Free Double Cross by James David Jordan Page B

the money.”
    “That leaves Brandon, but why would he talk to the Morning News? By the way, where are you? Do I hear water running?”
    “I’m in the locker room at the fitness club. I’m getting ready to take a shower.” I stood up and slid my feet into my flip-flops. Just as I was about to shut my locker door, I stopped. “Wait a minute. The Lewisville cops knew, remember?”
    “You’re right. That’s where she found out. It has to be. Good old Officer Ferrell. What a charmer he was.”
    I closed the locker and spun the dial on the combination lock. “Well, if she already knows about the money, the story’s going to be out soon anyway. Since she’s been investigating an extortion ring, I thought she might have some information that could help us figure out who was blackmailing your dad.”
    “I agree. I don’t see any big reason not to talk to her.”
    “I’ll do my best to get more information out of her than she gets out of me. I’ve got to go if I’m going to make it to our meeting.”
    “Okay. Give me a call when you’re finished.”
    I realized I had closed my locker without putting my phone and earpiece in it, so I had to open the door again and drop them into my shoe. Then I closed the door and headed toward the shower. Once in the shower, as the warm spray hit my face and I massaged shampoo into my hair, I worked through the issues that Katie Parst would likely want to discuss.
    Since she was investigating an extortion ring, she must have a suspicion that the ring was somehow connected to the money missing from Simon’s ministry. That made some sense. Simon was a world-famous guy with a secret. What Kacey and I knew, though—and what Katie Parst didn’t—was that Elise Hovden had taken the money, not Simon. That would be a great disappointment to Parst, if I decided to tell her at all.
    As I stepped out of the shower, I thought that this meeting should be okay. After all, Katie Parst was the one who had most of the information, not me. All I had to do was drink my coffee, ask some questions, and listen. I smiled.
    For once I was going to have a pleasant meeting with a reporter.

CHAPTER
    TEN
    IT WAS 10:05 WHEN I walked into Starbucks. Coming from the cool December air into the warmth of the shop was the olfactory equivalent of sticking my head in a bag of coffee beans. I felt as if I’d gotten a caffeine jolt from merely breathing. I scanned the room and spotted Katie Parst in the back corner, sitting with her back to one of the floor-to-ceiling windows that encased three sides of the cafe.
    Michael was correct. She was a pretty woman. Even though she was sitting, it was obvious she took good care of herself. Her auburn hair was darker and straighter than mine, and cut shorter, above the shoulder. Hard to believe Michael was right about her age. She looked ten years younger than the fiftyish description he gave. She sipped iced tea from a straw. When she saw me, she smiled and waved.
    I went to the counter and ordered a grande drip. After paying and taking a sip, I headed over to the table. Parst stood and brushed crumbs from her navy wool pants. She took a quick look down at her pale yellow blouse and seemed relieved that she hadn’t spilled on it, too. She was still chewing her last bite when she held her hand out across the small, round table. “Sorry, I didn’t have time to eat breakfast at home, and I’m really making a mess. This stupid muffin crumbled all over the place. I’m Katie Parst.”
    “What did you have?”
    “Blueberry. It was good. I usually don’t spill my food all over me, though. Honest.”
    Anybody who could make a mess of her meal and laugh about it was someone I could relate to. I had to be careful. I was beginning to like her. “Listen,” I said, “you never have to make excuses for how you eat around me. I’m not the most graceful sometimes. In fact, I may get one of those in a minute. My workout made me hungry.”
    “You know, I’ve admired you from a