Tempting the Light: Legends and Myths Police Squad (L.A.M.P.S. Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

Nothing out of the ordinary happened here.” Pepper scratched her nose.
    Abby shook her head. She wiped the sweat from her palms on her jeans and pulled out her lip balm.
    The sheriff cocked his head and squinted one eye. “You girls wouldn’t lie to me, right?” His lips formed an uneven smile.
    “Right, Sheriff. How about a nice glass of iced tea?” Pepper asked, attempting to break up the tension.
    “That would be nice, thanks.” His smile lit up his eyes. They twinkled and sparkled when the sun reflected off them.
    “Abby?” She motioned to her.
    Abby snapped her jaw shut and pried her gaze from River’s seductive eye snare. She followed Pepper up the stairs lickety-split. Rattles accompanied her steps into the house to the kitchen.
    They left the sheriff outside.
    “Oh my God. What if I hurt or killed Mr. Livingston?” Popping a Tic Tac into her mouth, she walked in a circle around the kitchen shaking her hands by her sides.
    Pepper rolled her eyes. “Do you remember encountering a grouchy old man last night?”
    “No, but—”
    “Well there, you see. You’ve got nothing to worry about.” She patted Abby’s forearm. “Look, you’re a kind soul. You couldn’t hurt anyone, even if you wanted to.” She tossed some ice cubes in a glass then poured the tea. “Causing someone pain is not in that small body of yours. Now go and take the nice sheriff his drink and stop looking guilty.”
    “But I have no idea what I did last night as—as that creature.” Her voice shook. Abby was sure she was suffering a nervous breakdown. They would haul her to the insane asylum and wrap her in a nice white jacket then throw her in one of those pillow rooms—until they decided to strap her to a chair and make her sizzle as if she were a bug in a zapper. Oh my God.
    Pepper’s brows lowered in concern. “Shh. We’ll figure this out. You won’t change for another month, right?” The phone rang. Pepper handed the tea to her and gave her a nudge toward the waiting sheriff. “Go.” She pointed to the door.
    “Alone?”

Chapter 3
    River mastered reading the signs of deception long ago and these two women displayed almost every one. Maybe they had nothing to do with the disappearance of Mr. Livingston, but his intuition said the two ladies were up to no good. The taller blonde covered for Abby. Still, Abby’s cute brown curls almost hid her tiny face, the face of an angel—a fallen angel. If he could get her alone without the Amazon, he’d no doubt coax her into telling the truth. She looked so innocent when he pulled her over yesterday.
    White sheets flapped in the light friendly breeze on a clothesline that stretched from an old pine tree to a steel pole. It reminded him of growing up in California. He walked past the giant dinosaur sculpture in the yard—how freaky was that—over to the smoldering ashes in the fire pit. With a long stick, he poked around in the hot embers, denim and a few other scraps of material hid under a burnt log. Someone had tried to burn his or her clothes?
    Ever since L.A.M.P.S.—Legends and Myth Police Squad—had reassigned him to Haber Cove to investigate the disappearance of the former missing sheriff, whose place he’d taken, the only calls he received in the past month were to retrieve a jumping Pekinese from a tree. Lord knows how a three-legged dog gets twenty feet in the air. Oh, and he had to write the occasional parking ticket.
    Boring.
    He’d investigated the missing sheriff’s case and hit nothing but stale ends. Why L.A.M.P.S. got involved in such an investigation was beyond him. If a Cryptid or some other mythical beast were involved, he’d find the monster. That’s what he did. Hell, he’d already captured a Sasquatch and tagged a nest of Thunderbirds this year. L.A.M.P.S. formally honored him as one of their top investigators. He had the email to prove it.
    When Mrs. Livingston called to report her husband missing, he had to admit, his adrenalin glands shot