Free The Emerald Key by Vicky Burkholder Page A

afternoon looking into Cassandra Richards and her aunt, using some techniques and contacts he hadn’t the previous night—some of which Greg would definitely not want to know about.
    Of the two, Minerva definitely had the more interesting past, but not nearly as intriguing as the wisp of a woman standing in front of him. A spark of electricity jumped when he handed her the bag. He chalked the sensation up to static, but wondered. Every time he came around her, it felt like a charge built between them.
    Cass took the bag, opened it and emptied the contents onto the counter. “Thank you. I think.”
    Nic had stopped by the local hardware store and picked up a dead bolt lock. “It’s for your door upstairs. That flimsy lock wouldn’t keep out a toddler.”
    “My door?” Her face scrunched up in puzzlement, then lightened and she grinned. “You mean the one at the top of the steps in my office?”
    Nic cocked his head at her. “What other one would I mean?”
    Cass chuckled. “Come with me.”
    She attempted to brush the dust off, but ended up making things worse. Finally, she gave up, set the alarms, and led him out the new front door, which she locked securely behind them. She climbed the same steps they’d used the night before. Once inside, Cass led him down a short hall, past the large eat-in kitchen, the bedrooms, and bathroom. At the end of the hall stood a huge dresser that looked like it hadn’t been moved in centuries. Behind the dresser, Nic glimpsed the top of a door.
    The door.
    Cass leaned against the dresser. “Anybody who knows me, knows I’ve never used the inside door. The dresser came with the place and I’ve never been able to move it. The door opens in and the hinges are on this side. Nobody can get enough leverage to get the dresser out. I could have destroyed it, but liked the design, so I kept it.”
    Nic had seen the piece the first time he’d come in, but hadn’t noticed the door behind it and hadn’t thought about it when he checked out the door. Nearly as wide as the hallway, with barely a quarter of an inch clearance on either side, the dresser stood as tall as he did and had a curved front. The bottom dropped close to the floor, giving little chance of getting any sort of grip there. The highly polished wood floor showed no signs anything had been moved. He pulled out one of the drawers—solid. Even using all his strength, he couldn’t budge the piece.
    “I see what you mean,” Nic said. Then he thought about her statement. Anybody who knew her? That meant the break-in had to be someone she knew. Anyone else would have at least tried the door and there’d been no evidence of tampering when he’d examined it.
    “Anyone who knows you? What do you know about who did this?” Nic stared at her, eyes narrowed. Jaw clenched, she stared right back at him.
    “Nothing.”
    “Try again.”
    She raised her chin and looked directly in his eyes. “I do not know who did this.”
    “Maybe not the name, but you know something.”
    “I know whoever he is, he cost Minerva and me a fortune in supplies and inventory.”
    “He? So we’re looking for a man?”
    Cass blinked several times, then chuckled. “You’re good.”
    “I get paid to be. Want to give me any details?”
    “I don’t know anything, really. I have my suspicions, but nothing definite. I told you about him earlier, when Greg asked.”
    “Wouldn’t happen to know a name, would you?”
    “Nope.”
    “You said you saw him outside, last night, at Greg and Dori’s.”
    “Maybe. I couldn’t see him very well in the dark. But I know his face.”
    “Come again? If it was too dark, how could you have seen his face?”
    “I saw him this morning.”
    The muscles in Nic’s jaw bulged as he attempted to control his frustration. Over the years, others had tried to evade his questions, but he refused to be deterred. “When?”
    “During the cleanup and again, yesterday, when he came in.”
    “Not exactly proof I can take