She awakened to see Jed standing over her, holding out a cup of steaming coffee.
    “Careful,” Maggie said.  “You might burn yourself.”  As always, she was aware of his virility and lack of self-consciousness.  Jed’s farm upbringing had given him heavy arms corded with muscles and the firm body of a man much younger than his fifty-five years.  The fact that his chest was covered with silvery black hairs was not something he tried to conceal; he was totally comfortable with his body.  At the moment his dark brown eyes were studying her intently and were full of compassion.
    “I suppose you’ve been up all night watching for her.”
    “Not all night.  Last time I looked it was four o’clock.”
    “Surely you won’t try and go to work.”
    “I have to.  We’re short already.”  The nursing unit at the hospital to which Maggie was assigned was chronically understaffed.  Working in the transitional care unit wasn’t exactly a plum assignment.  Watching old people fade away wasn’t as uplifting as working on the floor below where beautiful babies were introduced to the world every day.
    “You’re entitled to an occasional sick day.”
    “But I’m not sick.”
    “Yes, you are, you’re totally stressed out.  You don’t have to keep pushing yourself, Maggie, you have me to fall back on now.”
    “Maybe you’re right about calling in.  If I go to work, I won’t be able to do anything all day about finding her.”  Maggie had finished half of her coffee, and the caffeine was clearing her mind.
    “Find her?  How do you propose to do that?  You and I both know that if Julie wants to disappear, she will.  From what you