The Scent of Lies: A Paradise Valley Mystery Read Online Free PDF Page A

financially if I ever found out he was cheating on me.”
    “What about the missing money?” Emily’s voice was barely more than a whisper. “Have you asked him about that?”
    “No,” Delia replied, shaking her head slightly.
    Surprised by the answer, Emily questioned in full volume, “Why not?”
    “Shhh, keep your voice down, please.” Delia’s eyes flashed around the coffee shop. “I haven’t asked because, if I get solid evidence that he’s embezzling money from my company, I want to have him arrested. If I had asked him about it, it might have tipped him off that I was on to him and he could have slipped away with the money he’s accumulated.”
    “I think I’ve got the picture. Do you mind if I give you an answer in a few days?” Emily asked. “I need to spend some time thinking about this.”
    “The sooner the better, my dear. I’ve already lost six months.”
    “Yes, why didn’t you just hire someone else to continue the case after my husband died?” It seemed odd that Delia would just let it drop and not pursue the truth with another investigator.
    “I was afraid to—the timing was bad, with the company expansion and all. I didn’t know who to trust. If Evan’s murder had anything to do with his investigation, or if word leaked out about the embezzlement, it could ruin my business.”
    “That makes sense,” she reasoned, “but if I decide to take it over, this investigation would certainly move a lot faster if I had the photos and evidence Evan had already gathered on Ricardo.”
    “It absolutely would,” Delia agreed, “but I have no idea what happened to them.”
    “I looked around Evan’s office a little this afternoon and didn’t come across anything with your name, or Ricardo’s, on it. I didn’t find anything that even showed he was working for you or that you had paid him.”
    “That’s because I paid him in cash, so there would be no paper trail.”
    “How much did you give him?”
    “Five thousand dollars, in two payments—twenty-five hundred up front and then another twenty-five hundred the day before he was killed. He’d been working on the case for a couple of weeks and told me he was planning to continue the investigation for a while longer.”
    “So that must be the five thousand in bills the police found in his desk. The detective thought he must have been into something shady because of that cash. I just couldn’t believe that.” A wave of relief washed over her to know the money hadn’t come from the sale of her grandmother’s diamond, either.
    Emily picked up her handbag and stood up to leave. “I’ll let you know in a day or two. This is a big decision for me, on many levels, and I need to make sure I am up for it. If I do this, I have to be all in.”
    On her drive home, Emily phoned Isabel, wanting her help to decide. With Isabel’s experience in the FBI, Emily trusted her opinion and advice, especially on this decision.
    “Hello, Emily,” Isabel answered brightly, obviously recognizing her number on her Caller ID. “What’s up?”
    “Hi, Isabel. First, I wanted to apologize for running out on our lunch today.”
    “You did leave us all a bit stunned, my friend.”
    “I know and I’m sorry.”
    “What was that about?” Isabel asked, letting a little giggle escape her lips.
    “I heard that,” Emily remarked. “Did I interrupt something?”
    “No, it’s just Alex playing around. He was nibbling on my neck, and I was trying to shoo him away so we could talk. Tell me, what’s going on?”
    “I don’t really want to get into it right now. Can I come over tomorrow and talk?”
    “Sure. Why don’t you come for brunch, about ten?”
    “Great. Sounds yummy, I’ll see you then.”

 
    Chapter 3
     
    Emily had wrestled through the night over whether to take on Delia McCall’s case or not. She’d had some experience helping Evan, but it had been limited and a few years ago at that.
    Although she did have a natural eye for detail and