The Prey Bites Back: A Jesse Watson Mystery Book #8 Read Online Free Page B

Jesse, so I had to call you on my cell and the battery’s about dead. Eddie
said that South River Road is flooded. I can’t make it out.”
    “Stay put, Mom.
I’ll handle it. I’ll call you later.”
    I ended the
call and then went to the bedroom to get dressed. I grabbed an umbrella at the
door on my way out, which Helene quickly snatched from me, asking if I wanted to
be a human lightning rod. She handed me a baseball cap and said, “It won’t keep
you as dry, but at least I won’t have to worry about you getting struck by
lightning. Now go and be careful. It’s going to be a nightmare out there!”
    The roads were
flooded in some of the low lying areas, but not so bad that I couldn’t navigate
them in my 4Runner. I loved my Toyota SUV. It could go almost anywhere, and to
prove it, I’ve taken it through some pretty treacherous places. During one of
my more adventurous moments, I drove it across South River in a low spot just to see if it would make it. It did, but I
won’t ever do that again unless I absolutely have to.
    I took the back
way to the office, avoiding the traffic on Rt. 29, and made it there in no time
flat. I was praising myself when I pulled into the parking lot of Blackhawk
& Blackhawk Investigations, until I hit a slick spot. It was all I could do
to keep from plowing through the double glass doors of the building. The
4Runner seemed to have a mind of its own, but fortunately, it stopped in time
to keep me from turning into windshield pizza. My hands were shaking when I
walked into the office.
    “Need a cup of
coffee?” Lila Grayce asked as she took my purse and then helped me with my
jacket. “I just made a fresh pot.”
    Lila Grayce is
our office manager… and lifesaver.
    “No thanks,” I
replied, shaking the rain off me. “It’s pouring out there.”
    “And it’s
supposed to be like that all day.”
    I looked around
the office, and started to ask about our client when the door alarm chimes went
off. The front door opened and in walked a short, heavyset, black woman with
big hair. She was wet all over.
    “You must be Mae
Bridges,” I said, extending my hand. “I’m Jesse Watson Blackhawk. It’s good to
finally meet you.” I looked at Lila, but before I could say anything, she came
over and helped Mae out of her wet things, asking about her interest in a cup
of coffee.
    Mae shook my
hand, and then said to Lila, “A cup of coffee would be nice. Thank you.” Then,
she turned to me and said, “I bet I can read your mind.”
    “I hope not. I
keep some pretty bad stuff hidden there. You wouldn’t want to visit that
place.”
    She laughed out
loud and said, “I like you already. Your mom said I would, and she was right.
She also said that I could trust you.”
    “You can. Tell
me your darkest secrets and I’ll take them to my grave… unless I’m tortured. If
that happens, you’re on your own.”
    “Have you ever
been tortured?”
    “Physically… no,
mentally… all the time. In my line of work, crawling out of bed in the morning
can be torture. Traffic can be torture, especially on a day like this.”
    “Murder can be
torture,” she said. “Especially on the ones left behind.”
    “Why don’t we
sit down,” I said, pointing to an overstuffed sofa.
    She looked
around the room as if she was checking it out to make sure no one else was there.
“Oh, don’t worry,” I assured her. “We’ll have our privacy. There’s no one here
but the three of us.”
    We both sat
down and waited until Lila had placed the coffee on the table in front of us.
When she walked away, I said to Mae, “So… tell me about your problem.”
    “Let me just
say how glad I am that Sarah is going to be okay. I was really worried about
her for a while.”
    “You know
Billy’s mother?”
    “I know all the
Blackhawks. They do their banking with us, or they did with my husband before
he was murdered. Now, someone else handles their accounts.”
    “Tell me about
your husband.”
    Mae told me