Deadly Deception - By Andrea Johnson Beck Page 0,11

we’ll meet him later.”

Adam gazed at her with surprise, watching her nakedness saunter towards the bathroom.

“Really? We don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Adam replied while in the process of locating his clothes that were puddled on the floor.

“I know, but you won your case today, and that’s something we should be celebrating instead of watching a sappy chick flick.”

“I thought we just did celebrate.”

“Funny!” Anne sang.

“I’ll run home, change, and pick you up in about an hour.”

“You know, you do have clothes here and we could celebrate more in the shower,” Anne said, coaxing her fiancé with a come-hither voice.

Having already turned the faucet on, Anne watched the steam from the shower begin to coat the mirror with thick condensation. His honey-hued skin silhouetted beside her. They each washed away their sins from the day, stripping the skin that had been tainted with memories of the past.

CHAPTER 5

The tepid Thursday morning brought hope to the city of Minneapolis. It had been a long blustery winter and with spring rapidly approaching, the temperatures slowly began to rise. The dirty snow that lined the city streets was melting into the sewer which created more of a sloppy mess. Anne extracted her spring clothes from the back of the closet, eager to wear sun dresses and halter tops once again.

Her car was packed with two beige suitcases for their cabin getaway. They were initially going to drive up together but Adam had to be in Duluth a day early so Anne was going to make the trek alone. Casey was still waiting on the security office to show her the surveillance videos and they were continually coming up with excuses why they were unable to locate the correct video. Of course this did not sit well with her.

“I mean really, who do I need to sleep with to see those videos,” Casey demanded as she and Anne quickened their pace through the parking garage toward the elevator. “Honestly! This is why they’re security guards and not real police officers. So incompetent!”

“Casey, they have to get approval from their boss. They can’t just hand them over to you.”

She rolled her eyes in annoyance at Anne’s response.

“Well, I pay quite a bit for my space in this building. I have every right to see those tapes. You know I have left the owner of the building at least a dozen messages and he hasn’t returned one of them, the little prick!”

“Good grief, did you not have your Starbucks this morning?”

Anne grasped for some pleasantries from Casey but her look shot them dead in the water.

“I did, but they are ineffectual and I don’t deal with that very well.”

Casey tugged on her red pea coat in disgust.

“They will get it when they get it. Stop thinking about it.”

“Why aren’t you bothered by this? This is for you, you know?”

“I’m in vacation mode. I’m leaving for the cabin after my patient, spending the weekend by the lake, reading and drinking wine,” Anne replied.

After a couple of stops, the elevator finally made it to their floor.

“Is Adam going to be in Duluth the whole time?”

“I don’t think so, but I’m going to enjoy it either way.”

“Are you sure you’re all right? The other day you were such a mess and now you are Miss Happy Go Lucky,” Casey asked, stopping Anne right before they entered their office.

“I can’t deny the fact that Carter was a huge part of my life and I loved him more than anything but that’s just it—was. Yes, I want closure and to know what really happened but Adam is my life now. He’s my future. It’s not fair to him to be wrapped up with someone who isn’t here anymore.”

“I know this has been difficult for you,” Casey took Anne’s hands, “and we will get to the bottom of this but I see how Adam makes you glow and how much he adores you. You have been through hell and back no thanks to Carter. You deserve to have all the happiness in the world.”

Anne’s eyes glazed over with tears.

“Thank you. I appreciate everything you have done for me but no more of this mushy talk,” Anne said, nudging Casey with her shoulder.

Casey nodded, blinking away the wetness that was starting to form. They entered the office and went to their designated offices to prepare for the day. Anne went through her messages and emails. Shelly brought in the patient folder for her to look over. Anne opened it up,