Читать книгу Christmas Peril: Merry Mayhem / Yule Die - Margaret Daley - Страница 12

On the computer at the library after searching on the Internet for twenty minutes for information on Nick Salvador, she found an article in a Florida newspaper about him being indicted for murder several years ago. She went through the archives of later issues until she discovered what the verdict in the Salvador trial had been.

She stared at the screen. Terror seized her. He had been acquitted of the murder charge, but the reporter noted that a key witness had never showed up to testify. He’d disappeared. She ran a name search on the witness but didn’t find anything pertaining to him. Was he dead? Or living somewhere else?

She pictured something like that happening to her. For a second, panic gripped her. She quickly looked around the library, her heartbeat rapping a mad staccato against her ribs.

“I’ve got my books,” Jayden said, cradling her doll against her chest.

Annie cleared the screen and turned toward her daughter, forcing a smile to her mouth while inside terror still ruled. All she wanted to do was grab her child, hug her tightly and find a way to vanish. Next time she came she would have to research ways to disappear without a trace. There was no way she would risk going back to Crystal Creek now.

“Ready?” Clutching her five books to her chest, Jayden rocked back on her heels.

“Yep, let’s go check these out. I need to get back to Miss Sara’s and cook dinner.” She’d come back tomorrow and do some more searching. She still didn’t have any idea what was going on. Maybe the thugs who had trashed her apartment had found whatever they were looking for. What if they weren’t looking for an object but for her, because Bryan had called her and she’d overheard some of what happened to him?

On Monday afternoon, Annie grabbed her jacket and hurried into the hall upstairs. She’d promised her daughter she would go for a walk with her today and explore the area. Jayden was taking the idea of being on an adventure seriously, whereas Annie wanted her life back. She’d finished her research today on how to disappear and knew it wouldn’t be easy, especially since she had little money. She didn’t even have a cell phone anymore. She’d thrown it away after receiving another message from Bryan’s killer two days ago. He used Bryan’s cell phone again to call her.

His message, “I’m coming to get you,” echoed through her thoughts, producing beads of sweat on her forehead and upper lip. She swiped her hand across her face. She couldn’t let her daughter see how upset she was. Acting as though nothing was wrong wearied her to the point where she was getting no more than a few hours sleep at night.

Annie descended the staircase, composing her features into a calm countenance for her daughter. Jayden was probably already on the porch waiting, since she wasn’t the most patient child. As Annie emerged from the house, she paused. A sudden sense of being watched crawled up her spine, an unpleasant tingling following in its wake.