Finding Harmony (Katie & Annalise Book 3) Read Online Free

cult, almost.”
    The refinery ran a housing compound of 750 homes. Inside the barbed-wire-topped fences lived nearly 3,000 people. They had their own restaurant, pool, church, recreation center, grocery store, and gas station. Residents offered services like day care and hairstyling from their homes, and their children even went to school within the gates. They didn’t have much reason to leave the compound, and when they did venture out they seemed confused to find themselves on a beautiful tropical island. Who was I to judge, though? I would feel like Rip Van Winkle if I were locked behind a barbed-wire fence beside a roaring industrial plant, too.
    Nick continued. “It took all I could do to keep Tutein from marching into Annalise and interrogating all of you. I’m not so sure he won’t.”
    I gave the countertops a good wipe-down and surveyed my kitchen’s smooth green and tan granite countertops, mahogany cabinets, stainless steel appliances, and striated porcelain tile. The “colors of outside inside” palette usually soothed me. Not tonight.
    “I could handle him,” I said.
    Sometimes I wondered if my husband forgot I was not only a trial attorney, but also a black belt in karate, thanks to my cop-father’s obsession with self-defense. I moved to the sink and began scrubbing dishes. I had a dishwasher, but hand washing used less water.
    “Seriously, Katie, I would prefer you and he never even cross paths.”
    Nick rarely had such visceral negative reactions to people. I made a note to stay away from Officer Tutein.
    And of course that’s when Tutein walked in. Or tried to.
    I heard someone attempting to open the door, really throwing his weight into it, but it stayed shut like it was locked. It wasn’t, which meant it was someone Annalise didn’t like.
    “Who’s there?” I asked.
    “Detective George Tutein. Let me in, please.”
    Knocking would have been nice. I opened the door and stood aside. He had pulled his unmarked car all the way up to our front door and parked on the grass. Someone in the front seat was staring at me, with only the whites of their rounded eyes clearly visible in the dark.
    “I can’t get cell reception. Let me have your phone, please,” Tutein said without a greeting or asking my name. He held out his hand.
    “We don’t have landlines up here, but you’re welcome to try my cell,” I said. I took my battered old iPhone out and offered it to him.
    He stared at it. “Never mind, then.”
    He wheeled around and walked out, and the door slammed shut behind him of its own volition. It was easy to love Annalise. She was our oversized guardian angel.
    I turned around to find Nick watching me.
    “You’re right,” I said. “He’s an ass, and very odd. Why wouldn’t he want my cell phone?”
    Nick tapped his lip with his index finger, then said, “Maybe he didn’t want you to have a record of his call in your log. Hey, speaking of asses, guess who showed up out there, babbling about dead people?”
    “Our wacko from earlier?”
    “Yep. Went right up to Tutein with his story. Tutein asked me about it. I told him the guy was crazy and that there were no skeletons, but Tutein stuck him in the back of his unmarked to give him a ride to town.”
    So much for not telling the authorities. The white eyes staring at me from Tutein’s car must have belonged to him. At least Nick had a chance to explain our side of the story to Tutein. I looked up from rinsing dishes at Nick, who had finished eating and was texting someone.
    “Who’s that?”
    Nick looked at me with blank eyes. “Huh?”
    “Who are you talking to?”
    “Oh. The head of security for Petro-Mex. You know how I’ve tried to get their business for a year? Well, I called him as soon as I saw the dead guy’s Petro-Mex uniform. He retained me to help them determine the cause of death. They don’t trust the police. Tutein already informed them that it’s an open and shut suicide. But Petro-Mex says it can’t