Free On Pins and Needles by Victoria Pade Page B

ten that he was here to do a job and there were a lot of people waiting to see him.
    â€œSure,” he said with what seemed to be a jolt out of some sort of reverie. Then he nodded toward the visitor’s chairs. “Why don’t you pull one of those around to the corner back here so you can see who I’m talking to. And I think we’d better set some ground rules.”
    â€œFor who?”
    â€œFor you. My letting you be in on this is not by-the-book.”
    â€œIf my parents were here they’d have the right to face their accusers.”
    â€œIn court. Not in the initial inter view. You’re here just to satisfy yourself that I’m not overlooking anything that leads away from your parents. Period. And if it seems to me that someone is holding some thing back because you’re here, I’m going to ask you to wait outside. And I want you to go without an argument. Is that clear?”
    â€œWhat if I think you aren’t delving deeply enough into some thing or that you’re leaving an important question unasked?”
    â€œI think I know how to do my job. But if there’s some thing really important—and I mean really important—that you think I’m neglecting, I suppose you can pipe up a little. But what I don’t want is for this to become some kind of campaign to convince anyone that your folks are innocent or to defend them against any remarks you might take offense to. If you get into any of that I’ll do today’s inter views—and the rest of the investigation—alone.”
    â€œYou expect me to sit by and not defend my parents if they’re being slandered and defamed?”
    â€œI expect you to sit by and let me handle it. You have to know going in that there’s likely to be some things said about your folks that won’t make you happy. From what I’ve heard, they didn’t really fit in around here and Elk Creek is just conservative enough to be automatically suspicious of things and people who are differentthan they are. Now, with a body turning up in your backyard, those suspicions are all going to come to the surface and seem to be legitimized. If you can’t listen to what might be said about your family without debating it, you can’t stay. You’ll have to leave it to me to wade through what’s just bias and what might be evidence.”
    â€œAnd you will be looking for leads in other directions,” Megan said with a note of warning in her tone.
    â€œI’ll be looking for anything that seems pertinent. No matter who it’s about or what it is. If you don’t think you can handle that—”
    â€œI know, I know, I can’t stay,” she said, letting him know she’d heard that edict enough. “Don’t worry, I can handle it.”
    Josh stared at her another moment. But this time, rather than appreciation for how she looked, she read doubt in his expression.
    â€œI’ll be fine,” she asserted, holding her head high.
    He still didn’t seem convinced but he finally took those midnight-blue eyes off her, pushed a button on the intercom on his desk, and said, “Okay, Millie, you can start sending ’em in.” Then he released the button and those blue eyes returned to Megan. “Here we go. Come on back and make yourself comfortable.”
    Megan did just that, doing as he’d suggested and pulling one of his visitor’s chairs to the corner behind Josh’s desk and chair. From that position she could see the other visitor’s chair that faced the desk and the back of Josh again as he also sat down.
    It was either an opportune spot or a dangerous one and she had to remind herself to keep her focus off ofthe nape of his thick, strong neck where his hair was cut short and very precisely, as well as off his broad shoulders where they rose above his chair back.
    After all, she lectured herself, she was, in essence, her parents’