Nightfall Read Online Free Page A

of which were
accompanied by the scents of flowers, perfume, and hairspray. It
was a feminine universe, and Colin’s jacket reminded her how much
she missed men.
    She thought about Colin
coming to her aid last night. She thought of the way he talked, the
way he moved, the way he’d handled that gun, and she felt certain
he was way more than a caretaker. In fact, she felt ninety-nine
percent sure he was some kind of cop—although why he wouldn’t just
tell her, she didn’t know. She planned to find out, but first, she
had her own business to attend to.
    Holly opened the door to the
cottage. The sky was a crisp blue. As she walked the short distance
down the hill, she studied the cabin flanked by pine trees. The
layer of snow made it look like a freshly iced gingerbread house.
Holly hiked up the stairs and knocked on the door.
    No answer.
    She knocked again and
glanced around. Her stomach tightened as she realized what was
missing from the gingerbread scene. An old black pickup.
    She tried the door and found
it unlocked.
    “ Colin?” She glanced up at
the loft. No brown head peeking up from the covers or big, manly
feet dangling off the end. The bathroom door stood ajar.
    She spied a note on the
table, tucked beneath a box of corn flakes.
    Had to make a run to town.
Help yourself to breakfast.
    Holly checked at her watch,
panicked. How long was a “run to town”? If he left her stranded
here all morning, she could kiss her deadline goodbye, right along
with her money.
    She glanced around and her
gaze landed on the gun cabinet beside the door. Above it was a tidy
row of hooks.
    She spotted what was there
and felt a burst of hope.
    ***
    “ I found three casings,”
Colin said as soon as Bruce picked up the phone.
    “ How the hell’d you do
that?” his boss demanded. “We had four inches of snow last
night.”
    “ Metal detector,” Colin
said, veering his truck around a patch of ice. “Borrowed it from a
guy in town who does treasure hunting under the ski lifts.”
“So,
what do we know?”
    “ Shooter set up on the
shoulder, about fifty yards back, from the looks of it. I’m betting
he stepped out and stood behind the engine block to take the
shots.”
    “ Three shots at fifty yards? Should have been a walk in the
park.”
    “ Maybe he wasn’t taking kill
shots. Maybe he just wanted to scare off the driver and grab the
load.”
    “ Or maybe she saw something,
and they’re trying to eliminate her.”
    Colin didn’t like the idea,
but he knew it was possible. Right before her “accident,” Holly had
spent half an hour at Mae’s Truck Stop, which was just across the
street from the site of the handoff that never happened. Maybe the
sight of her van had botched things up somehow. Or maybe she had seen something, and
she just didn’t realize it. Colin had pressed her for details while
they were hauling flowers, but she’d been pretty vague—not to
mention preoccupied about her delivery. He got the distinct
impression she was hard up for cash right now.
    Colin passed the patch of
highway where less than fifteen hours ago, Holly had sailed off the
road.
    “ Where are they now? The
shell casings?”
    “ I overnighted them,” Colin
said. “Look for them by ten tomorrow and run them through IBIS. If
anything pops in the database, we’re going to need it in
court.”
    “ If you’re so sure about
this, why didn’t you bring them in? You’re two hours
away.”
    “ Too much going on,” Colin
said. “This isn’t over yet. Tempers are hot. Hooks is still out
there, waiting to get paid. Lopez still doesn’t have his
guns.”
    “ And you’ve confirmed
this?”
    “ There’s talk of another
meet-up, probably tonight or maybe even this afternoon.”
    On the other end, Bruce
muttered something Colin didn’t catch. But he caught the
impatience. Last night was supposed to have been the big takedown,
and now they were pushing into Saturday without any
arrests.
    “ And where’s this van? You
run prints