Page 77 of Baited

Nate shook his head slowly, dropped the gum back in his pocket, and pulled out his cell phone. His thumb moved over the screen. “Nothing remotely interesting. He’s lived here ten years and is from North Dakota, owns a dental practice in town, he has no known relatives, though his mother died three years ago.” Nate handed him the phone so he could read the email himself.

He stared at the screen after reading, his fingers dug into the phone. They couldn’t overlook him, even if he was as clean as a whistle he could still be guilty. Not all criminals had a rap sheet.

“He’s almost too clean.” He passed the phone back to Nate.

The corners of Nate’s mouth dropped into a frown.

“Let’s keep our eyes on him. I don’t see anything suspicious about him, but with him living right above her, he’d have the best opportunity.”

“My thoughts exactly.”

“Is there anywhere we can grab some takeout? I know we can’t be seen together, but I’m starving.”

“Yeah, I can get us breakfast sandwiches and we can eat in the car.”

“We’d better start compiling another group of suspects. These two are looking pretty grim.”

Ethan nodded and slid into the passenger seat while Nate rounded the vehicle. A deep throb started behind his temple. If he’d overlooked someone, they were fucked.

CHAPTER 22

She was losingher mind. How the hell had she forgotten her phone? She jerked her car to the side of the road in front of her house and unbuckled her seat belt. If Ethan didn’t hear from her soon, he’d be in a panic.

The wooden steps groaned as she took them two at a time up her front porch. Her shoulder bag bounced against her side with each movement. She jabbed her key into the lock and bumped the door open with her hip. She made a beeline for the kitchen, not bothering to kick off her shoes. Her gaze scanned the counter and table, but she came up empty-handed. She strode toward the spare room and pushed the door open. There, on the bed lay her phone. She released a pent-up breath and her shoulders relaxed.

It buzzed, alerting her to a new message. She picked up the device and weaved her way to the front of the house.

Hey, did you make it okay?

Ethan. Her lips curved into a smile. She paused at the front door and lifted her thumb to the screen to type a reply.

Ding, dong!

Her breath sucked in and her eyes flew to the door. She swallowed and inched toward the window next to the front door. It was broad daylight. There was no way it was anyone threatening. She relaxed her shoulders and peeked through the window. Michael’s tall, thin frame filled the glass. What on earth did he want?

She turned the dead bolt and opened the door.

“Michael, hi.” She kept her hand on the door, and propped the strap of her purse on her shoulder.

“Hi, Riley. Sorry to bother you.” His gaze dropped to her plain black shoes reserved for the restaurant and trailed over her uniform.

A dark shadow crossed over his eyes and a deep line split across his forehead. His middle finger came up to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Are you leaving?”

She pinched her eyebrows together. Her nerves endings buzzed, the last thing she needed was to deal with nonsense. If he needed help getting the lawn mower out of the shed again, she was going to lose her shit.

“Yes, I’m heading to work. Did you need something?” Irritation wavered her voice. His hand swept over the short brown hair on his head. “Yeah, it’s Murphy. He’s acting really funny, and can’t walk. I’m pretty worried, but I have an appointment with the vet. I was hoping you could help me carry him down, but if you’re busy, I’m sure I could call someone, or—”

Guilt washed over her and her tight smile faltered. Murphy was a sweet old dog and her soft spot for animals made her stomach drop that something could be wrong with him.

“Oh no, I’m so sorry to hear that. I hope he’s okay.” She dropped her purse on the table near the door and stuffed her keys in her pocket. It wouldn’t take long to help with Murphy, but she’d be a few minutes late. “I’m running late, but I can help quickly.”

“That would be great, thank you.” Michael shoved his hands in his pockets and turned toward the steps. Riley stepped onto the porch and shut the door behind her. The latch didn’t catch, and it creeped open an inch. Her fingers fell away from the handle and she followed Michael. She’d only be gone a couple of minutes and would need to come back for her purse anyway.

The lush, bright green grass cushioned her feet as she trailed behind Michael to the side of the house.

“It’s really weird, and so not like him.” Michael shook his head and climbed the new wooden staircase Hanna’s parents had had built last summer.

Riley glanced over her shoulder—no one was around. A pit of dread opened up the bottom of her stomach. She should have grabbed her phone, maybe sent a text to Ethan just to let him know…

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