Free How Secrets Die by Marta Perry Page B

“There can’t be that many potential dealers in a place like this.”
    â€œYou’d be surprised.” His lips twisted wryly. “I had some ideas, yeah, but they all came up empty.” He jerked a nod toward the computer. “That file—what does that have to do with it?”
    Kate rubbed her forehead as if she could scour away some of the confusion. “Jason kept a sort of video diary. Not every day, but most of the summer.”
    â€œYou didn’t find it until your stepfather died.”
    She nodded. He was putting the pieces together. “Tom had kept everything that was returned to him, but I doubt he ever looked at it. When I started watching the diary...” She paused, not wanting to say more than she had to. Still, the time for that might have already passed. “I could see how excited and enthusiastic he was at the beginning of the summer. But something changed. He was worried, maybe even scared, about some situation. I think at his work, but I can’t be sure.”
    â€œWhat precisely did he say? You must know that much.” Mac glanced at the computer again, probably longing to wrest the truth from it.
    â€œIt’s not as easy as that. Jason wasn’t exactly direct. He had a way of talking about places and people in a kind of code. I doubt you’d understand any of it.” Just in case he was thinking he’d walk away with her file.
    Mac stood, as if he couldn’t pretend to relax for another moment. “Let me see it.”
    â€œNo.” She rose as well, facing him. “It’s personal, and you have no right...”
    â€œIt could be evidence in a drug case.” He left implied the threat that he could get a subpoena if she didn’t cooperate. “Whatever this code is, it can be broken.”
    She’d laugh if this were anything but deadly serious. “It’s not that kind of code.” It was no good—she’d have to tell him more, or she’d never get rid of him. “Jason always loved fantasy—books, games, movies, whatever. I tried to keep up, just so I could share something with him. He’d refer to people and situations with references from fantasy that even I didn’t always understand.” She nodded toward the image of his face, frozen on the screen. “That’s what he did in the diary. He would have known what he meant, but the chances that anyone else could figure it out are slim to none.”
    â€œBut that’s what you’re trying to do. That’s why you came here. To see the layout for yourself, to meet the people, to figure out what or who led your brother to his death.”
    There was no point in denying it. “It’s my own business,” she repeated stubbornly. “If I find anything that looks like a police matter, you’ll be the first to know.”
    â€œNot good enough.” Mac could apparently be equally stubborn. “You’re not going to be conducting any sort of crusade in my town. Not unless I’m involved every step of the way.”
    â€œYou can’t force me...”
    He raised an eyebrow. “Force? Who said anything about force? But either you let me in on it, or I’ll make it impossible for you to find out anything about anyone here. It wouldn’t even be hard. A few words to a few people, and you won’t find a soul in Laurel Ridge willing to talk to you.”
    She didn’t doubt he could do it. “That’s blackmail.”
    â€œThat’s me, doing my job, whether you want me to or not.” His lips quirked, but his eyes were intent. “Take it or leave it.”
    Kate wanted to kick him out. To say she’d manage this herself. Trouble was, he held all the cards.
    â€œAll right,” she said finally. “You win. I’ll take it.”

CHAPTER FIVE
    M AC WALKED SLOWLY out to the street, his mind and emotions churning. He’d gotten a lot more than he’d expected