Love Inspired Suspense June 2014 Bundle 1 of 2: Undercover Marriage\Collateral Damage\Forgotten Past (54 page)

“Is something wrong?”

No. Where was it? “The note. It isn't here.”

“Come again?” Deputy MacGregor's sharp tone could have sliced through granite.

Lorie faced his unbelieving stare head-on.

“S-someone must have taken it.”

* * *

Great. Just great. Matt's day was complete. First the lead on the meth-lab investigation dried up, and now this. Missing evidence.

Matt clicked the safety on and shoved his silver Colt 1991 back into the holster with unnecessary force.

“Where was it?”

“Right there.” Lorie waved a pale, fine-boned hand over the in-box. “On top. It looked like a computer printout.”

“Laser, ink-jet
,
dot matrix?”

“Ink-jet, I think. Full color, anyway. The letters were a deep tomato-red.” Her voice wavered almost imperceptibly.

Matt took out his incident notebook and scrawled the information. “And it said...?”

“Something like ‘You won't get away with it.'”

Jen piped up, “‘Don't think you can get away with it.'”

Matt wondered whether Jen knew more about the note than she'd told Lorie. She was practically another sister to him ever since she'd married his best friend, but Matt had known her since her prankster days in junior high. Was this another one of her stunts? Matt fixed Jen with his best law-enforcement stare.

“And you know this because...?”

Jen sniffed. “I pay attention. And don't think this is some sort of ‘let's fix Matt up with the new librarian' scheme Vangie Sutherland and I cooked up. Because it isn't.”

Matt took stock of his old friend. According to J.T., she had stopped pulling pranks on people, but Matt wouldn't put writing a mysterious note as a joke past her. Still, actually threatening someone who seemed to be her friend was unlikely. And besides, she wouldn't be dumb enough to damage library property for a joke. Jen would never commit even a misdemeanor unless she'd lost her mind in the past few weeks.

Lorie appeared to be having her own doubts. Having been three grades ahead of her, Matt hadn't really known Lorie when he was growing up. She'd been one of the brainy kids, scrawny, with braces. Looked as though she'd turned out well, except for her lack of color. Closer inspection indicated her pallor hadn't come from makeup. Whether the note was legit or not, she was frightened.

“Jen couldn't have moved the note.” Lorie's voice had grown steadier. “She's been with me since I spotted the note. And you saw the window.”

Matt's old classmate nodded gravely, but she had a “so there” twinkle in her eye. This might have started as a serious call, but, from the look of things, Jen intended to go along with Vangie's eternal attempts at matchmaking. No way he'd put up with that. He'd phone J.T. and then drop by the house after work.

Matt tucked the notebook back into his pocket and turned to go.

“Aren't you going to dust for prints?” Lorie sounded disappointed. More, still frightened.

Matt looked back at Lorie. “On my way to the unit now for the kit. Be right back.”

He headed out the door to Unit 5 and took a moment to radio in a report. “Dispatch, this is MacGregor. Looks like a B and E at the library. I'm processing the scene now.”

“Ten-four, Unit 5.”

Snagging the fingerprint kit, Matt headed back toward the library. Detouring by the bathroom window, he scanned the vicinity for footprints. Nothing showed on the concrete. Little chips of metal scraped when the window had been jimmied were the sole physical evidence.

Matt frowned. The perp knew enough to be careful. That boded ill for the investigation. Very ill, indeed.

Copyright © 2014 by Marion Faith Laird

ISBN-13: 9781460333884

FORGOTTEN PAST

Copyright © 2014 by Mary Eason

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