Free The Easter Egg Murder by Patricia Smith Wood Page A

“I’ve returned, and I’m happy to report success. The office furniture and equipment will be delivered tomorrow and so will the computer. Duane from the computer company will come after the delivery to do the network installation.” She gave them a jaunty salute and went back to her temporary station.
    Harrie spent the rest of the morning going over the senator’s manuscript and making editing suggestions. At four o’clock, Caroline gently tapped on Harrie’s open door. “Excuse me. If you would like me to open up in the mornings, I’m going to need a key. Do you have an extra one?”
    Harrie marked her place in the document and thought for a moment. “You know, I’m not sure we do, but I can certainly run over to Lowe’s and have one made.”
    After checking with Ginger to make sure she didn’t have a spare key, Harrie headed for Lowes, telling Ginger that she would be back before closing time.
    As soon as she pulled into the afternoon traffic on Wyoming Boulevard, she knew her timetable might have been optimistic. She turned up her music on the CD player and resigned herself to a city dweller’s worst nightmare – rush hour traffic. Even so, she drove into the parking lot at Lowe’s only fifteen minutes later. Her luck held when she discovered the guy who made the keys wasn’t busy, and she was soon back in her car. She decided on what she thought might be a quicker route back and was congratulating herself on the good time she was making when she caught the red light at Eubank and Academy. She looked at her watch and saw she had only ten minutes to make it back to the office before five. She tapped her fingers impatiently on the steering wheel as she watched the red light, willing it to turn green. The driver of the car immediately in front of her caught her attention because he seemed to be watching her in his side mirror. As she averted her eyes, something stirred in her subconscious. She turned her head ever so slightly trying to get a better view of his face in his mirror, hoping her dark glasses hid the fact that she was staring. There was something unsettling about those eyes looking back at her, and they were definitely looking at her. She felt a rush of adrenaline.
    When she returned her attention to the traffic light, the left arrow had just turned green, and the line of cars started up. The peeping driver moved his vehicle through the intersection and maneuvered his way through the westbound traffic until he was several car lengths ahead of her. Was it someone she knew? Why did she feel so creepy about the driver? Then she realized he was in a black SUV.

17
     
    Wednesday Evening, April 12, 2000
     
     
    Philip leaned back in his leather chair, eyes closed, lost in Rachmaninov’s Variation Eighteen of Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. The swelling music as the orchestra reached for the final burst before the gentle, calm climax was almost erotic. In the silence that followed the last note, he opened his eyes, feeling calm and relaxed.
    I t was time to get back to his dictation. In the kitchen, Ramona prepared dinner for him, but he knew it would take at least another hour. She always set it out in the dining room and tapped softly on the door to let him know she was leaving. He had grown accustomed to this routine over the years and looked forward to it each evening.
    He went back to the hidden room and activated the monitors. He picked up the microphone and thought about his visit with the private investigator that morning. Philip had used him several times recently and was pleased with the result. He wanted part of the story about Chipper Finn checked out, and he was concerned for Ginger and Harrie. It was possible they were mistaken about a mysterious stalker, but he didn’t think so. Philip described that situation to his visitor and asked him to find out if the women were being followed. Then he then asked him to check something at the New Mexico Department of Public Health. The detective