A Silent Terror Read Online Free Page A

around her shoulders and down her back, just as she had two days ago.
    His palms suddenly itched, curious to feel what it would be like to let that hair flow through his fingers. Curling his traitorous hands into fists, he told himself to focus. He was here on a case, not a date.
    And soon she would be gone from his sight. Where was she going? Climbing from his car, he followed her. She was on her BlackBerry, texting someone, her fingers flying over the keys. Totally focused on her task, she kept her head down, never looking left or right – not exactly the best defensive walk. But then she wasn’t the one who needed to be on the defensive; Suzanne was the one who’d been killed.
    He wondered how Suzanne had walked. Probably like Marianna, completely unaware of her surroundings. The thought chilled him.
    “Marianna!”
    She didn’t turn. Instead, she flipped her phone shut, pulled open the glass door and slipped inside the building. Closing in fast, Ethan saw her enter the third classroom on the right.
    Reaching the door, he entered after her. Her desk faced the door and she stood behind it, pulling a box from a drawer. “Marianna?” He moved farther into the room.
    Looking up, she gasped. “Oh, Detective O’Hara.”
    “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. And it’s Ethan.”
    “Ethan, then. And it’s all right.” She held up a shoebox. “I’d forgotten to give this to Josh to take home last Friday, and with all the craziness this week, I forgot to give it to him today. He loves to bring me computer parts each week. I believe in recycling, so I was just going to rush down to the bus pick-up area and give it to him.”
    “Come on, I’ll drive you. I’ve got a few questions to ask if you don’t mind.”
    She blew out a sigh, grief crossing her flawless features for a brief moment. She shut the drawer and walked around the side of the desk.
    “I don’t mind. I can’t think of anything I haven’t already told you, but maybe your questions will jar something.”
    Together, they walked back to his car, with Marianna greeting various staff and students along the way. When they reached his vehicle, he drove her around to the where the buses picked up the students and she hopped out. Ethan stayed put and watched her approach an on-duty staff member. She asked in sign language while voicing, “Cleo, has Josh already gone?”
    Cleo signed back, “Yes, his bus left about five minutes ago.”
    Marianna sighed, hands gracefully forming the words, “Oh well, it wasn’t anything major, just his box. I guess I’ll save it for next week.”
    “You want me to keep it until Monday? I have to go back to my classroom anyway, so I don’t mind.”
    “Sure, thanks.” Marianna handed over the box of treasures with a dimpled smile, then walked back to climb in Ethan’s car. “Do you want go up the street to the coffee shop to talk?”
    “Sounds good to me.”
    The sooner he got this investigation out of the way, the sooner he could start thinking about asking Marianna Santino out on a date.
    Maybe. If he thought his heart could handle it.
     
    Ice Cream and Coffee Beans, home to tasty milk shakes and fresh-brewed coffee. Sandwiches could be ordered, too. Marianna chose a peanut butter shake with whipped cream. Ethan decided on a chocolate one, sans the white topping, and a club sandwich.
    A plain, no-frills kind of guy, she thought. Nice. He kept his beard trimmed close and his mustache neat. A well-shaped mouth with firm lips smiled at her through the facial hair. Sometimes it was hard to read the lips of people who hid them behind beards and mustaches, but not Ethan. He was an easy read. His lips anyway; his eyes were another story.
    He said, “I can’t believe you went to work today.”
    Taking a sip of her milk shake, she relished the sweet richness on her tongue for a minute before swallowing. “I had to.” She leaned back against the booth. “I love my parents, and my mom would like nothing better than