Dark Legacy by Jen Talty (reading books for 4 year olds .txt) 📗

and shook her head. “I would be gossiping and talking out of turn. I’ve already said too much, but I thought you should know you could be on a wild goose chase. I’m sure she’s just having a romantic getaway.”

“Romantic?” Jackson questioned, a bit dismayed that his charm hadn’t gotten more from the woman.

“Oh, dear. Me and my big mouth.” Ms. Timms fanned herself.

“When is Miss Montgomery due back to work?” Katie asked.

“In two days,” Ms. Timms said.

“So…Wednesday,” Jackson clarified.

“Shall I have her give you a call when she returns?” Ms. Timms asked as she leaned back and folded her arms across her chest in a closed-off manner.

Jackson knew when to call it quits. He stood and pulled out a business card, placing it face-up on the desk. “Yes, please do.”

“Thank you for your time,” Katie said, glancing up at him with an evil stare.

She liked to be in control. All the time. She always wanted to call the shots, and for the most part, she was always on point. But sometimes, she pushed too hard. This would be one of those times.

They made their way back outside, where the temperature had already risen at least five degrees.

Katie’s temp probably exceeded that of a hot tub. “You excused us a little too early.”

“She wasn’t going to give us more. Besides, she doesn’t know any more,” he said.

“You don’t know that.”

Jackson wasn’t about to continue down this road. “If Belinda requested time off from the bank, I think she would have canceled and rescheduled her visit with Shannon.”

“When was her appointment?”

“Last Friday. Which means, she knew she wouldn’t be around when she asked for the time off. So, again, it doesn’t make sense for her to blow off the appointment.” Jackson got in the Jeep and grabbed the piece of paper he’d left on the dashboard.

“I don’t know. A lot of people forget about doctor appointments or feel guilty about canceling, so they just don’t go.”

“Maybe.” He pulled his iPad from the backseat, opened email, and sent the license plate number to a cop friend.

“What are you doing?” Katie fired up the Jeep. It sputtered, then let out a loud roar as she pressed on the gas.

“You need a new muffler,” he said.

“You haven’t answered my question.”

“Having a friend check a license plate number.” He folded the iPad case closed and returned it to the backseat. “I meant to do it earlier. A car’s been at the top of my driveway for three mornings in a row.”

“That’s weird,” Katie said. “Why do you think it’s suspicious, other than it not being a safe place to park?”

“Have you ever known me to be anything but guarded?” he said. Shannon was most likely right about it being someone looking into renting one of the cottages. “I’ve got a weird vibe about this Belinda Montgomery case.”

“So do I.” Katie got back onto the Northway, headed toward Lake George. “I suspect Ms. Timms is more of a gossip, so I think we can push her if we have to.”

“I agree.” Jackson grabbed hold of the holy-shit bar. “When are you going to learn this Jeep is not a race car?”

“The moment you stop caring about decorating.”

“Har, har,” he said, glancing at the speedometer. “Geez, lucky for you, your boyfriend is an assistant district attorney.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” she said with venom. “Janice said they had a fight on Friday about how Belinda hadn’t cleaned up her dirty dishes. But, seriously, that’s not a reason to disappear for days without a word.”

“Which is why I think she fell off the wagon.”

“You really need to start giving people the benefit of the doubt,” Katie said. “But in this case, I have to agree. Which is why you need to talk to that doctor neighbor of yours.”

“She’s not going to be able to give us any insight.” Jackson continued gripping the bar above his head as Katie weaved in and out of traffic. “Seriously, you’re going to get a ticket.”

She pointed to the sticker on her windshield. “I have friends in high places, and you need to use that charm you swear you have on Shannon. We need to know where to look. Janice didn’t know Belinda until after rehab, so she doesn’t know much about her past. I’m sure her shrink will know more.”

“She’s not a shrink; she’s a therapist.”

“Whatever. Just promise me you will talk to her.”

“I will, but I’m going to be honest with her about why I want to know.” And he’d apologize, too.

Katie shook her head. “Then she’s going to clam up on us, protecting her client.”

“Ah, ye of little faith. You underestimate my ability to charm women.”

Katie laughed. Loudly. “You do know that most women think you’re gay after spending about five minutes with you, right? Really, you shouldn’t let on all you know about decorating and fashion and all that girly stuff. We’re never going to get you a woman.”

It was his turn to laugh, and he tossed in a flick of his hair for good measure. “First, I’ve already landed one woman.”

“Who turned out to be a bitch.”

That cut his laugh short. “This, coming from a woman who doesn’t even own a dress, much less a decent pair of slacks. Seriously, no wonder you’re still single.”

“Oh, bite me.”

“Nice mouth.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she said, adjusting her baseball cap as she slowed down to go through the EZPass lane. “Just talk to the good old doctor. I’m going to drop you off at the office and tell Jessica she needs to file an official missing person’s case. At least that way, I can get some of our friends down there to help me out with some intel.”

“Good tax dollars at work. Get the PI to do all the grunt labor.”

“Hey, we’re getting paid on this one, so bite your tongue.”

“True,” he said just as they pulled into the office parking lot, situated behind the main drag of Lake George and right behind Gunners, a local watering hole. It was a quiet town, and