The Code of the Hills Read Online Free PDF Page A

that you don’t have to worry about Paige.”
    She didn’t follow. “What?”
    â€œThe woman I was playing pool with: Paige. She works at the crime lab.”
    â€œOh, yeah. Her.”
    Switching topics, he said, “I wish I wasn’t working tomorrow, but I’m pulling the second shift.”
    â€œYeah, I figured.”
    â€œSo I guess I won’t see you till Monday.”
    â€œMonday?” she repeated. “What are we doing Monday?”
    â€œI’m set to testify at the courthouse. I’ll come and see what you’re up to. We’ll get a bite to eat later on.”
    Her mood lightened at the prospect. She was tired of eating alone. And they could catch up on some other activities that she’d been missing.
    â€œOkay,” she said with enthusiasm. “I’d really like that.”
    â€œSee you Monday, then,” he said.
    Once they hung up, she tossed her phone on the table. She was a sucker, she knew. But it was hard to hold a grudge against a man who looked like he could be in movies.
    Sometimes Elsie thought that when it came to romance, she had been born under an unlucky star. She wondered, and not for the first time, how she managed to reach the ripe old age of thirty-­one without even coming close to a walk down the aisle. Once she stumbled through her awkward adolescence and moved beyond those years of nearsighted angst and acne, she attracted her share of attention from men; she’d been told she was very attractive, and she knew that she had a winning smile and a shining mane of blond hair. Maybe she was built more like an hourglass than a waif, but she found that a buxom girl had plenty of appeal to the opposite sex. Nonetheless, she was still waiting to be lucky in love.
    Lots of things came easy to Elsie: academics were a breeze, public speaking was natural, and she could make ­people laugh. But beneath a veneer of confidence, she battled self-­doubt. Was she good enough to ensure that the guilty were convicted? Were her instincts keen enough, was her courtroom advocacy convincing? And on the personal side, did she lack some essential quality men looked for in a mate? Because it seemed to her that finding the right man was like hunting for treasure without a map.
    Admittedly, she had a long history of targeting the wrong guy; from high school, when she chased after the star of the basketball team and ignored the star debater who pined for her, through her undergraduate years, partying with frat boys. And in law school, she’d bypassed the quiet scholars in the law library to lounge with a flashy guy in the student bar association office. It never quite worked out.
    Four years ago, when she’d returned to her hometown, Elsie had resolved to forget about romance altogether, to keep her nose to the grindstone and hone her professional skills. Barton didn’t offer a generous population of eligible partners anyway. Most men were married, and none of the few singles who remained could be considered a diamond in the rough.
    So she wasn’t looking for love when Noah came on the scene. She’d heard some buzz about him from the courthouse clerks: a new cop was in town, fresh from the farm country in the Missouri Bootheel but looking like he stepped off the movie screen. Elsie didn’t credit the reports until she saw him in the flesh, when he appeared as a witness in a liquor store burglary. Putting Noah on the stand, she had the chance to engage with him, and sparks flew. She’d always felt most confident when she was in the courtroom, and with him on the stand calling her ma’am and answering every question with a lopsided grin, the electricity was so hot, she had trouble remembering the direct examination questions she’d prepared. While the defense attorney cross-­examined Noah, Elsie sat at her counsel table with her legs tightly crossed and couldn’t stop herself from eye-­fucking him between