Without Any Warning (A Samantha Jamison Mystery Volume 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

call I had intercepted. “I’m coming,” I said as I loped down the last steps. I swung the door open.
    A good-looking woman greeted me with a smile. Her brightly colored red hair was held back neatly with a clip, like she was trying to repress her sexiness and attractiveness. She had a red designer jacket draped over her shoulders.
    “Hi!” she said. “I’m Pat Harris, the agent who’s handling your lease. Sandra, your literary agent, and Bill, my boss, mentioned me, I’m sure. I wanted to stop by and introduce myself.”
    The name took a second to register. “Why, of course!” I said. “Come on in. How nice to finally meet you.”
    I had heard a lot about Pat from Sandra, who was also my friend. Sandra met Pat while on vacation in Ocean City, and immediately thought the house on the beach was the perfect getaway for me to write. All the others on the beach for long-term leases were booked so, in spite of it being four bedrooms, it would suit me perfectly.
    Sandra had also said the woman was no-nonsense and all business—except for one thing. When she had gone with Pat for drinks after viewing the property late one day, she witnessed another side to this proper professional, observing a flashy personality that surprised her. I gave Pat the once-over, sort of doubtful about that. She looked normal to me.
    Maybe Sandra was exaggerating. I guess hanging around fiction writers so much left Sandra with an active imagination. I found it very hard to picture this respectable woman, I’d say in her early forties, to be anything but what she presented herself as: pretty, straightforward and very business-like.
    Pat looked around the foyer. “At the market, I heard some interesting news from a friend of mine who works on the police force. The word is you had quite an exciting evening the other night.”
    I almost asked her which night, but caught myself as I figured she meant the broken statue episode. I tried to play it down. “Oh, that. It was completely my fault.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I forgot to lock the cabana. It was a careless mistake. I’m really more careful than that and don’t know why it slipped my mind.”
    Pat leaned in and lowered her voice. “Confidentially speaking? I also heard that’s not all you weren’t conscientious about,” she said, eyeing me meaningfully.
    “Oh, the statue. Right. Believe me, all of it was purely accidental. It was pretty dark and I forgot it was there. I was nervous and then the baseball bat got in the way too, and then I turned too quickly and…”
    Pat smiled. “I’m only advising you to be more careful next time, that’s all. You know, lock all the doors.”
    “Look, I’m sorry for the damage. Was it very expensive?” I winced, expecting the worst.
    She grinned. “Actually, you were quite lucky; it was only a reproduction. Besides, you look like you’re a responsible adult living alone. I’m sure it was exactly like you said, an accident. You don’t normally have these kinds of things happen to you all the time, now do you?”
    I wasn’t going there. I didn’t have the nerve and my lips were sealed. Now that Mona was added to the mix, it might be a good idea to keep quiet. Like a kid, I crossed my fingers behind my back. “No, of course not!”
    “Well, in that case, there shouldn’t be any further problems to be concerned about. Right?” She turned to leave. She hesitated at the doorway, staring back at me with a funny expression, as if trying to figure out the reason for my non-existent reply to her last question.
    I quickly laughed. “My goodness! Absolutely not! I’ve got so much research I need to get done for my book. I can’t work unless it’s peaceful and quiet. You know how authors are.” I vigorously shook her hand goodbye.
    “That’s what I’m afraid of,” replied Pat, smiling. She started down the walkway, but then turned back again. “You know, after hearing about your wielding that metal bat of yours and then finally