Locust Lane by Stephen Amidon EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Author Name: Stephen Amidon
- Book Genre:
- ISBN #
- Edition Language: English
- Date of Publication: January 18, 2023
- File Format: PDF / EPUB
- PDF / EPUB File Size: 9 MB
Midday Wednesday
DANIELLE
She was on duty when they came through the door. Everybody was—lunch
was their heaviest time for traffic. People liked to buy jewelry in the middle
of the day. Mostly office workers on their lunch break. Couples, single men
—you got a good mix. If you wanted to make sales, you either ate early or
you ate late or you didn’t eat at all.
But these two weren’t customers. She saw that right away. They weren’t
even a couple, at least not the sort of couple who usually rolled into a
jewelry shop. A middle-aged Black woman who looked like a high school
principal accompanied by a white knucklehead who could have been the
wrestling coach.
The woman was a little on the heavy side but carried it
well, her clothes spotless, not a hair out of place. The man had a body built
of free weights and beer; his hair was shaped by electric razors and gel. No,
they were definitely not here to buy an engagement ring. There were
credentials dangling from their necks she couldn’t read from this distance.
Tax people, she guessed. Steve would have seen them on the CCTV in his
office. He was probably shredding documents already.
Tomi was closing a deal on what looked a half-carat solitaire, so that left
Britt up. The little dummy thought they were customers, so she came at
them with that shitshow she called charm. But her smile vanished the
moment the woman explained herself. She turned and pointed to Danielle.
Here we go, she thought. Again. Eden had called last night, just after
midnight, but Danielle missed it. She’d gone to bed early, turning her ringer
off because of a recent spate of Scam Likely calls. So she didn’t see that her
daughter had called until she woke this morning. She hadn’t left a message.
Danielle tried to call back but there was no answer. Which meant she’d
been unable to forestall whatever nonsense was about to be laid at her feet.
Danielle had no issues with the tax people and her daughter had no
money, so maybe they were social services. Although they tended not to
come in pairs. The snakes who served summonses and warrants tended to
work alone as well. And then she saw the gold shields and that feeling of
annoyance shifted to something deeper.
It was the woman who spoke.
“Danielle Perry?”
Her voice was surprisingly kind. In most situations you could say it was
soothing. Just not in this one.
“What has she done now?”
“My name is Dorothy Gates. I’m a detective with the state police. This
is Detective Procopio from Emerson.”
Gates looked around. Another couple had just been buzzed in. The
showroom wasn’t that big. It was getting crowded.
“Is there somewhere we could talk?”
The fear was starting to come harder. Eden had been in trouble, God
only knew, but it had never required two detectives and privacy to explain.
“Ms. Perry?”
There was the storage room, but that was just a walk-in safe with no
seating. Which left the manager’s office. Steve wouldn’t be happy having
cops in there.
“I’m not…”
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