Free Dying Scream by Mary Burton Page B

ma’am.”
    Kendall lifted a brow, not the least bit intimidated. “Not to worry, Detective. I promised Adrianna I’d keep silent and I will. I’ll call you later, Adrianna.”
    “Let me know if anyone picks up the story,” Adrianna said.
    “No one’s going to,” Gage said.
    Kendall shook her head. “They won’t hear of it from me, but I promise you this is going to leak out within seventy-two hours.”
    He couldn’t deny the truth of her words. “Just do your part.”
    “Oh, I will.” Kendall tossed another assessing glance at Gage that said Hurt my sister and you’ll have me to contend with and left.
    Gage shoved his hands in his pockets and listened to the click of heels as she moved down the hallway and out the door. When her car fired up, he turned to Adrianna. “Let’s hope the story comes out later than sooner. Not just for your sake or mine, but for the victims’.”
    “We are on the same side in this matter, Detective. I want the graves relocated. Bad press could mess all that up.”
    Formal. Reserved. And it galled him. With an effort, he shifted his attention from her to the desk behind her. Stacks of ledgers covered the antique finish. “Looks like you’ve got some reading.”
    “Just old papers I’ve got to dig through.”
    He struggled to relax his stance, wanting to defuse their rippling tension.
    “Looks like you’ve got your work cut out.”
    Long hands smoothed over jeans that weren’t everyday jeans, but designer. Expensive. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
    “Your husband didn’t have brothers or sisters?”
    “No. He was the last of his line. There’s only been one male heir for the last several generations.”
    Gage glanced around the room, studying the heavy wood paneling and the empty floor-to-ceiling bookcases. “This place is chock full of history and secrets.”
    “More than I’ll likely ever know.”
    He moved to a bank of dusty shelves recently stripped of books. “Is the money from the land sale going to your bills? I mean, the nursing home must have been real pricey.”
    “If I’m lucky, I’ll clear all the debts.” The topic seemed to make her uncomfortable. “Is there something specific you’d like to ask me? I’ve got a lot of work.”
    “Just came to tell you we’ll be on-site for a while.” He’d tear this whole damn place apart if that’s what it took to find out who was in that grave. “The work at the cemetery is suspended until I say otherwise.”
    Full lips flattened. “How long will that be?”
    “Until the job is finished.”
    “I’ve got to finish that grave relocation within thirty days or the land sale is void.”
    “We’ll be done when we’re done.”
    Annoyance flashed in her eyes. “I’m calling my attorney today. He’ll ensure you don’t dawdle.”
    The knocks Adrianna had taken over the last couple of years had transformed her unsure, wide-eyed innocence into leveled confidence. This Adrianna wasn’t afraid to roll up her sleeves and fight. Good. He preferred her this way. Mentally he stripped off the gloves.
    Gage leaned forward. “You sure you don’t have any idea who might be in that grave?”
    Her long fingers curled into fists. “I really don’t know.”
    “Why’d you ask Miller to sweep the land inside the cemetery with radar?”
    “It seemed prudent. I was worried there’d be some kind of surprise that would void the land sale.”
    “Like a dead body?”
    “I had no idea what Miller would find today.”
    He studied her face closely. “Now, why don’t I believe that?”
    She arched an eyebrow. “I don’t know. Maybe you’re paranoid.”
    “That’s part of the reason the county pays me, ma’am.”
    They stood there a moment, the heavy divide between them widening. “Well, if anything should come to you that you think I should know, you’ll call, won’t you?”
    She drummed her fingers on her thigh. Again, gold and diamonds flashed. “I have a consultation in New York. It’s a good client and