Rock Harbor Series - 03 - Into the Deep Read Online Free Page A

didn’t see the way the sheriff looked at me. He thinks I killed him.” Denise buried her face in her hands.
    Bree touched her shoulder. “Mason will figure it out. Tell me about your morning.”
    Denise gulped. “I went out to the lab to pick up some papers for Phil, then went to get groceries.”
    “What papers did you pick up?”
    Denise hunched her shoulders. “He said it was just some notes on the project. It was just a bunch of squiggles—made no sense to me. He had an idea and wanted to work on it over the weekend.”
    “Did you talk to anyone at the lab?”
    “No. No one was around, so I just used his key for the office, grabbed the papers, and left.”
    Bree knew she had no business getting involved in this murder. Mason hadn’t asked for her help, and Denise wasn’t a personal friend, but something about the woman tugged at her heart. Maybe it was the death of her husband. Bree told herself to keep her nose out of it, but somehow she knew that wasn’t going to happen. Denise deserved answers, and so did those children.
    “Where are those papers now?”
    Denise pointed to the sofa table. “I laid them there.”
    Bree stood and went to the table. “These?” She glanced at the notes. They were filled with formulas that would likely make no sense to anyone but him.
    Denise nodded and burst into tears again. “What am I going to do without Phil?”
    Bree went to her and embraced her. Phil and Denise had broughtthe kids to church since they’d moved to town. “Just hang on to God,” she whispered.
    “I am,” Denise said in a choked voice. She shuddered and made an obvious attempt to regain her composure.
    Once Denise was calm again, Bree probed with a gentle voice. “Was Phil happy here in Rock Harbor? Did he mention any conflicts at work?”
    Denise grabbed a tissue from the box on the table. “No. He was thrilled to get to move up here. He and his dad used to come up every autumn for a fishing trip. He went on and on about how much I’d love it here, how great it would be for the kids. And this project at the lab was something he was really excited about.”
    “What was he working on?”
    “I don’t know. He wasn’t allowed to talk about it, not even with me.”
    “Did he know all the other scientists who transferred here?”
    Denise nodded. “They’d already started putting the project together in Dayton.” She stopped and stared into space. “He and Yancy were especially close. They headed up the project.”
    No wonder Yancy had been upset. Bree hated to be questioning Denise. “No clue about the project?”
    Denise seemed to gather her thoughts. She wiped at her eyes. “I know it’s something really important to the company. The last patent they had was challenged in the courts and they lost. The company really needs this new project to be done right. And they’re on a tight deadline—two months. Phil was determined to be their golden boy.”
    Now he would never spin another centrifuge or write another formula. And, more important, he’d never see his children grow up.
    “Bree, we’re ready for you and Samson now.” Mason stood in the doorway, a worried frown on his face.
    She leaned over and squeezed Denise’s hand. “Is there anyone I can call for you?”
    Denise shook her head. “I’ll call my mom, and she’ll come right away. It will take her ten hours or so to get here from Indiana becauseshe won’t fly.” She buried her face in her hands. “I just can’t believe this,” she whispered.
    “I can stay tonight,” Bree offered.
    “I’ll be all right. The pastor is on his way over. When he gets here, I’ll call Phil’s mother too.” Her voice trembled.
    Bree nodded then snapped her fingers at Samson, who got to his feet and followed her.
    Mason led the way to the kitchen. “Forensics is done. I want Samson to see if he can follow the scent from the kitchen to any other places where the body might have been laid.”
    Bree still had the scent article they’d