Page 17 of Condemned By Secrets

Spinning around, she grabbed the closest thing that would serve as a fan—a folder lying on her desk. The stale air moving across her face did little to cool it. She’d spent years training herself not to cower when faced with confrontation, but that didn’t make her any more comfortable with it. People were not her strong suit. Books, records, those she understood, but why Richard felt the need to rub her lack of experience in her face, she had no idea. Huffing out a breath, Anna dropped the useless folder and sat down.

No matter how much Richard irritated her, she had to work with him. Resigned to the fact, she slumped further into her Louis XVI desk chair. The upholstered arms embraced her in soft burgundy comfort, and she ran a finger along the laurel leaves carved into their ends. This job was too important to let Richard ruin it for her. She’d have to find a way to win him over, one way or another.

???

Luther cracked his neck from side to side as he unlocked the door to his apartment building. He'd just finished his nightly three-mile run, but his body had almost let him down with the lack of sleep. He’d been about to give in and walk the last mile, but he’d forced himself to push through the weariness that was as much from his revolving thoughts as from his long day.

Stepping inside, he stared at the curved staircase with its wreath handrail and turned balusters. Right now, it looked as tall as Mt. Everest. His legs were tired, and he needed a second to slow his breathing before climbing three flights of stairs. He’d been so busy starting the investigation his conversation with the pizzeria worker had prompted that he hadn’t drunk enough water, and, already, he felt the lactic acid building up in his muscles.

His legs had gotten a workout before he’d even started the run. Most of his afternoon had been spent running around town. He’d gone to the Shoppes again, then to the bank, and to Town Hall to look at property records. A cramp seized his left leg and Luther winced.

He leaned a hand on the banister for balance so he could stretch it out. All that digging, and he’d learned less than expected. The suspicious activity investigation was going about as well as tracking down who slashed Anna’s tire.

Luther switched to his right leg as his thoughts went back to Anna. It seemed he’d spent half the day trying to focus more on work and less on her. He’d talked to a few more people who’d attended the town hall, but it hadn’t produced any leads. None of them had noted anything suspicious. The lack of information was beginning to make Luther wonder if he’d been wrong and maybe Annahadjust run over something sharp.

Luther shook his head to clear it and started up the stairs to his apartment. He must be exhausted if he was questioning his instincts. The tirehadbeen deliberate; he was positive. All he needed was the camera footage to prove it, but he still had to wait on that. Unless there was a way, he could get it sooner? Luther was distracted enough by his thoughts that when he reached the second-floor landing, he nearly tripped over the boxes in his path.

As he stumbled, Cassie came out of her apartment carrying another box. Her blue eyes grew wide when he grabbed the railing to steady himself. “Oh! Sorry, Luther!”

“Hey, Cass. What’s with the boxes?”

As she set down the one she was carrying, her long blonde hair fell over her shoulder. “I’m leaving.” She straightened and gave him a shy smile. “Shane asked me to move in with him.”

Luther smiled at the young woman he’d known since kindergarten. “That’s great, Cass. Congratulations.” Cassie and Shane had been dating for about a year, so this news wasn’t surprising.

He gestured to her boxes. “Do you want any help with these?”Please say no.He wasn’t sure his legs would make it if he had to climb all those stairs again.

She chuckled. “It looks like you already got your work out. Thanks anyway, but they’re not heavy.”

“What about with the rest of your stuff?” Luther braced himself. If she was moving everything out now, he’d find the strength, somewhere, to help her.

“Thanks for the offer, but not yet.” She tucked a flaxen strand behind her ear as her cheeks pinked with excitement. “I’m just taking a few things over for now. My lease isn’t up until the end of the month.”

Relief flooded him, and he nodded in response. He was set to leave when a thought occurred to him. “Hey, Cass? Do you know if there’s already someone lined up to take the apartment after you? Because I know someone who’d be interested.”

“Oh, that would be wonderful! It’ll help Lennie get over the sting of me leaving when I already told him I wanted it for another year.”

“Great.” Luther grinned at the prospect of having Anna in the same building. It wouldn’t be so easy to avoid him then, would it? “I’ll let her know, and you can work out a time to show her the place.”

“All right.” Cassie nodded and bent to pick up her boxes. “I’ll see you later then, Luther.”

“‘Night, Cass.” Luther jogged up the last flight of stairs. The anticipation of delivering to Anna exactly what she’d been searching for was a shot of adrenaline that burned all signs of fatigue out of his body. He now had the perfect excuse to see her again.

CHAPTER 6

Luther leaned against the mahogany reception stand as he waited for Anna to arrive. He’d already been up to her room and found she wasn’t back from work yet. Although . . . glancing at his watch, he noted it was half-past six. Maybe he’d missed her, and she’d gone out to dinner. Frowning over that possibility, he crossed his arms and decided to wait ten more minutes before calling it a loss.

The weekend had dragged on as he waited to tell her about the apartment. Luther had thought he would have the chance on Sunday, but when he’d come for dinner with his mom, Anna hadn’t been in her room.

He was happy to have some good news for her since he’d gotten no more information on the vandal who had slashed her tire. After talking to everyone who had attended the meeting, he was no closer to a suspect. It’s possible the person who’d damaged the wheel hadn’t gone to Town Hall for the meeting. They might have been there just for Anna.

Luther’s frown deepened and a knot formed in the pit of his stomach. He didn’t like entertaining that idea, but itwasa possibility. One he couldn’t ignore.

“What are you doing here?” Anna’s voice startled him out of his thoughts.

He straightened, then turned around to see she had entered from the back door of the bed and breakfast. His mood lifted at the sight of her in her black business suit. She wore a skirt today instead of trousers, and Luther enjoyed the glimpse of legs. They were creamy and surprisingly long for someone so short.

Grinning now, he asked her, “Working late today?”

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