Truth and Justice - Fern Michaels Page 0,63

bliss.

One more thing to do and she could retire for the night. Tomorrow was another day. Tomorrow was a new beginning for her and all the wheels she’d put in motion. All she needed to do was follow through, and if there was one thing she excelled at, it was arranging details to make things work to her advantage.

Sara typed an e-mail to her new fertility clinic, saying she would be in at noon to discuss a matter of grave importance and settle her bill. “Settling the matter of grave importance” was going to give her such pleasure. She crossed her fingers in the hope that she would be able to achieve personal happiness the moment things were settled. She was giddy at the thought. She was still smiling to herself as she tidied up the kitchen table, checked the lock on the back door, turned out the lights, and set the alarm. Finally, she was ready for bed.

Sara hoped that when she slipped between the thousand-thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets and laid her head on the downy pillow that had once been on Andy’s bed back in Tulsa, Oklahoma, she would dream about Andy. Still, to this day, she would from time to time, spritz a dab of his favorite aftershave onto the pillow. She loved drifting off to sleep savoring Andy’s scent next to her cheek.

Sara sighed. Tomorrow was going to be a wonderful new day for her. She could feel it in every bone of her body.

Chapter 14

Avery Snowden slapped at the corner of his eye to ward off a nervous tick that had been plaguing him for almost a week. He hated it when the tick attacked him, because it meant he had failed and was returning to Pinewood virtually empty-handed. Until now, the word failure was not in his vocabulary. Unsuccessful. He and his team had been on the job for almost ten days by this time, and he had so little to show for his and his team’s efforts that he wanted to smash something. Nothing . . . nothing at all . . . should be this hard. Yes, every case had its downside, as well as an upside, but this . . . this mess had only a downside. No upside at all. In his opinion. His team was just as upset and frustrated as he was. For all the good it was doing any of them.

Snowden pressed the button on his oversize SUV to lower the window, but he didn’t enter the pass code that would open Myra’s gate to admit him. He should be sitting here on top of the world with a briefcase full of information that would help the Sisters solve their case. Did he have a briefcase full of such information? No. He. Did. Not! Not even close.

A gust of damp autumn air slammed at him through the open window. For some strange, ungodly reason, he felt himself backing up the SUV, and he had no idea why he was doing it. Fear? Anxiety? Alien words to him. Damn, what the hell is wrong with me this evening?

Snowden leaned his head out the window but immediately pulled it back in. There were too many crazies out there to allow himself to be vulnerable. He didn’t move the SUV forward, though. His gaze swiveled to the dense, well-tended forest that surrounded Myra’s farmhouse. There could be a dozen crazies lurking in there, and he’d never know it unless he put on his tactical gear. He knew that someone could be hiding there, surveilling the farmhouse, because he’d done it himself.

Snowden leaned forward to stare out at the horizon. It was almost dark. In just about five more minutes, the world would be like black velvet. It was so easy to hide in the dark. The fine hairs on the back of his neck moved. Why weren’t the dogs barking? Lady always knew when he was at the gate. Once she barked to alert the family someone was approaching, her pups took up the cry and started to yammer at the top of their lungs. The fine hairs on the back of his neck moved again. He sat still, rigid actually, as he wondered if Annie was creeping up on him, with the gun that she was never without, rock steady in her hands. It had happened before, so if it happened again, like now, he wouldn’t be surprised. The Sisters wanted results, and ten whole days had gone by