Crime Seen Read Online Free Page B

was. ‘‘She’ll think it’s too low,’’ he said.
    ‘‘Let me do the talking,’’ I advised. ‘‘She might be happy to be rid of it.’’ The three of us had invested in a rather dilapidated property in early January, and the place had proven to be a nightmare on many fronts. I knew that Dave had been working to unload the house for several months, and I could only imagine how nervous he was that Cat was going to ruin his chances of getting his name off the title once and for all.
    ‘‘Just remind her that we’re still making a profit,’’ he said. ‘‘That’s really all that matters in the end.’’
    I smiled wryly. ‘‘Unless you’re my sister, in which case it’s not about making a profit as much as it’s about maximizing one.’’
    Dave groaned again. ‘‘We’re never going to dump this thing,’’ he complained.
    ‘‘Leave it to me,’’ I said, getting up to pour our coffee. ‘‘I’ll just tell her that my intuition is saying we should definitely accept the offer.’’
    Dave seemed to brighten. ‘‘It is?’’
    I walked back to the table with our coffee and cautioned, ‘‘No. I mean, I don’t know. I haven’t checked on it yet.’’
    ‘‘Well, what are you waiting for?’’ he asked, taking the mug from me. ‘‘Ask your squad what they think.’’
    I smiled at his reference. I called the spirit guides who worked so hard to assist me with my readings my ‘‘crew.’’ Dave could never remember the term, so he substituted any and every nickname for them he could think of. ‘‘I will,’’ I said with a wave of my hand, and took a sip of the coffee.
    ‘‘What’d they say?’’ he asked me after a moment.
    ‘‘What’d who say?’’
    ‘‘Your team. Your squad, you know . . . them .’’
    I gave him a quizzical look. ‘‘Again, I don’t know. I haven’t asked them.’’
    ‘‘Oh,’’ he said, looking a little dejected. ‘‘I thought that’s what you were doing.’’
    I sighed heavily and changed the subject. ‘‘You and your wife got any big plans for Memorial Day?’’
    Dave shuffled his feet and looked down at the ground. ‘‘Uh, no,’’ he said uncomfortably. ‘‘No plans.’’
    I cocked my head at him, puzzled by his sudden change in demeanor. ‘‘What’s happened?’’ I asked him.
    Dave cleared his throat and set his mug down. ‘‘Nothing,’’ he said dismissively. ‘‘Listen, I gotta get to Milo’s and get back to work on that bathroom. Call me after you talk to Cat.’’ And with that he was out of the kitchen and walking quickly toward the door.
    ‘‘Dave?’’ I called after him, completely thrown by his quick retreat.
    ‘‘I’m late,’’ he said over his shoulder as he pulled the door open. ‘‘Call me later.’’ And then he was gone.
    I stared blinking at the front door for a bit, then shrugged my shoulders and decided to worry about it later. Still holding the ice to my lip, I went into Dutch’s study and scooted his big leather office chair up to the mahogany desk. I loved the energy in Dutch’s study. It was a beautiful blend of rugged masculinity and perfect comfort, reflecting his personality to a T.
    I felt just a hint of guilt about being in here without him—after all, he was a private guy and this was his space. But the files were in here and he’d left me a pad of paper with a note thanking me for my efforts, so obviously he didn’t mind. Still, as I got comfortable, I resolved not to disturb anything and to leave the room as soon as I’d finished with my impressions.
    I picked up the stack of files and casually eyed them for a moment. They were bound with a rubber band, and the front cover of each file had a large FBI embossment on it. Briefly, I wondered what Dutch’s boss would think about having his field agent’s psychic girlfriend look into a classified case file, but then I figured that was Dutch’s battle to fight if it ever came up.
    With a sigh, I put the files back on