Reasonable Doubt Read Online Free Page A

trouble getting along without you.”
    Keri grabbed her coat from the rack behind the desk. “Better tell that to the town council, because if I don’t get your job when you retire, I’m quitting for good. Besides, Abe will do fine filling in for me.” The part-time deputy was just itching to spend a couple of weeks in her place.
    “Well, you take care out there in those woods.”
    “Thanks. I will.”
    “You going over to the café before you head up there?”
    “Yeah.” Though her stomach rumbled, Keri found it difficult to muster much enthusiasm for the greasy breakfast her future stepmother was undoubtedly preparing at the moment. Just like every other morning.
    Maybe she wouldn’t go after all. Maybe she’d just grab a donut at the Quick Shop on her way out of town. She wanted change, didn’t she? She’d start with breakfast. Then, who knew what else? Maybe she’d dye her hair black and get some fake nails. Nah.
    Still, a change of pace sounded great. A change of pace that included, for instance, a promotion and a nice fat raise in pay. Then maybe next year she could afforda trip to Maui for her two-week vacation. She smiled at the thought.
    “What are you smiling about? I know it can’t be the thought of your stepmother’s eggs.”
    The chief’s words brought Keri back from her daydream. “Ruth’s not my stepmother yet. And if Dad doesn’t stop stalling, she’s likely to get fed up with waiting and head back to Texas.”
    He actually snorted. “I doubt that.”
    “You never know. Some women don’t wait around forever.” Like I have.
    Keri pushed back the melancholy threatening to settle over her once again. She patted the chief’s meaty shoulder and headed for the door. “You have everything you need. Abe’s capable of holding down the fort. Just remind him to check the radio every now and then to make sure it’s switched on.” The three-hundred-pound part-timer was notorious for knocking against the switch and shutting off the radio.
    The chief chuckled. “Will do.”
    Keri stepped into the frigid mid-November morning. The brisk air smelled clean, fresh. She gathered in as much as her lungs would hold, then released the breath with a smile, suddenly wide-awake. She glanced at the sky. Pregnant clouds promised the first snowfall of the year, a little earlier than normal, but not a record by any means. Forecasters called for up to eight inches before evening. From the looks of it, old Tom, the weather guy, might have hit the bull’s-eye this time.
    Wrapping her arms about herself to stop the shivering, she headed toward the café before rememberingher decision to eat a donut. She heaved a sigh. She was definitely in a rut.
    Barely noticing the familiar insurance building, the thrift store, the General Dollar, she continued toward Ruth’s Café.
    Her mind whirled, her heart a tumult of emotions as her thoughts returned to Justin. If she were to be perfectly honest with herself, she wasn’t sure what ticked her off more, the possibility of him murdering his wife, or the fact that he’d married someone else in the first place.
    His see-into-her-soul eyes invaded her mind, and Keri could almost feel the featherlight touch of his lips on hers—the sweetest of memories.
    Even after fifteen years, she felt as though she were betraying him for even considering the possibility that he might be guilty. Love, as strong as ever, combined with aching heartbreak at the thought that Justin was somewhere in trouble, and she couldn’t help him. Worse still was the nagging worry that he might have actually committed the murder.
    As much as her heart rejected the thought, the realist in her had to admit that anyone was capable of changing for the worse. The drunk driver who’d killed her mother was proof of that. If a man could fall off the wagon after years of sobriety and slam his car into an innocent mother of three, a clean-cut teenager could grow up to be a killer.
    She’d been following