Trouble with the Law Read Online Free PDF Page B

expected a dozen red roses exactly, but a phone call would have been polite. Or a little note, a few words of reassurance that he hadn’t forgotten her the moment he closed the front door of the guesthouse.
    Perhaps he had.
    Maybe he had forgotten her before he even reached the bottom of the stairs.
    “What did you do? Abscond without paying or leave an unpaid parking fine?”
    Justine snapped her attention from the window to Sandra Clements, who stood in the office doorway, her blonde hair tied into a messy ponytail. A plain white shirt spilled out from the waistband of her navy skirt. Not a scrap of make-up adorned Sandra’s innocent face, and once again, Justine wondered why her boss, who normally dated models and actresses, had fallen for his secretary who looked like a kindergarten teacher.
    “Huh?” Justine frowned in confusion at the question.
    “The law is after you,” Sandra explained. Her eyes widened with concern. “They didn’t stop you for speeding and discover that you were carrying an open container of alcohol in your car? The sheriff and the deputies can be real sticklers. If they slapped you with a fine, it would be my fault. I told you to take the bottle of champagne with you.”
    “No.” Justine shook her head absently. “They didn’t fine me.”
    “So you did have a brush with the law?” Sandra strolled into the room, inspecting Justine with a pair of curious blue eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me? What happened?”
    “Nothing much.” Justine kept her focus on the advertisement in front of her, knowing that a blush covered her cheeks. “Just some confusion at the guest house. I thought it was all sorted out.”
    Sandra shrugged. “It seems you’re wrong. Someone called you twice while you were in the meeting with the ad agency.” She glanced down at the note in her hand. “His name is Sheriff Taylor. He says it’s urgent.”
    “Urgent?” Justine’s throat worked with difficulty as she swallowed. “Did he say what it’s about?”
    “Only that he needs to talk to you as soon as possible. Here’s the number.” Sandra slipped a yellow post-it note with a scribbled string of digits in front of Justine. “Are you sure you’re not in any trouble?” Sandra leaned closer, her concern enveloping Justine, strong and warm, like a comfort blanket.
    In a sudden flash of insight, Justine understood why the sharp and successful Steven Chandler had fallen in love with the small-town girl Sandra Clements. When Sandra spoke to you, she made you feel that your wellbeing was the most important thing in the world, and she would go to any lengths to protect you, standing by your side no matter what. She offered the kind of loyalty that could never be bought.
    “If you need help, I can call my father,” Sandra said. “He is well connected in the local community. He might be able to pull a few strings.”
    “Let me return the sheriff’s call first and see what it’s all about.” Justine picked up the post-it note with trembling fingers.
    Sandra paused to look over her shoulder from the threshold on her way out, but despite the worry evident in her eyes, she didn’t ask further questions. As soon as Sandra was out of sight, Justine rushed to close the door. Then she returned to the desk and dialed, standing up as she punched in the numbers.
    A nasal female voice answered with an official greeting. Justine flopped in the chair. It hadn’t crossed her mind that someone else might pick up. She asked for Sheriff Taylor, and when the woman told her he was unavailable, Justine left her name and number, asking the woman to tell him she’d called.
    Then she sat and waited, the advertisement swirling in front of her eyes as she wondered what could be the reason why after a week of silence Sheriff Taylor wanted to talk to her urgently. Every time the phone rang, her heart leapt. Finally, after
six o’clock
, the deep voice she recalled came on the line.
    “Can you talk?” he asked, without