Missing (The Cass Lehman Series Book 3) Read Online Free

to take my keys.
    I stumbled up the slope, scrambling through the low shrubbery, feeling the branches scratch my bare arms. Shit. I had to hurry or the car’d be gone and I’d have to walk all the way home. I surged up the last bit of the incline and lurched onto the road. Blinding light and the screech of brakes made me squeeze my eyes shut and I flung my arms in front of my face. A heartbeat later the impact against my legs threw me into the air and I struck the windscreen with a crunch of glass and bone. The air whooshed out of me and I launched into the air again. After long moments of weightlessness, the ground rushed towards me and I landed with a thud that should have hurt but didn’t. I lay there, staring up into the night sky. Somewhere I could hear a woman screaming, ‘Oh God, I couldn’t stop’ over and over again. I wished she’d be quiet. I closed my eyes and then there was nothing.
    I turned over and wrapped myself around Ed, burying my head against the warmth and security of his chest.
    ‘Was it a bad one?’
    ‘Not as bad as some. No pain.’
    ‘So why does the daughter think it was murder?’

    ‘The second wife isn’t much older than she is. She thinks she was after her father’s money.’
    ‘Ah.’
    ‘She didn’t like what I had to tell her.’
    ‘Sometimes people don’t want to hear the truth, they just want to be told they’re right.’
    ‘I know. I probably should have said no.’
    ‘Yep, she could have been a maniac.’
    ‘Claire was there.’
    ‘Both of you could have been hurt.’
    ‘But we weren’t.’
    ‘This time.’
    I couldn’t be bothered arguing. I trailed my hand down his chest towards the elastic on his boxers.
    ‘My hands are warmer now.’
    ‘They’d better be,’ he growled.
    In the dark, his lips found mine.

CHAPTER
2
    The jangling of the phone dragged Ed out of one of the best sleeps he’d had in ages. He was so far under it took him a few moments to recognise the source of the cacophony. His next problem was extracting a free hand to grab the phone without waking Cass. She was lying on his arm, cutting off the circulation. His fingers felt like a bunch of limp sausages. He rolled and fumbled for the phone with his other hand, eliciting a groan of protest from Cass. By the time he had the receiver pressed against his ear the answering machine had kicked in. He fumbled with the buttons, halting the recording.
    ‘Yes?’
    ‘Hope I wasn’t interrupting anything,’ Dave said.

    Ed registered the implication but chose to ignore it. He peered at the clock. It was just before 6am. This was no social call. ‘What have you got?’
    ‘I suppose pleasantries are too much to expect from you at this hour. We’ve got a call-out to the Southern Regional Waste Management Facility.’
    ‘You’ve got to be kidding me. The dump? At this hour?’
    ‘Yeah. They start work early. A crew was compacting rubbish. Bag exploded, human remains inside.’
    ‘I think I’ll skip breakfast. That place … it’s down McLaren Vale way, right?’
    ‘Yeah. Your old station got the primary call-out. The detectives from Fairfield CIB are already on the scene.’
    ‘Huh. And we got the case because …?’
    ‘Arnott thought you’d have a better relationship with the local detectives.’
    ‘I’m not sure they’ll love me quite as much now I’m working for the Major Crime Branch.’
    ‘I’ll swing by to get you in ten minutes.’
    Ed ended the call and reached over Cass again to put the phone back in its cradle. He looked down and saw that she was watching him. ‘Morning, gorgeous.’ He dipped his head and brushed his lips against hers.
    ‘This is not morning, it’s the middle of the night,’ she said.
    ‘Nope, definitely morning. Sun’s up.’
    ‘Tell it to go away.’ She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for another kiss.

    He complied, then pulled away with a groan.
    ‘I can’t. Got a case and I need to shower or Dave won’t let me in the