Slim To None (Cedar Tree #1) Read Online Free Page A

well. They went as far as to dump out stuff from under the sink, and the medicine cabinet. Yup. Obviously not a random burglary, they were looking for something specific, and by the looks of things, the woman he talked to lived here alone. There was no evidence of anyone else here.
    Hearing a car coming down the drive, Gus figured it was the sheriff's office and decided he'd rather meet them out front than in the close quarters of the small house, so he made his way out front, and to be on the safe side, he walked out with his hands out and up.
    It didn't take long after checking him for the officers to clear him and validate his credentials with the Montezuma County Sheriff's Office.
    "Sheriff Frank Cooper." The burly, gray haired man introduced himself. "Good thing Joe Morris called and gave me the heads up, or things could've been mighty uncomfortable, although I'm none too happy that you went inside," he grumbled.
    "Couldn't wait, not on the off chance that someone inside might be hurt. I didn't want to take that chance, but I took care not to stomp all over your crime scene... and I may have seen your perp, too."
    "Oh yeah? How's that?"
    "Black new model F150 came tearing up the road from behind the house just as I was turning in. Tag was all dirtied up, so I couldn't get that, but the rest of the car was clean as a whistle. Looked brand new to me, or it could be a rental."
    "Did you get a look at the driver?"
    "Nah. Tinted windows, and I was pretty busy trying not to get sideswiped. All I can tell you is it was a good sized man, head close to the roof of the car. No hat, no glasses, and that's about it."
    The sheriff shot him a glance from under the brim of his hat. "You think it has something to do with the case ya'll are working on?"
    His eyebrows rose as he answered. "Possibly. Did Joe fill you in?"
    "Some. You and I will talk some after we're done here. Anything goes on in my county, I'd like to know about it." He leveled a stern look at Gus, who met his eyes straight on.
    "Fair enough. We'll talk, but let me check in with Joe first."
    Frank nodded once and finally looked back toward the house.
    "Well, I called the tenant; she's on her way in. Once my deputy's done clearing the house, I guess we'll go in with her and have a look around."
    *****
    O kay, so she was freaking out a little. Who'd want to break into her house? Here in Cedar Tree, for Christ’s sake! Arlene offered to drive her, and Seb was going to close up the diner.
    "I think you should tell Frank about the truck you keep seeing." Arlene urged.
    Emma's head whipped around to look at her friend with wide eyes.
    "Shit. You think this has something to do with that? Great, now I'm officially freaking the fuck out. It's not like I can run away or anything, Arlene. Jesus."
    Trying to calm herself down by breathing deep, she knew better than to start panicking before she got all the facts; She’d had enough bad experiences to know that much. Calm, cool, and collected – come on, Ems... get it together.
    Moderately calmer when they pulled into the drive leading up to her bungalow, she could see all the lights on in her house and three cars out front; two sheriff's vehicles and one big-ass, black SUV she had seen parked outside the diner just a few hours ago!
    "Frank!" Emma almost tumbled out of the car as Arlene grumbled at her.
    "Hold your friggin' horses, woman! Let me get you your walker before you land flat on your face, will ya?"
    Pulling the walker from the back and rolling it over, Emma barely had her hands on it before she started moving toward the two men who had turned around to face them. It almost stopped Emma in her tracks to see the pie-eating hot guy from the diner standing right there next to the sheriff. What the hell?
    "You that taken with her pies?" Arlene, with her smart mouth, had obviously spotted him too. His mouth pulled into a smirk.
    "Is that a trick question?" he said. "Loved the pie, no denying that, but I was simply passing by