Mug Shot Read Online Free

and fell all on her own. Nothing has been proven otherwise, but it’s my job to check out every possibility.”
    “Is that the reason you don’t want me to see Stan anymore?”
    A slow grin spread across his face. “Maybe.” Despite my efforts to keep my cool, what he said made my heart flutter furiously. He asked, “Do you still have my number?”
    Pushing my pesky feelings aside, I smiled contritely. “Ryder, I don’t know if it’s a good idea that we revisit our relationship—”
    “I meant that I want you to call me if you remember anything else about what happened tonight.”
    “Oh,” I said, my cheeks flushing. Could I be more stupid? Flirting was his go-to tactic for an investigation, at least with women. It was laughable that I hadn’t learned my lesson, considering our history. He had undoubtedly moved on and probably had a new girl or two by now. “Right, of course.”
    “It was good to see you, Juliet.”
    “You, too.”
    Ryder let me out of the library, and I returned to the living room/cattle stall. Savannah swooped in on me immediately.
    “Who was that? You two seemed to
know
each other. Wink, wink.”
    I blushed. “You could say that.”
    “I thought I heard you call him Ryder. Is he
the
Ryder, the cop you keep mooning over?”
    “I don’t
moon
over him.”
    She smiled at me knowingly.
    Savannah and I had become good girlfriends lately, which was nice, because when I moved back here a couple of months ago, the only person I could really talk to was Pete, and he
so
did not want to hear about anything to do with my love life. Looking at her now you’d never guess it, but Savannah had come from humble beginnings. She was a farm girl from Georgia who had put herself through school on pageant scholarships and money she made selling peaches at roadside stands. She’d created a successful business on her own before she even met Carl, who brought her into the prestigious social circles she ran in now. Savannah knew firsthand what it was like to be an outsider in town, and because of that, we’d bonded quickly.
    She said, “Ooh, you weren’t kidding when you told me how fine he was. I don’t see how you could have broken up with that man candy, you crazy thing.”
    “I told you—he lied to me and used me to get information on a case.”
    “He was undercover. He had to.”
    I lowered my voice. “Yeah, but when he was under
my
covers, I expected a little honesty.”
    “Darlin’, not every man is Pete Bennett.”
    Giving her a perplexed stare, I replied, “Pete? What does he have to do with this?”
    Savannah rolled her eyes. “You’re so blind. Never mind. Perfect men are as scarce as hen’s teeth. Besides, every dog should have a few fleas. It keeps things interesting.”
    “Are you speaking English right now?”
    “Sorry, I sometimes forget you’re a Yankee. What I’m trying to say is that I’d settle for Detective Hunky any day.”
    “He had his chance—”
    Pete appeared next to me, so I abruptly cut off our girl talk. I hoped he hadn’t heard whatever it was that Savannah had just said. It didn’t seem like he had, because he wore a serious expression. He grabbed my hand and pulled me to a quiet corner of the room.
    “I’m taking Cecilia to the hospital to be with Abigail. Carl said he and Savannah would drive you home.”
    “That’s fine,” I replied.
    He hesitated. I knew what he was going to say. Pete was such a decent guy—he was probably incredibly conflicted about what happened tonight. “I need to ask you something. When we found Abigail, did you happen to glance up the stairs?”
    “No, I didn’t. I noticed you looking up there, though. You’re going to tell me you saw Stan, aren’t you?”
    Nodding, he said, “Yeah. I’m worried about you, Jules. I don’t think you should be alone with Stan until the police have time to clear this up.”
    “Oh, come on. You know Stan. I’m sure this is all simply a misunderstanding.” Now both Ryder
and
Pete had