Framed: A Psychological Thriller (Boston's Crimes of Passion Book 2) Read Online Free Page A

expecting us.” Riley looked over at Freddy.
    “She’s home,” he contended. “I hear the TV. Maybe she is in the kitchen. I’ll go out back and check.”
    Riley leaned against the door and waited. She sighed. The day wasn’t turning out like she planned.
    From the corner of her eyes, she noticed a man, quite a handsome man, strolling across the lawn toward her. He smiled. A charming, engaging smile.
    He wore a Boston Red Sox cap over his sandy-blond hair, but he tilted his head in a manner that she saw a twinkle in his deep-blue eyes. Dressed in fitted jeans and a tight white Oxford buttoned-down shirt over a light, brown sports coat, he walked with confidence of a man used to getting his own way.
    “Good morning.”
    When he spoke, he suddenly seemed familiar, but she couldn’t put a finger on exactly why. She knew he wasn’t Mrs. Barlow’s son. Mrs. Barlow had shown her pictures of her son and his family.
    Nevertheless, she returned the stranger’s smile. She gestured with her hand to the door. “I’m afraid Mrs. Barlow isn’t answering. My cousin has just gone around the back…”
    “You don’t mind if I wait with you, do you?” He extended his hand to hers. “Josh Kincaid.”
    A sudden heat climbed her neck and cheeks with his touch. His eyes locked with hers and she lost herself in a sea of blue. Simply mesmerized.
    Somewhere, though, in the far recess of her mind, his name resonated. She had heard it before…she knew his face. It came to her.
    Abruptly, she released his hand.
    “I know you…you’re the news reporter.”
    “I’m flattered you recognize me—”
    He got no further. Both heads turned as a scream emerged from within the house. Barking madly, Bailey leaped out of the Jeep in a swift motion and raced around the house.
    “Bailey!” Riley cried. Afraid she would lose her dog, she rushed after her. “Bailey, stop.”
    She turned the corner. Immediately, the hairs on her nape lifted. Something was wrong…terribly wrong. Oh, God! Her stomach knotted.
    In the back doorway, a body laid sprawled out between the entrance and steps…a dead body. Even from this distance, she knew instantly he wasn’t breathing. She had seen one before…her father.
    Staring blankly at the sight, Riley froze. Time suspended. The past and present merged.
    Once more, she was a fourteen-year-old girl coming home after softball tryouts, thrilled to tell her daddy she had made the team. Hoping the news would make up for their argument the night before, she bounded inside. She called out and was met with silence—deadly silence.
    Jack Ashcroft would never know she made the team. There would be no apologies.
    “Riley! Riley, we have to go!”
    Someone had her by her shoulders, shaking her back to the present. Slowly, she came out of her shock. From the doorway, she saw that reporter looking strangely at them.
    Bewildered, she turned to the voice.
    “Riley, we don’t have time for this!”
    A face gradually took form in front of her. “Freddy? Freddy, what’s happening?”
    Glancing over his shoulder, his expression darkened; his frustration was evident. Abruptly, he released his grip and ran.
    For a moment, Riley stood motionless. Then she saw bloodstains on her sleeve. Was Freddy hurt?
    “Freddy! Freddy, wait!”
    Hastily, she followed her cousin and ran back to the front of the house. Once more, she came to a complete halt. Stunned, she stood in complete disbelief…and confusion.
    Freddy had driven away in her Jeep.

Chapter Three
     
    The scream resonated. Kincaid tried the front door. It was locked. Immediately, he rushed to the back of the house.
    He found the girl, standing in a daze. At her side, her dog barked wildly toward the house. Turning, he saw her alarm.
    A body lay sprawled on his back in the open doorway. The man’s eyes, opened wide, stared out into nothingness. There was a single bullet hole dead center in his forehead.
    Stepping around the motionless body, Kincaid realized it was