Free Deep in Death: A Shelby Nichols Adventure by Colleen Helme

corridor with most everyone hard at work in their offices. I read the names of the tenants out loud, noting there were five altogether. I got to the last one and a sudden chill swept over me, making my arms break out in goose bumps. My breath hitched, and I rubbed my arms, while turning in a slow circle. The outside doors were closed with no one else in sight. On a whim, I read the last name aloud once more, and again felt a cold touch like a soft breath against my cheek, only this time it carried the smell of gardenias.

 
    Chapter 4
    I gasped and, with a surge of adrenaline, raced out the door and into the fresh air. After a few deep breaths, my heart slowed, but my legs still shook. What was going on? Had I really smelled gardenias again? Needing to put some distance between me and that building, I headed toward the courtyard that was at the middle of the building complex.
    The center of the courtyard held a large fountain surrounded with trees, shrubbery and flowers. Hearing the pleasant gurgle of water soothed me, and I questioned my sanity. Was my mind playing tricks on me? I sat on a bench to collect myself and tried to reason it through. There had to be a logical explanation for all of it.
    Feeling the chill in the air and smelling those flowers was all in my head. For some reason, I’d personalized Darcy’s death, probably because we had so much in common. So it was only natural that I’d feel a connection to her and my imagination was just overdoing it.
    That’s all…no way was she haunting me. Only…now I had a clue I couldn’t ignore. I definitely needed to check out tenant number five in that building, Marketing Solutions, LLC. But how could I go back there? Just thinking about it brought goose bumps to my arms again.
    I glanced at the other office buildings in the plaza and turned toward building three. Darcy’s husband, Scott, worked in number three so I headed in that direction. Hesitating in front of the doors, I took a deep breath and hurried into the lobby.
    After punching the sixth floor, I kept my gaze away from the listing of tenants. Whatever was going on, I wasn’t quite ready for another freaky incident. I got on the elevator and tried to relax. When the elevator doors opened on the sixth floor, my composure had returned, and I found Scott’s architecture firm located in the suite to the right. A friendly receptionist led me to the office where Scott sat at his desk with a large computer monitor. It was in the center of a spacious room with lots of light and large windows.
    He quickly stood to greet me, and I entered with my mind wide open so I’d know what I was up against. In his mind, he was prepared to treat me with polite indifference, but that changed when he saw me. For a split second, he thought I was Darcy, but the similarities ended after a second look. Still, the fact that I looked like her surprised him. Some of his outward distrust disappeared, but he still kept his guard up. He wouldn’t be completely sold on my merits until we had a nice little chat.
    He was thinking that after looking at my website and reading about me in the newspaper, he felt better about his daughter hiring me. He’d found out I occasionally worked for the police, and that went a long way to dispel his distrust, especially with the rumors that I had ‘premonitions.’
    At first he’d been concerned that I was out to take advantage of his daughter, but now it looked like I was legitimate, and that made him more open to my investigation. Even if he didn’t want to admit it, a small part of him hoped that maybe I could succeed where the others had failed.
    That didn’t sound like a man who had murdered his wife.
    We exchanged greetings, and Scott pointed to a medium-sized box on the side of his desk. “I put the documents from the private investigator in this box for you. Everything he found out is in there. You’re welcome to keep it for as long as you like.” He was thinking it wouldn’t matter