Dashing Through the Snow Read Online Free Page B

good-looking. Muscular…you know, physically fit, with one of those very short haircuts.”
    “You mean a military cut?”
    “Yeah, like that, and really the most incredible dark eyes. Real dark.”
    “Sinister?”
    “Oh, not at all. More like ‘look all you want, but you can’t have me’ eyes.”
    The two agents glanced at each other and frowned.
    “You writing that down, Buckley?”
    Buckley snorted. “Not on your life.”
    “Did you sell this man a ticket?”
    “No. He claimed he had to be in Seattle before December twenty-second and couldn’t take a chance with standby. He needed a guaranteed seat and was willing to pay whatever it cost.”
    The two agents froze. “The twenty-second, you say?”
    “Yes.” She specifically recalled the date because it was the last day she was scheduled to work before taking time off for the holidays.
    “Do you think we should put Seattle on alert?” Buckley asked.
    Agent Wilkes shook his head. “It’s too early. We need more information.”
    “Right.”
    Agent Wilkes returned his attention to Stephanie once again. “What did you tell him?”
    “The only thing I could. The only tickets available this close to Christmas were standby.” She wasn’t sure why the FBI agents were so curious about this man when she was convinced Ashley Davison and the looker weren’t connected.
    Then Stephanie remembered something else. “That was when the woman…”
    “Ashley Davison,” he supplied.
    “Yes, Ms. Davison got terribly upset. She wanted to know why there was a possibility he could fly standby and she couldn’t.”
    “And what did you tell her?”
    “Nothing, but really you can’t blame her for being put out. I think a couple of people waiting in line agreed with her. Ms. Davison said this was gender discrimination because I chose to give the man a seat and not her.”
    “Which is when you told her to kindly wait to the side?”
    “Yes, but I’d been telling her that all along.” Stephanie couldn’t imagine why she had to repeat this story over and over again, but she was beginning to understand now. Each time she told it she remembered some other small detail, like the man behind Ashley Davison in line. “I wanted to call security to come for her, but she took off right away.”
    “And you didn’t see which direction she went?”
    Stephanie felt like a complete failure. She should have looked, but had gotten distracted by the man behind Davison in line, apologizing for keeping him waiting and explaining that she needed a minute while she reached for the phone. By the time she was able to connect with security, Ashley Davison was out of sight.
    “You’re sure you didn’t see the direction in which she was headed?”
    “No, sorry.”
    Agent Buckley must have noticed her distress, because he said, “You’ve been helpful.”
    “I wish I’d known to ask for more information.”
    The door opened and a female agent entered the room.
    “What did you learn from the surveillance tape?” Agent Wilkes asked.
    The woman, Agent Bass, remained expressionless. “The camera isn’t focused on the Highland Airlines counter, so we weren’t able to get a clear photo of the woman.”
    “What about after she left the counter?”
    “We think we might have found her from the description provided by the reservation clerk.”
    The only known photo available of the bombing suspect was blurred, but it gave enough detail to possibly identify her, Wilkes had explained earlier. He’d shown what he had to Stephanie, but she’d been unable to make a positive identification.
    “The airport was crowded and it took some time to pick her out.”
    “Is there a clear shot of her face?”
    The female agent exhaled. “She’s clever. Her head is lowered, so we were unable to get positive facial recognition.”
    “Figures,” Agent Wilkes muttered.
    Agent Bass agreed. “It’s almost as if she knew where the camera was situated and when to look down.”
    “Anything else of