Free Beguiled by Deeanne Gist Page A

he’ll let you know if he needs to speak with them.”
    Tucking the card into her pocket, she moved into the kitchen to brew some tea. .
    Rylee stood at the threshold of the master bedroom, eyes wide, hands covering her mouth. Family photos had been knocked off the bureau, shattered glass studding the carpet. Drawers ripped free of the mahogany dressers, their contents dumped everywhere. Designer clothes flung from the closets and trampled in a frenzy of destruction.
    She felt as if she were falling into a great abyss. Four houses had now been hit. Three were her clients. Detective Campbell would want to know why.
    But he’d have to do the calling. Just because he wanted a convenient suspect didn’t mean she had to volunteer.
    The chaos in the room was so great she didn’t know where to start. Finally, she moved to the bed and righted a jewelry box. She picked up a strand of pearls and placed them in a compartment. So smooth. So cool to the touch.
    Whoever did this didn’t care about money. A person could pay a lot of bills with what they could get from hocking the baubles strewn across the white coverlet.
    She fingered a tasseled key hanging from the keyhole of the jewelry box. The thought of a stranger being in the house, in this very room, filled her with the same vulnerability she’d experienced at the Sebastians’.
    The doorbell rang, jolting her out of her thoughts.
    “I’ll get it,” she hollered, hurrying down the stairs. “It’s probably Cheryl.”
    She looked through the peephole, pulled back, then looked again. He sure didn’t waste any time.
    She watched Logan lean to the right, trying to see inside the window of the dining room, before he punched the bell once more.
    She’d looked him up in her yearbook. His photo showed the awkwardness typical of school pictures, but his features were attractive even then. He’d matured in the intervening years, though, making the leap from boy to man with flying colors.
    She opened the door. He wore his work clothes—an oxford shirt, striped tie, blue jeans and Jack Purcells. Same thing he’d worn to the coffee shop.
    His eyes widened, then a slow smile began to form. The grooves around his mouth came into full play, transforming his face. His dark hair begged for a comb’s attention, the unruly locks going every which way.
    “What are you doing here?” he asked.
    She raised a brow. “I was wondering the same thing about you.”
    “You don’t live here, I’m assuming.”
    “No. The Petries are clients of mine.”
    “You’re kidding.” He glanced nervously into the house. “What kind of dog do they have?”
    Suppressing a smile, she leaned against the doorframe, blocking the view. “Don’t worry, Wonderboy. No ferocious dogs here.
    Just cats.”
    “I didn’t think cats needed walking.”
    She let out a huff of air. “I feed their cats. Now, what can I do for you?”
    Tucking his hands in his back pockets, he leaned his head to the side. “That kind of makes you three-for-four, doesn’t it?”
    “I’m sorry?”
    “Three of the houses hit by the Robin Hood burglar are clients of yours.”
    She stiffened, all humor snuffed completely out. “What do you want, Logan?”
    “No offense. I was just making an observation.”
    “Well, I have things to do, so if you would excuse me—”
    He stopped the door with his hand. “I really didn’t mean to imply anything, Rylee.”
    She gave him a tight-lipped nod.
    “Are the Petries home?”
    “They’re not available right now.”
    He pulled a card from his shirt pocket. “Would you just let them know I’m here? It’ll only take a minute.”
    She didn’t take the card. She still had the one he’d tossed her last week while quivering atop the Confederate Memorial.
    He extended the card into her space. “I’ll even stay on the porch, if they’d prefer. I just have a couple of questions.”
    “Maybe I can answer them for you.”
    He hesitated. “Were you here when the robbery took