Free High-Caliber Holiday by Susan Sleeman Page B

want to let go, but short of making a fool of himself, he had no other choice but to release her.
    After dropping her bags on the desk, she reached for the picture.
    â€œDon’t touch it,” he warned.
    She snapped her hand back and bent closer to look. She suddenly gasped and lurched back. “He was in my bedroom. Oh, no. No, no, no.”
    Knowing he wasn’t going to like what he saw, Brady moved closer to get a better look at a picture of Morgan taken from above. A shadow of the man who took the photo fell over her as she peacefully slept in her bed. Superimposed in bright red letters on the bottom of the picture was the sentence,
We’ll soon be together forever, my love
.
    Rage roared up and threatened to choke Brady. He raised his fist, ready to slam it into the desk, but it would increase Morgan’s fear. He tightened his fingers and faced her.
    She bent forward, clutching her stomach. Her face was ashen, her lips pinched and glassy-eyed shock consumed her eyes.
    He quickly blocked her view of the picture and roses. “I take it since you went straight to the conference room that you’re discovering this picture for the first time.”
    â€œI hadn’t... I... I—” She dropped into her chair.
    â€œSo it could have been left last night or put here after you arrived today.”
    Her gaze bounced around the area as if she was trying to focus. “I guess so. Does this mean it’s someone I work with?”
    â€œCould be, but if the lock was picked at your apartment, your stalker could have gotten in here the same way. Is there a security system for the building?”
    â€œNo.”
    He stepped outside her cubicle and searched the large room. “No security cameras?”
    â€œNot that I know of.” Her focus was locked on the picture again.
    He used the hem of his shirt to flip it over. “Tell me your exact steps when you arrived today.”
    She looked a bit green around the gills and swallowed hard. He thought she might be sick any moment.
    â€œYou okay?” He looked for her trash can, just in case.
    She nodded weakly and swallowed again. She closed her eyes for a few moments, then cleared her throat. “Like I said before, by the time I got here, my guests were already in the conference room. So I dropped my bags by the door and went straight into the meeting. I stayed in there until the meeting ended and came to get you.”
    â€œI’ll need to interview all of your coworkers to see if anyone noticed something suspicious.”
    â€œInterview us about what?” Lacy asked as she approached the cubicle.
    Not knowing if Morgan had already told Lacy about the earlier roses and photos, he blocked her access to the cubicle.
    â€œIt’s okay,” Morgan said. “Lacy knows about the other ones.”
    â€œOther ones?” Lacy tried to look over Brady’s shoulder.
    He stepped back.
    â€œOh, roses...you mean roses. He was here, too?” Lacy slipped past Brady to squat by Morgan and take her hands. “Do you think he works here? With us?”
    â€œDon’t jump to conclusions,” Brady warned. “This doesn’t mean he’s a coworker.”
    Lacy shook her head as if still not believing her eyes. “But he could be, right?”
    â€œIt’s possible.”
    â€œNantz.” She dropped Morgan’s hands and swiveled to look up at Brady. “It has to be Nantz.”
    â€œNo.” Morgan swung her head forcefully side to side then stopped to take a few deep breaths. All color had drained from her face and perspiration glistened on her forehead. Brady couldn’t tell if this news was hitting her harder than last night or if she wasn’t feeling well.
    â€œMorgan?” he asked. “Are you okay?”
    She blinked a few times. “Fine.”
    â€œSo who is this Nantz person?” he asked.
    â€œOur supervisor. Silas Nantz. But I think Lacy is overreacting here.