Price of a Bounty (Reliance on Citizens Makes Us Great!) Read Online Free Page A

Price of a Bounty (Reliance on Citizens Makes Us Great!)
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straight face, I said, “Eberhardt will break one of your
fingers every time I suspect you’re lying.”
    Eberhardt
played along. He put away the gun, flexed his fingers and smiled at
me. I smiled back.
    “So…are
you ready to begin?” I asked Madeline.
    “Sure,”
she said.
    Was
she a masochist, or was she was calling my bluff? I looked at her
more closely then, and for the first time, I noticed a scar on her
right forearm, an old knife wound perhaps. The sleeve covering her
left shoulder had slipped down, and I could see another scar, an old
burn in the shape of a circle. There was also a thin line of white
scar tissue above her left eyebrow.
    I
reached into the bottom dresser drawer and pulled out an old
fashioned lie detect, then turned to her.
    “Is
there anything you need before we begin? This will be more reliable
if you’re relaxed.”
    “Mouthwash
or toothpaste.”
    She
probably needed the bathroom for more than that after the amount of
liquid she’d consumed the night before. I nodded in the direction of
the bathroom.
    Eberhardt
looked at me and raised his eyebrows when we heard running water.
    “Really?”
he asked.
    I
shrugged. “As long as she doesn’t leave before we have time to
question her. I’ll make sure she’s not trying to sneak out the
window.”
    I
rapped twice on the door, then opened it. Madeline was clearly
enjoying a hot bath, and she made no move to cover herself. It took
some effort, but I pulled my head back, took a deep breath and
motioned for Eberhardt to follow me into the living room.
    Eventually,
Madeline emerged from the bathroom, wearing her skirt and pink top.
Wet hair only enhanced her beauty. It would be pertinent for me to
remain cautious. I realized that I was staring again and forced
myself to look away. Her eyes! She looks almost like…
    “Are
you ready to begin?” I asked and turned my attention to the lie
detect.
    What
was I going to do with her? She knew I was part of the Resistance;
she was a liability. It would be disastrous if Elaine Ramsey learned
about that. I needed to determine exactly what Madeline knew. Then
I’d have to convince her not to talk – either that or Eberhardt
would have to…I couldn’t let it come to that.
    My
first questions established how honest answers would be recorded.
    “Does
Elaine Ramsey know about my ties to the Resistance?”
    She
said, “I don’t think so, but maybe.”
    The
lie detect confirmed what she’d told me earlier. Nevertheless,
Ramsey would remain a threat as long as she believed Oren Johnson was
alive. What was Madeline planning to tell her? For that matter, was
her name really Madeline?
    “Is
Madeline Jones your real name?”
    “No,
I’m Keira Maddock.” The lie detect recorded this as truth.
The resemblance was clear.
    “Are
you related to Scott Maddock?”
    She
looked surprised and responded with a question instead of an answer.
“How do you know Scott?”
    That
changed everything. I turned off the machine and the recorder and
reached over to gently remove an electrode. She reached up and
removed the others.
    “You
don’t have the money, do you?” I looked directly into her
eyes. “It was already gone when you got here.”
    “Yes,
it was gone,” she replied without looking away. “I was
planning to steal it from you, but when I opened the safe, it wasn’t
there. Killing you prematurely would have only made the rest of my
job more difficult.” She finished with a shrug.
    Her
indifference sent a shiver down my spine. She and Scott looked so
similar yet were undoubtedly different.
    “How
do you know Scott?” she asked again.
    Even
so…I ignored her question, reached into a small bag and extracted a
magnet. I picked up the recording cassette. “There will be no
record of our conversation.”
    I
looked toward the door. “Eberhardt, please run out and pick up
some breakfast for all of us.” I returned my gaze to Keira.
“We have a lot to discuss.”
    Before
he left, Eberhardt walked over
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