The Heart of Lies (32 page)

Delia looked around again before she spoke in a muted tone. “I own Heaven Scent, the company that makes the candles and lotions and things. I believed then, as I do now, that my husband was embezzling money from my company. Not only that, but I think he’s cheating on me.”

Emily realized why her name had sounded familiar. She had heard it in the news recently because of the company’s explosive growth and expansion in the area.

“Do you think my husband could have been murdered because of what he was working on for you?”

“I don’t know,” Delia shrugged. “He was killed before he could give me the photos and the information he had compiled.”

“If the police had found his folder full of photos and evidence, Detective Tolliver would have questioned you or your husband about it, wouldn’t you think?” Emily asked.

“Yes, but he didn’t,” Delia replied, sitting back and sipping her hot drink.

Emily looked down at her hands folded on the table, wondering what to ask next, wondering what else this woman knew. It seemed like she had hit a dead end with Delia McCall, but there had to be more. There just had to.

“What if your husband killed Evan and stole the files so he would not be exposed?” Emily felt a sudden shortness of breath.

“I can’t imagine Ricardo would be willing to do something so horrible to cover up his affairs and the money he stole.”

Emily looked blankly past Delia, playing out the imaginary scenario in her head, envisioning those last minutes of Evan’s life if Ricardo had come to his office to kill him. This was the closest thing to a suspect or motive she’d had, to entertain the thought of.

“Emily?” Delia called out.

At the sound of her name, she shook her head and snapped back to the present.

“I can see those wheels turning in your head,” Delia said as if she had a way of looking inside Emily’s mind. “Evan told me you have a good head on your shoulders, and you have the tenacity to keep digging until you find something. Am I right?”

“I’d like to think so,” Emily admitted.

“And he told me you had helped him with some legwork on a few of his cases.”

“Yes, awhile back, before becoming a real estate agent.” She had done more than just legwork, but she preferred to keep that secret. “I’m a little surprised he mentioned that to you. He generally didn’t want people knowing I worked on any of his cases.”

“He didn’t go into any specifics or anything, just that he thought you were smart and driven—a bulldog for details, he said.”

“I see,” Emily acknowledged. “That sounds like something Evan would say.”

“That being said, I have a proposition for you.” Delia folded her arms across her chest. “Would you consider taking over the investigation your husband began?”

“Me?” Emily gasped, her eyebrows darting up. “Oh, I don’t know.” She sat back in her chair, her hand resting on her cheek, pondering.

“Now Emily, tell me the truth,” Delia leaned forward now, locking onto Emily’s gaze, “wouldn’t you want to know if your husband was seeing another woman behind your back? Or if he was stealing from you?”

A little shiver snaked up her neck at the commonality and Emily had no choice but to agree with Delia. “Yes, I suppose I would, but I’m not a private investigator.” Emily laughed a little at the thought of it. Evan had tried to discourage her from becoming too involved in his business, and now here it was being laid at her doorstep.

“Well, I say smart and driven is just plain that, smart and driven, no matter what profession you’re in. I’m willing to pay you twenty-five hundred up front to see this case through, and if it takes you longer than a week or two, I am happy to pay more.”

“Twenty-five hundred?” She could definitely use that money right now.

“Yes. I’m desperate to learn the truth about my husband,” Delia said, “and I can see you are eager to learn the truth about yours.”

She’s got that right.
Emily crossed her arms and looked at Delia for a moment or two before proceeding, giving some thought to what she would need to know in order to help this woman. “Explain to me then, Delia, what makes you think he’s stealing from you?”

“My CPA found some anomalies in the books. We think he’s siphoning off money from our company funds.”

“And on top of that, you believe he’s seeing another woman behind your back?” Emily asked.

“Yes, I do. My husband is quite a bit younger than I am, you see, and he’s very good looking—the classic tall, dark, and handsome type.”

We hope you enjoyed the excerpt from

The Scent of Lies, A Paradise Valley Mystery: Book One

by Debra Burroughs

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The Scent of Lies,

A Paradise Valley Mystery: Book One
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THREE DAYS IN SEATTLE

PROLOGUE

Whitney began to stir from a deep sleep, waking to find herself in pitch-black darkness, her hands and feet bound. She tried to move, but she couldn’t. Yanking against the ropes proved useless, as the bonds were fastened to something solid.

Her head began to pound and her breath was coming in short gasps, but she couldn’t get much air. Something was over her mouth—duct tape, maybe? She didn’t know or care, she just needed air.
 

She struggled to scream, but the only sound she could make was a high-pitched moan.

Where am I
?
What’s happening to me
?
Murky thoughts slogged through her disoriented mind.
Maybe I’m dreaming
, she thought.
Wake up, wake up, wake up!
But it was not a dream.

The sound of something scraping the floor made her freeze. She tried to listen, hear if someone or something was coming, but her heart thudding in her ears made it hard to concentrate.
 

A door creaked open, and she blinked as the harsh light hit her eyes. Was someone coming to rescue her? Or was it her captor? She decided not to risk it and shut her eyes, going limp, hoping her pounding heart would not give her away.

CHAPTER 1

“Forget it, Nigel! It’s been a very long day. I’ll finish up in the morning. I just need to soak in the tub for a while and get to bed. I will call you first thing tomorrow, I promise.” Kate McAllister clicked off her cell phone and set it on the bathroom vanity, exhausted after her hectic photo shoot in the Hollywood Hills ran late into the evening.

