The Legacy: A Kimberly & Sykes Mystery Novel Read Online Free

who called her the previous evening after all.
    Lauren looked at the picture as she sipped her wine and thought about calling Beth. She knew Beth would tell her to call the police. When she refused, Beth was likely to call the police herself. Lauren had thought about calling them, regardless of the dire warning she had been given, but what would she tell them – her father stole valuable items and the rightful owner wanted to meet with her to get them back? If the police could help, her father would surely have gone to them.
    No, she had to do this herself. Adam Smith looked respectable enough and was unlikely to harm her. He was obviously upset about some missing equipment her father had taken – not stolen she reminded herself – and she would be polite, but firm, and tell him once again, she had no idea where his missing items were. End of story.
    ****
    Wearing a stylish white cotton blouse with navy blue linen dress pants and navy penny loafers, Lauren looked at herself in the mirror. She wanted to portray a no-nonsense woman of confidence. These were the clothes she wore when she had important meetings at work, or when she accompanied her clients to court. She had spent a lot of money on them and always felt smarter, taller, and more competent when she wore them. 
    Satisfied with what she saw, Lauren added her gold evening watch and her favorite gold pinky ring with the diamond. They both went well with her mother’s wedding band that she had worn on her right ring finger ever since her mother died.
    With one last look in the mirror she opened the top two buttons of her blouse to soften her look. After running her fingers through her hair, she let out a sigh. “I may not be as rich as Mr. Adam bloody Smith but I can at least dress well,” she thought. Finally, she added a string of black pearls. These, too, were her mother’s, and just like her mother, Lauren had few occasions to wear them.
    The sound of the front door buzzer echoed in her quiet apartment and startled her. With a deep breath and a quick prayer up to her mother, Lauren put on her salmon pink linen jacket, grabbed her navy clutch purse, and walked out of the apartment. She took the elevator down to street level. When she walked through the main door Lauren found a sleek black limousine parked at the curb. Standing at the rear door was a strikingly handsome man. About six feet tall with a swimmers’ body - narrow at the hip with broad shoulders, he looked like a Greek God in a suit. His dark brown curly hair was short, and his eyes were so dark they seemed black. He had smooth olive skin and the cleft in his chin parlayed any hint at softness into pure chiseled marble. Despite the circumstances, Lauren’s breath quickened as she looked him in the eye.
    “Ms. Kimberly?” he said as she approached the limousine.
    “Are you Mr. Sykes?”
    “Just Sykes.”
    “Just Sykes?”
    Instead of confirming, he tilted his head slightly and smiled. Caught off guard, Lauren gave a smile of her own then stepped into the back of the limousine.

Chapter 3
     
    Settled in the back seat, Lauren gazed at the opulence that surrounded her. She breathed in the smell of leather and ran her hands over the polished wood surfaces. The luxurious leather seats, plush carpeting, TV, and beautifully polished woodwork were lavish. Lauren had never been in a limousine and hadn’t given any thought to their opulence. As much as she loved her yellow Mazda Miata, this made a nice change. 
    “I thought these things had a privacy screen,” she shouted to Sykes as he smoothly accelerated into the evening traffic.
    “No need to shout Ms. Kimberly,” he said smiling. “The acoustics are great in these new limos.”
    “That’s not what you see on the TV. So… wouldn’t that be even greater need to have a security screen?”
    Sykes leaned forward and touched the dashboard. A second later, an opaque divider quietly rose from the back of the front seats. It stopped after a few