Cold Sweat Read Online Free Page A

connection, but it sounded too easy. “I don’t know, Eve. It’s a long drive only to check the name of the owner of a postal box. Serpent could have printed that number at random. Can’t we just phone the place?”
    “Geez, how come I didn’t think of that?” Eve didn’t need a gun. The glare in her eyes had the precision of a laser beam and looked as lethal. “Or maybe I did try that, but the employee didn’t like my voice. I’m sure her refusal had nothing to do with the privacy laws I was asking her to breach over the phone.”
    “You’re right.” For his sake, he needed to stop arguing with a pregnant redhead. “Want me to fill the paperwork for the warrant?”
    “Already requested one. It should be ready by now.”
    The door opened, creating a cold draft. A woman in an army uniform entered. Her gaze swiftly swept across the office before settling on him.
    “I was told a mishap at the Snowy Tip Training Center falls under the sheriff’s jurisdiction.” Bouncy brown curls framed her face, adding shadows to her mystic expression. “Am I correct?”
    The training center, located forty minutes north of town, fell under their jurisdiction, but Gil hadn’t set a ski on their trails since he was a reckless teenager. For as long as he’d been deputy, the sheriff’s office hadn’t had to intervene once at Snowy Tip.
    “Yes, ma’am.” The silver eagles on the shoulders of her winter coat unnerved Gil. She looked to be in her thirties, too young for the rank of colonel. “I’m Deputy Thompson. How can I help you?”
    “The sign by the door says Sheriff Tim Oakley. If you don’t mind, I’d like to see him. Now.” Her voice, as soft and melodious as the wind, carried her authority throughout the room.
    Maybe Gil was wrong about her age...or her rank. “Sheriff Oakley retired last year, ma’am. We haven’t gotten around to changing the sign yet. Sheriff Morgan should be here shortly. Would you like a cup of coffee?”
    “No, thank you.” Her cap tucked under her arm, she unbuttoned her coat without removing her black leather gloves. “If I drink one more cup, I won’t sleep for weeks.”
    Something in the officer’s demeanor as she paced between his desk and the window suggested she wasn’t in the habit of waiting.
    “Would you—” Gil’s invitation to take a seat was cut short by the sheriff’s arrival. “Sheriff? Eve has a new lead we’d like to follow, and you have a visitor.”
    “Go ahead with the lead.” Morgan hung his cap on a hook near the door. “What’s the Army doing here?”
    The military woman spun around. The astounded look on her face matched Morgan’s. “Richmond?”
    Up to this morning, Gil had never seen anything or anyone rattle the sheriff’s composure or shake his boots. The visitor’s mere presence had managed both.
    As entertaining and enlightening as it might be, staying to watch the encounter didn’t strike Gil as a good or safe idea. “Eve and I are leaving. We’ll keep you posted.”

Chapter Four
    Amelia had a knack for emptying rooms, but never with so few words. The speed at which Thompson and the pretty redhead with an unmistakable front bump exited the office had to be a new record.
    “Hello, Amelia.” Richmond raked his fingers through short blond hair streaked with rich caramel lowlights. Age had chiseled his face, accentuating his piercing blue-grey eyes. “What brings you here?”
    She hadn’t seen him in eighteen years, and the last she’d heard, he worked for the FBI. His reputation as a cold and calculating agent, the best in the field, preceded him. That he didn’t conceal his surprise at seeing her was nothing short of stunning.
    “You’re Sheriff Morgan?” Had she known he was the sheriff, she might have hesitated—for a second. Unless he’d lost his touch, Richmond Morgan was still her daughter’s best hope. “Is that a promotion or demotion from Special Agent?”
    “Promotion.” He tossed his coat on a chair. The