Thirty-Five and a Half Conspiracies Read Online Free PDF Page A

don’t have that information, but your attorney should be able to find out for you.”
    “Thank you.”
    If Mason had posted my bail, then surely he’d be here waiting for me. Something told me it wasn’t him.
    So Carter really had come through. But did Skeeter Malcolm even have a million dollars?
    I left the courthouse, figuring I’d head to my office since my truck was at home, along with my cell phone and wallet and anything else that would be of use. I wasn’t prepared for the blast of cold air that hit me. The sheriff’s department had shown up at my front door and dragged me away Friday night, so I didn’t have a coat.
    My landscaping office was across the street, but Carter Hale’s office was on the way, albeit on the opposite side of the square. I decided to stop by and demand some answers.
    Carter’s receptionist looked up from her computer when I walked into the small waiting room. I’d been in this office only a few days ago, but at the time I’d been too preoccupied with watching Skeeter’s goon, who had been loitering outside my office, to notice the decor. But today I took in the dingy lighting, the plastic office chairs, and the stained commercial carpet. I could only hope Carter was more skilled with the law than he was at decorating.
    “Can I help you?” the woman asked, then her eyes widened. “Oh! You’re her!”
    I cringed. “You know me?”
    “Of course. You and your friend sure stirred things up last week.”
    “Sorry.”
    “No! Don’t be. It’s usually dry as burnt toast around here. Carter was in a good mood for the rest of the day.”
    “You don’t say?”
    “But I also know who you are because Carter took your case.”
    “Yeah … and speaking of my case, can I talk to him?”
    “I’ll let him know you’re here.”
    But just as she was getting out of her chair, a door at the end of a short hallway flung open and Carter came barreling down the hall.
    “Greta! Did you get a call from the courthouse about—”
    He took one look at me and stopped in his tracks. “You’re here. You really are out.”
    “Yeah. I was hoping to talk to you about that.”
    He glanced at Greta and motioned to his office. “I think it’s better if we have this discussion in private.”
    I nodded and followed him. He shut the door behind us and gestured to a chair in front of his desk.
    “I need to call Mason,” I said. “He said it was gonna take him all day to get the bail money, so I have a sneaking suspicion he didn’t post it.”
    Carter sat in his office chair and leaned back. “He didn’t. That’s what I was on my way to see Greta about.”
    “Did Skeeter post it?” I wasn’t sure being this direct was the best course of action, but I didn’t have time to beat around the bush.
    “No,” he said with a frown. “Someone named Glenn Stout from Little Rock posted your bail. One million cash.”
    My mouth dropped open. “Who’s Glenn Stout?”
    “I don’t know, but I intend to find out.”
    “You’re sure it wasn’t Skeeter using some kind of alias?”
    He shook his head, looking even unhappier. “I know all his business names, and Glenn Stout isn’t one of them.” He leaned forward and handed me his cell phone. “Call your boyfriend. He’s jumping through more hoops than you can imagine right now to get you loose. Tell him to come pick you up, and then you and I can have a discussion before he gets here.”
    I took his phone and called Mason. He answered in his no-nonsense voice, “Mason Deveraux.”
    “Mason, it’s me. I’m in Carter’s office.”
    “They let you go?” he asked in disbelief.
    “Someone posted bail.”
    “Who?”
    “I don’t know and neither does Carter. Can you come pick me up?”
    “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
    He hung up without saying goodbye, and I handed the phone back to Carter. “We have ten minutes, and I suspect we have a lot to talk about.”
    His mouth twisted into a half-smile. “I take it there are things you’d