The warm water in the claw-foot tub was beckoning her. She was anticipating being enveloped by its warmth, letting it soothe away the stress of the day. Sticking one painted toe in the water, she checked the temperature before getting in.
Perfect
, she sighed softly.

As she was about to drop her fluffy white robe to the floor and step into the bath, the cell phone shrilled on the vanity behind her. “Shoot,” she muttered under her breath. “If that’s Nigel again, I’m going to kill him.”

A slight frown creased her brow as she turned and glanced at the Caller ID. She recognized the area code was for Seattle, where her baby sister Whitney lived, but if it were her sister, the phone would have shown her name and not
Unknown Caller
.

Peering up at the wall clock, she saw the time was ten-forty-five pm.
Why would someone I don’t know be calling me this late?
Tension began creeping up the back of her neck
. No one calls this late just to chat.
She reluctantly picked up the phone.

“Hello?”

“Kate, this is Suki. I’m sorry to call you so late.” The woman on the other end of the line rattled on, “But, I, well, I need to—”

“Whoa. Slow down. You said your name is Suki?” Kate questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, you know, Whitney’s roommate.”

“Oh, yes, sorry. I didn’t recognize your name. Now, slow down and tell me – what’s wrong, Suki?”

“Whitney’s gone missing.”

“What? When?” Panic began to set in. Kate’s thoughts began flying in a thousand different directions, like a flock of sparrows spooked by the threat of danger. Gathering her thoughts, she tried to focus. Ordinarily, she connected with Whitney every day or two, but she had been so busy with work lately that Kate was ashamed to admit she did not notice when she hadn’t heard from her sister recently.

“She’s been missing since last night. Well, no, today. I mean, well, I didn’t realize until this morning that she hadn’t come home last night.”

“Maybe she just stayed overnight at a friend’s house. She is twenty-four years old. She can stay out all night if she wants.” Kate hoped that was all it was. The thought her sister could really be missing made her feel sick in the pit of her stomach.

“No, no, I don’t think so, really. I think she would have told me so. We try to keep each other safe that way, you know. I have such a bad feeling about this, Kate. I think you should come to Seattle right away.”

“You mean, like right now?” This news was all so unexpected. Frantic thoughts swirling in Kate’s mind made it hard to process.

“Well, yeah. I mean, as soon as you can, of course.”

“So, what do the police say?” Kate asked, searching for a voice of reason.

“Police?”

“Yes, Suki. You did call them, didn’t you?” Incredulous that her sister might be in danger and the police had not yet been informed, Kate’s eyes widened as she stared blankly at the phone.
Are you kidding me?
Her heart began beating hard against her chest, sending pulsing blood painfully racing to her head.

“I’m sorry, Kate, don’t get mad. I think you have to wait twenty-four hours before you can report someone missing, don’t you?”

“How should I know, Suki? I would have called them to find out, not just assumed.” A muscle twitched in Kate’s jaw.

“You’re right, you’re right. I’m sorry.”

“I will call them as soon as we get off the phone. I want to talk to the police myself before I come running up there.”
Suki had all day to call me, why did she wait until now? Was she hoping Whitney would eventually show up? Something doesn’t feel right.

Perhaps Whitney was just staying over with a new boyfriend that Suki didn’t know about. Or maybe she went with some girlfriends for a long weekend.
Suki is probably just overreacting.
Kate clung to that thought to give her a sense of security.

On the other hand, if her sister really were missing, of course she’d drop everything and hop on the first flight to Seattle. She felt uneasy just cancelling work and reorganizing her life on the whim of this woman she barely knew. Kate had photo shoots in the Los Angeles area lined up all week, people depending on her, so she wanted to be sure it was warranted.

“Kate. Your sister is missing! You really need to come as soon as possible,” Suki pressed. “Surely, you don’t have anything to do that’s more important than this, do you?”

Kate recognized the guilt card being played. Her late mother had been a master at it.

“No, of course not. Nothing’s more important than finding my sister, if she really
is
missing. However, I am going to call the police first and see what they say, even though you may be right about the twenty-four hour thing.”

“Then you’ll come?”

As much as Kate hated the thought of upending her whole world overnight, she had to consider seriously the possibility that Suki might be right. If Whitney needed her, she had no choice but to go to Seattle on the first flight she could get.

“Yes, yes, I’ll come. After I talk to the police, I’ll check for flights out of L.A. tomorrow.” She would have to wait until the morning to change her work schedule. “I appreciate you letting me know, Suki. I’ll be in touch.”

* * *

Suki hung up from her conversation with Kate and immediately made another call.

“Hullo,” a young man answered.

“It’s done.”

CHAPTER 2

“Hey, lady! You’re up,” a young male’s voice came from behind her.

“What?” Startled, Kate looked around.

“You’re up, over there at the counter.” The impatient teenager pointed to the airline ticket counter.

His voice had jerked her out of a daze. She’d been standing in the long, slow-moving passenger line, replaying her situation and the unproductive conversation with the Seattle Police. She hadn’t been able to get beyond talking to the officer at the front desk because Whitney had not been missing long enough. He hadn’t told her anything of value one way or the other, except that if she was really concerned, she should come as soon as possible. Of course she was concerned. She loved her sister. How dare he suggest otherwise.