Free Elusive (On The Run Book #1) by Sara Rosett Page B

money beside it. She walked to the bath
doorway, her head tilted to the side. The towel racks were bare. She flipped
the hamper open. Empty. No used towel tossed casually over the shower door
either. Zoe thought back to yesterday. Jack had dumped his load of dirty towels
in the laundry room on his way to work. She’d seen them. They’d sat there all
day, unwashed. The only towels in this bathroom were neatly folded and put away
in the cabinet under the sink.
    The hairs on her arms prickled as
she remembered the footsteps she’d heard yesterday. Jack hadn’t been upstairs
showering—no one had showered here yesterday afternoon.
    But she knew she’d heard someone
upstairs.
    This was too weird.
    And scary.
    Zoe liked to live life on the fly,
so to speak, but this was too far over her comfort line. A quick circuit of the
upstairs—the other bedroom, bath, and hall closet—revealed nothing out of
place. Of course Zoe hadn’t been upstairs in a long time, but nothing looked
disturbed or was obviously missing. There wasn’t that much upstairs to attract
someone—a thief?—aside from rolls of money and they had been well hidden.
    Zoe returned to the master bedroom
and stared at the fat cylinders of money lined up side by side on the desk,
thinking fleetingly of calling the police. She quickly shook her head at
herself. None of the windows were unlocked, and she couldn’t name anything
specific that was missing—except for her ex-husband, of course. And, oh yeah,
his business partner had been murdered. Nope. Definitely not calling the police
to report hearing someone upstairs yesterday.
    Back in the bathroom, she took
another look around, but didn’t find anything except soap, deodorant, razors,
shaving cream, and Jack’s citrusy cologne. As she leaned against the bathroom
counter and crossed her arms, the paper in her back pocket crinkled, reminding
her she should call Eddie. She fished the paper out of her pocket along with
Jack’s phone and dialed.
    A masculine voice answered,
“Murano Glassworks, how may I help you?”
    She took a deep breath, already
dreading breaking the news of Jack’s situation to his only relative. “May I
speak to Eddie, please?”
    “She’s not available. Can I take a
message?”

Chapter Six
    ––––––––
    Dallas
    Wednesday, 6:04 p.m.
    ––––––––
    THERE were a few beats of silence,
then Zoe said, “Ah—did you say
she
?”
    “Yes. Eddie is out, but she will
call you back...your name?”
    “
She
...” Zoe muttered under her breath. Jack’s
cousin was a guy. At least Zoe thought he was a guy. Had Jack ever actually
said
Eddie was a guy?
    “Pardon?”
    “Oh, sorry. Yes, I’ll leave a
message,” Zoe said. She gave her first name and cell phone number, then stood
there for a few moments in bewilderment after she hung up. A rhythmic pounding
sounded from downstairs, Helen’s distinctive knock. Zoe glanced at her watch
and hurried downstairs. It was a little after six. Helen must have stopped by
on her way home from work to check on her, Zoe thought.
    “Meals on Wheels,” Helen announced
as she stepped in the door, a takeout bag from La Cuisina in her hands.
    “Is that their spaghetti?” Zoe
asked. She hadn’t even thought about food all day, but with the scents of
garlic, oregano, and warm bread wafting through the kitchen, she realized she
was starving.
    “Yes, it is,” Helen said as she
unloaded large cartons, a long loaf of bread, and a bottle of wine.
    “You really should start charging
for delivery, you know.” Zoe gave her friend a quick hug on her way to get
glasses and plates.
    “Don’t worry; I’ll take my fee in
cupcakes.”
    Zoe paused with her hands on the
stack of plates. “What about Tucker?”
    “Working late. He’s got a big
case,” Helen said, then pointed to another bag. “There’s more for him.” She
pulled open the silverware drawer and asked, “Any word?”
    “No. Nothing. The radio news said
they are using