Girl Sleuth-Chapter 10

(If you'd like to read from the beginning you can go Here.)

The train grumbled into the station, all busy impatience, as if annoyed at having to stop yet again. Anne sighed. “Come on.”

Grinning like a boy scout who just earned a merit badge, Erik followed her on board and settled into the seat next to her. She hid a corresponding smile beneath a fierce scowl, and focused on meticulously straightening her gloves. The car moved uptown with the same sense of barely restrained frustration. Anne could empathize. She needed to get to Jilly before anyone else did.

“So what were they looking for?” Erik’s question broke her chain of thought and she folded her hands in her lap.

“What do you mean?”

The train grumbled into the station, all busy impatience, as if annoyed at having to stop yet again. Anne sighed. “Come on.”

Grinning like a boy scout who just earned a merit badge, Erik followed her on board and settled into the seat next to her. She hid a corresponding smile beneath a fierce scowl, and focused on meticulously straightening her gloves. The car moved uptown with the same sense of bar

He raised both eyebrows in a caricature of skepticism. “Come on. Your joint was ransacked, but they didn’t take anything. Not even your brand new, and obviously expensive typewriter. They had to be looking for something.”

Should she trust him? She gazed into the deep wells of his eyes as if she could read his thoughts playing like a ticker tape across his mind. His sudden appearance in her life might have been completely coincidental. Or it might have been staged. If he were one of the bad guys, he would already know what they were after and it wouldn’t hurt anything to tell him. If he, by the grace of God, were a good guy, maybe he could help.

His gaze held hers, hinting at sincerity.

She huffed out a breath that set her bangs flying and opened her purse. “I think this is what they were after.” She outlined what she knew about Carol’s death and how she had discovered the pages in her own handbag.

He glanced at the pages she handed him and then handed them back.

She narrowed her eyes and leaned closer as if smelling a rat.

A deep V appeared between his eyes. “What?”

“That was a pretty short perusal of what may be key evidence in a murder.”

“There isn’t much on any of the pages.”

“You didn’t even look at the backs.”

He rubbed his palms against his thighs. “So?”

“You already read them didn’t you? When you were in my apartment this morning, you played the snoop.”

“After what you’ve told me about interrogating landladies, you are hardly one to be complaining about a little harmless snooping.”

“Oh, no. You will not push this back on me as if I have done something wrong. I can’t believe I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt. What were you doing going through my papers?”

He sat back against the stiff seat, planting his hands on his knees. “It’s not what you think.”

“Try me.”

“My name really is Erik Carter.”

“Stop stalling.”

“I’m with the Secret Service.”

Anne’s vision whited out for a second, she dropped the papers. He caught them before they could flutter to the floor. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

“She was murdered, wasn’t she?” Dreadful certainty stripped her voice down to a whisper.

Erik nodded. “We think so.”

“Why?”

“Carol was involved with some bad fellows. I think her boyfriend pulled her into it. She contacted my office two weeks ago. Wanted to make a deal. She agreed to testify in exchange for immunity for her and her beau.”

Anne shook her head. Ridiculous. It was ridiculous. Ludicrous. Laughable. So how come she wasn’t laughing?

She breathed in deep and pulled out her hankie. “Do you have any credentials?”

He rolled his eyes. “You don’t believe me?”

She simply stared at him and he relented.

“Here.” He yanked his wallet from his pocket and held it open for her.

She held it up and looked it, not that she would know what the genuine McCoy looked like but it seemed the thing to do.

“I think you can help me nail these guys. They obviously think you have something they want, or they wouldn’t have tossed your place.”

“If not these documents then what?”

“Did she say anything? Anything at all?”

Anne shook her head.

“You are certain?”

“Do you think I haven’t considered this? I’m certain.”

They subway huffed into their station and Anne jumped up, Erik following closely on her heels.

“Then they just think she did.” He put a hand on her elbow, pulling her to a stop on the stairs. “I’m going to need your cooperation.”

Anne stared at him. Carol had tried to work with the Secret Service and it had gotten her killed.