Free Checkered Past (A Laurel London Mystery Book 2) by tonya kappes Page A

feel even better.” His hands did a little too much wandering.
    I shoved him off me. The gun fired and the bullet ricocheted off the leg of the table and hit the screen door.
    “Wait, wait, wait.” Willie put his hands up and backed away. “What happened to the fearless girl I love?”
    “I guess she wised up when you left her standing at the altar in the used wedding gown from the money her fiancé talked her into stealing so they could get married.” Anger boiled in me, sending me over the edge. “Do you think I would up and forget all these years? Not to mention Sally Bent.”
    “Altar?” Trixie questioned and bolted back in the room. “What altar?”
    “Sally Bent? Hell, she’s the only one who kept in contact with me over the years,” he spat back. “I went to the bank that day to get some money so I could get you a ring.”
    “Well, well.” I waved the gun in front of me. “Now you admit you robbed the bank and killed the FBI guy?”
    “No!” His jaw tensed. His eyes bore into me. “I did not rob the bank or kill that guy. I had a safety deposit box where I kept some cash I had been saving so I could get you a ring.”
    “I’m listening.” Anything with bling (as in a ring) got my attention and we weren’t going anywhere fast. He knew and I knew he never had a safety deposit box.
    “There can only be one person in the vault at a time. The teller had no idea there was someone in there.” He threw his hands in the air. “Next thing I knew, gunfire rang out and two people were dead. The teller and the FBI guy.”
    “Really?” Did he think I was stupid?
    “Really? Check it out. I’m begging you.” He shoved his hands into his pocket.
    My phone chirped. I took one hand off the gun and pulled my phone out of my pocket.
    Sally Bent reported her car stolen from the bank parking lot. I’m guessing Willie Bowman stole it. Any leads on your end? Has he tried to contact you? I read Jax’s text.
    “Is that your new boyfriend?” His eyes were dark and insolent.
    “He’s not my boyfriend.” I felt the need to say that and I wasn’t sure why. I was attracted to Jax and at times I felt like he was attracted to me, but Willie Ray made my mind mushy and confused. “He said Sally Bent reported her car stolen.” I watched his expression.
    “Good girl.” His mouth widened with approval.
    “So Sally did come pick you up and drove you here?” I asked.
    “Yeah. Like I said, she’s the only one who kept in contact with me and believes in me. What happened to you? Did you lose your edge? Did you forget how unstoppable we were?”
    “Unstoppable? You mean by petty criminals?” I shook my head in disbelief. Did he really think he could come back here, escaped from prison and pick up where we left off? “It took me a long time to get the people in this town to forgive me for all the bad stuff I did to them. And you aren’t going to come back here and destroy it.”
    “All I’m asking is for you to check into some things,” he begged. “Look into what I’m telling you. You are good at hacking. Get the surveillance or something.”
    “What about Jax?” I asked.
    “Your boyfriend?” He stared blankly with an open mouth. A sure sign he was jealous.
    “He’s not my boyfriend,” I repeated, not feeling good about denying I did have some sort of attraction to Jax. This was the effect Willie had on me and I hated it. I hated him.
    “I saw you two a few days ago coming out of the bowling alley and you looked awfully chummy to me.” His eyes lowered. “What about him?”
    “He is working with the FBI to locate you. They know you are in town and leaving your little tobacco pouch in my car wasn’t very smart.”
    “I had to let you know I was in town. Sally said she couldn’t tell you because you two still hate each other and people would think it was weird you two were talking.”
    “I don’t hate Sally,” I lied and waved the gun all willy-nilly. I wasn’t going to admit it stung a