Free L.A.P.D. Special Investigations Series, Boxed Set: The Deceived, The Taken & The Silent by LINDA STYLE

glued to the paper, and slowly the words came into focus, instantly melding into sentences.
     
    To the Los Angeles Police Department.
    I’m writing to you with hope that you can locate my husband, Jack Sullivan, in Los Angeles.
     
    Jillian’s adrenaline surged. She snatched up the letter and read in earnest.
     
    I am terminally ill and have left our son with a friend in a village near Mirador. My husband went to Los Angeles on business and was supposed to return weeks ago. He hasn’t returned and I fear something bad has happened to him. I hope you can find him soon because my friend cannot take care of the boy for very long. I have no family and my son will be all alone if his father doesn’t return. Please help me, I beg you. For my little boy’s sake.
    Sincerely,
    Corita Sullivan
     
    “Find something of interest?”
    Jillian jerked her head up. Adam hovered over her. Her cheeks flamed. “Your briefcase fell during the turbulence,” she said guiltily. “The photos came out. I thought since they were out, I might as well look at them again, but then this letter… I didn’t…” Her voice froze in her throat.
    “You didn’t what?”
    Her face got hotter by the second. “I didn’t plan on reading it, but it was there and I couldn’t help catch the words and then I couldn’t stop.”
    He reached down and snatched up the letter and photographs, stuffed them inside the briefcase, then shut and locked it.
    “I’m sorry that happened,” she said. “But it did, and now that I’m thinking about it, I’m wondering why you didn’t tell me about that letter in the first place.”
    Her blood pressure spiked. She shouldn’t have read the damned thing, but he should’ve told her about it. What purpose was served by keeping something this important from her, especially if he was trying to convince her that her husband was alive.
    “Lying seems to be a habit with you, detective. Why did you let me believe this man was still in Mirador? Now I discover he’s in Los Angeles and I’ve wasted my time and money on a wild-goose chase.”
    Adam spoke softly. “You’re mad at me because you read my mail and didn’t like what you read? I think your indignation is slightly skewed.”
    Yes, it was wrong of her to read his mail. But she had and couldn’t take it back. What bothered her more was that she’d started to feel better about him, trust him. “You lied to me,” she said, unable to disguise her emotions. You’ve lied to me from the second you walked into my home.”
    He shook his head. “This is my job, Jillian. I didn’t lie to you without reason. I have to follow procedure.”
    “Even if that procedure could harm someone in the process?”
    When he looked confused, she said, “What about that little boy the woman mentioned in the letter? Were you just going to leave him without a mother or a father? Leave him to fend for himself?”
    “My job is to solve this case, which means finding your husband’s murderer.”
    “But this woman asked for the LAPD’s help. How can you just blow it off?”
    “Well, there you go making those assumptions again. If it’s any consolation, the department has done everything it can to locate Jack Sullivan in L.A. So you can pretty much rest assured he’s not there. If he’s anywhere, Mirador is our best shot.”
    “Oh.” She looked down, twisted the fabric on her T-shirt. “Why didn’t you just say so?”
    He drew back, his expression astonished, as if he couldn’t believe she’d just said that. “Because you didn’t give me a chance.” He swung the briefcase to the overhead bin. Then he plopped into the seat and heaved a sigh.
    His patience stretched to the limit, Adam cursed himself for being so careless. But now it really didn’t matter if she read the letter or not since she was on her way to Mirador, anyway. Not showing her the letter had been simply a precaution. The less she knew the better. He didn’t want the information leaked to Sullivan,