Jaycee Bullard - Framed For Christmas

Dani gasped. “A gun? Boys! Did you tell Josh’s mom?”

Josh looked at Gabe, who shrugged sheepishly.

“We thought that if we said something, our parents might not let us go on the trip,” Gabe explained. “And when we talked about it later, we decided it was probably a toy and the guy was just trying to scare us so we’d leave him alone.”

“Did you happen to notice the plates on the vehicle?” Gideon wanted to know.

“No,” Josh admitted. “But it was a white Jeep.”

A white Jeep, not a tan SUV. Interesting. “And you didn’t recognize the driver?”

Josh’s laugh was high-pitched. “No. He was wearing a hoodie, so I didn’t get a good look at his face.”

“How about the rest of you?” Gideon asked. “Did anyone else see or hear anything unusual?” His eyes made a loop of the circle, finally coming to rest on Dani. There was something nervous and wary in her eyes. It was a look he had seen often during his years at the DEA, although it was usually the victims, not the perpetrators, who wore that expression of panicked confusion. It was as if there was something she wanted to share but didn’t know quite how to bring it up. “Dani? Is everything okay?”

Dani’s fingers trembled as she raised them to her lips. “I just saw a shadow of something moving outside.”

Gideon pushed back his chair and walked over to the large picture window. “It’s probably a deer looking for food. I’m surprised Lou’s so quiet. He usually sounds the alarm when anyone gets close to the house.”

On cue, the dog perked his ears and began to bark.

“Like I said, there’s a good chance that it’s just a hungry animal, but it can’t hurt to check things out.” He slipped on his coat, grabbed a flashlight from the shelf and pointed at Lou. The shepherd jumped up. Clearly, he didn’t need to be asked twice.

For a moment, no one spoke. Then Joe stood and folded his arms across his chest.

“I’ll bet it’s a bobcat,” he said. “Don’t worry, Miss Jones. Lou will scare it away.”

“Or maybe it’s a moose,” Gabe suggested. “Or a mountain lion?”

“Or a gray wolf or a coyote?” Josh almost spilled his glass of juice in his excitement. “Maybe we men should help Mr. Marshall look for tracks.”

Gideon shook his head. “Thanks for the offer, boys, but it might be best if you stay back and help with the chores.” Given the fact that the drugs were now hidden in his barn, he couldn’t discount the likelihood of a far deadlier threat.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.