Linda Welch - A conspiracy of Demons Read Online Free

little note in her pocket made me a person of interest.
    My gaze swung to Mike. “C’mon, Mike, give me something .”
    He frowned heavily, then looked at Haney and Stirland. “You know how she works. I want to give her this, else she’ll be up there to see for herself.”
    “Let her,” Stirland said. “She sets one foot on that site , we arrest her for contaminating a crime scene .”
    Mike gestured expansively. “You don’t need the extra paperwork.” He turned his eyes to me. “Prelim indicates she died elsewhere.”
    Haney poised pen over notepad. “We need her address.”
    I made a face. “ Don’t have it .”
    He gave me a sour look. “You talked on the phone. We can trace her through her phone number.”
    “Yeah, but I don’t know her number off the top of my head. It wa s in my old cell’s address book, but that phone is on the bottom of the lake,” I told Mike . “W hen that guy ran Royal’s truck off the road and in to the lake. ” And we were lucky not to go down with it.
    I hiked my shoulders. “I have her number written down at home, but I’ll have to find it. I’ll head there directly and call you.” I pushed up from the chair.
    “A little more of your time, if you don’t mind, Miss Banks,” Stirland said. “Does she have family?”
    “An ex-husband. I think he’s an accoun tant. She didn’t mention kids or siblings. Or parents.”
    “What vehicle did she drive?”
    “No idea.”
    I s at down, s ettle d back and prepared to be g rilled.
     
    Half an hour later, I picked up Lynn’s photo for one last look, then flipped it at Mike. It fluttered to the desk. “Thanks for breaking it to me gently.” He didn’t know my relationship with Lynn, we could be associates or real close . He could have been kinder.
    His eyes became steely . “You know how it works, Tiff.”
    Yeah, I knew ; I had seen Mike interrogate suspects . I held his gaze for a second, clamped my mouth shut and slammed out of his office. I didn’t like being on the receiving end , like someone on the outside looking in.
     
    I got in my car and rested my head on the steering wheel. Street noise became a lull, as if sorrow muffled my hearing.
    Lynn. Oh God, poor Lynn. Hot tears pricked behind my eyelids. I blinked hard as I saw a pointed chin, hollow cheeks and brown eyes , her thin face framed by wiry wisps of blond hair .
    I closed my eyes, slumped back in the seat and gave in to the sick feeling.
    Dammit, why didn’t you call me?
    But I didn’t have time to indulge my feelings. Suck it up, Tiff. This is getting you nowhere. Because I damn sure would not let the cops keep me in the dark. I had to move, and fast.
    I rooted in my pocket for my cell-phone and dialed. The call went to voicemail.
    “Royal, I need you. I’ll be at the office. Get here as soon as you can .”
     
    Five minutes later, I had barely sat down when th e office door flew open so hard that the knob dented the wall. I leaped to my feet and into Royal’s arms.
    Arms around his waist, I hugged him tight. H is hyped-up body heat seeped through my shirt , his lon g silken hair lay against my cheek as a n 80s rock tune suddenly pounded in the street, drowning out children’s laughter, adults’ chatter and vendors’ patter.
    I pulled back so I could see his face , gathered myself together and looked in his worried copper eyes. “ Mike called me in . Ly nn - you remember I told you about Lynn?”
    His eyebrows drew together. “The woman you met at the workshop for police consultants.”
    “She’s dead. ” I moistened my lips with the tip of my tongue. “ They found her in Provo on a construction site .”
    “ Tiff, I am so sorry.” His palm cupped my cheek, I leaned into it. “ Homicide ?”
    “ Yeah. The guys from Provo were tight-lipped, they gave me hardly anything. S he had nothing on her apart from my address. She w as on h er way to see me, Royal, but didn’ t call first . That’s not at all like Lynn. She had a reason she