Cradle Of Secrets Read Online Free Page B

deal, but if traffic was anything like the clerk said, she’d be spending her whole day in the car, instead of talking to people who might actually be able to lead her to this Dutch. And with so many people from out of town flooding the streets, who could she talk to who would have any information that could help her?
    With the key chain still in her hand, she punched the unlock button and watched the lights flash on her rental car. She didn’t notice the Jeep that had pulled in next to her—or the man who’d jumped out—until he was standing by her side.
    Jumping back against her car, she stared into the eyes of the maniac from down the road. His face wasn’t nearly as menacing as it had been earlier. She glanced at the motel window. The clerk had his nose stuck in the paper again, but she was sure that if she screamed, he’d hear her.
    Making her voice steady, she said, “Go away.”
    â€œI need to talk with you.”
    â€œGood for you. I don’t need to talk with you.” Tammie gripped the handle behind her and pulled the car door open, but the man pushed it shut, then took a step back and leaned against it.
    â€œLook, I know I frightened you back there, and I’m really sorry. It seems I left my manners back in Chicago. But I really need to talk with you about my brother. I’ve been in this stinking town for a month, and I’ve gotten nowhere.”
    This was what the clerk was warning her about.
    â€œI’m sorry to hear that. But I have my own problems.” She’d meant to be droll, to let him think he hadn’t really scared her earlier and wasn’t frightening her now. But her words fell flat.
    â€œI suppose I deserve that. But, please, just a few minutes.”
    â€œI’m busy.”
    The man rolled his eyes. “I know, I know, you’re looking for a hotel. I’m sure the clerk told you the same thing he told me this morning as I was tossed out of my room.”
    â€œYou have a way with people, don’t you?”
    â€œThe room was already booked,” he insisted impatiently. “And there aren’t any other vacant rooms within miles. I’m sure the manager told you that, too. If you insist on finding a room outside of town, instead of staying in your own house, I’ll be happy to help you. But before we do that, just answer a few questions about Cash.”
    Frustration wound its way through her. “I’ve never met anyone named Cash. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”
    He pointed across the street to a small diner that doubled as a convenience store. “I’ll buy you a cup of coffee or hot chocolate or iced tea. All I’m asking for is ten minutes of your time, and then I’ll be out of your hair.”
    â€œI told you, I can’t help you. I have no idea who or what you’re talking about.” She yanked at the car door again, but the man pressed his back against it, keeping her from opening it completely.
    â€œYou say you don’t know Cash. Then how do you explain this?”
    He thrust a small picture in front of her, and her blood went cold. The color snapshot had been taken during the winter months. Two people were standing knee-deep in snow, a man wearing a dark green parka, a woman in a cream fur-lined one. She didn’t recognize the man in the picture, only that he bore a resemblance to this man who seemed determined to harass her.
    But the face of the woman made her swallow hard. It was like looking in a mirror.
    â€œTen minutes,” the man pleaded softly. “That’s all I’m asking.”
    Tammie’s stomach growled. After her red-eye flight from the West Coast and the hassle of getting a rental car and finding her way out to Eastmeadow, her body had already burned off the energy from the coffee and donut she’d picked up before renting her car.
    Her plan this morning had been to find a hotel in town and sleep the day away to recover