Harlequin Romantic Suspense April 2021 Karen Whiddon (best fiction books to read TXT) 📖

trip. Having spent the day biking, Tom and his friends went to the pub at the Pleasant Pines Inn.

Drinks flowed and Tom caught the eye of a blonde woman.

“She seemed to like Tom,” said Sean Reynolds, brother-in-law to Tom. “I was happy that he’d met someone because his ex-girlfriend had married some other dude.”

Arm in arm, Tom left the pub with the woman and that was the last time he was seen alive. His body was discovered in the gazebo at the town park the following morning. No official cause of death has been released, leaving a grieving family with more questions than answers.

Luis set aside the tablet as Jinxy rushed past and jumped onto the windowsill. The cat stared into the street, the end of her tail twitching. She looked over her shoulder once, pinning Luis with her stare.

Luis approached.

Across the street, slumped against the building, was Sean Reynolds. Even from a distance, Luis could see the gray pallor of the skin, the sightless eyes, and he knew that the other man was dead.

* * *

Julia stood on the sidewalk as a deputy photographed Sean Reynolds. They’d closed Main Street and mapped out the scene. The operatives from RMJ had been called in. Everyone knew their job and they were doing it well. She was getting used to the procedures that accompanied finding a corpse, and she hated that fact.

“Anything?” she asked Luis as he approached.

“I walked the whole street—there wasn’t much in the way of evidence.” He held up several translucent bags. The word evidence was printed on them with red ink.

Then again, they all knew who they were looking for: Robert Carpenter. What Julia didn’t know was how to find him.

Sawhorses had been set up at each end of the block, yet a familiar figure approached. It was Peter Knowles.

“Man, that guy doesn’t know when to give up,” Luis growled. “Give me a second to get rid of him.”

“Actually, you’re right, he doesn’t know when to give up and that’s something we need.” She maneuvered around the roadblock and met the editor halfway up the street. “You got a minute?”

“I was just about to ask you the same thing.” He handed his phone to Julia. “Someone sent these to me last night.”

A spiderweb of cracks filled the screen and her face warmed, realizing that she was the one who’d broken his phone. Yet there was more to see. There were four images—all of Julia and Luis. The pictures were explicit, despite the fact that not an inch of skin showed. And then, Julia’s face flamed red and hot.

“Where’d you get these? Is that what you wanted to talk about? You need a comment to go with these pictures before you publish them?”

“Calm down and give me my cell back before you break it some more,” he said, snatching the phone from her hand. “I’m not going to publish these pictures, but I wanted you to know that someone had taken them.”

Julia exhaled, tamping down her anger. Sure, she was still mad as hell. It was just that Peter wasn’t to blame. “There are some not-so-pleasant things that have been happening in Pleasant Pines and I’m hoping you can help me bring a very dangerous person into custody.”

“I told you from the beginning, you can count on me.”

“I’m hoping that I can.” Julia glanced over her shoulder. Luis was directing the investigation. She motioned to him that she’d be back in five minutes. He gave her a thumbs-up and she turned to Peter. “Let’s talk in your office. I’d like to get a look at the original email. Maybe we can learn something from the IP or the address.”

“Sure thing,” said Peter. “But you have to tell me what’s going on.”

Julia shoved her hands in the pockets of her coat as they walked. “First, there’s been another murder.”

“Another one,” Peter said incredulously.

“Sadly. Sean Reynolds.”

“Are you freaking kidding me?”

“I wish this was all some kind of sick joke.” She paused. “I’ll tell you everything, but give me your word that you’ll help alert the public. Today. Now.”

“You have my word.” Peter stopped at the newspaper’s office. “I have to ask you something else first. In looking in to your friend, Luis Martinez, I’ve come up with some interesting facts.”

Julia narrowed her eyes and glared at the editor. “Which are?”

“I’ve been doing some digging. What do you know about a shadow agency called Rocky Mountain Justice?”

The cold air cut through Julia’s uniform coat. She began to shiver and folded her arms across her chest. “No comment.”

“Here’s what I think. I think your friend Luis works for RMJ now and that you used to work for them, as well.” He pointed to her injured hand. “And I think that Darcy Owens did that to you.”

Julia fought to keep her expression neutral. “No comment. And I don’t know how any of your conjectures matter. There’s a killer on the loose. Do you want to inform the public or not?”

“Of course, but I also want to know what that agency is doing in my town.”

“If you can help me find the killer, then we can talk. Deal?”

Peter opened the door. “Let’s get started.”

Pausing on the threshold, Julia said, “Have you ever met a man named Robert Carpenter?”

Peter shook his head. “Never.”

“Get used to the name,” said Julia, stepping into the office of the Pleasant Pines Gazette. “He’s the guy we need to find before he kills again.”

* * *

Sure, Peter had long ago decided to only publish two issues of the PPG a week. And, yeah, he had just released the Wednesday issue, but he also had the ability to send an article to readers directly, as well as post the story on the paper’s site.

The headline: Town Holds Breath After Second Murder.

The article read:

The body of a Caucasian male, name withheld until next of kin has been notified, has been discovered in downtown Pleasant Pines. According to Sheriff Julia McCloud, “We see a strong connection between this death and that of Tom