Mary Baxter - Pulse Points

“Hello, Kasey.”

The bottom dropped out of her stomach. She had hoped this day would never come. Tanner Hart. That deep, sexy voice still had the power to jolt her. The way her luck had gone these past few days, she shouldn’t have been surprised that he’d shown up at Shirley’s funeral.

“It’s been a long time,” he commented into the growing and somewhat hostile silence. “How’s your son?”

Kasey’s heart wrenched, though she didn’t so much as move. “He’s great. He just finished his freshman year at Baylor.”

Their eyes met for another millisecond, but that was enough to up the already crackling tension between them.

“How did you know the deceased?” he asked.

“Shirley had taken me on as a partner,” she said through tight lips, wanting this conversation to end. Obviously he wasn’t aware that she’d witnessed Shirley’s murder, and she wasn’t prepared to tell him, either. The less he knew about her and her business, the better.

“Look, it was good to see you,” she said, anxious to get away. “But I really have to go.” Kasey had taken several steps when he spoke, stopping her, her heart taking a nosedive as she swung to face him.

“I have a proposition for you.”

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Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty-One

Chapter Forty-Two

T he parking garage seemed eerier than usual that evening. Kasey Ellis paused and unbuttoned her jacket, hoping to ward off the smothering heat of the July day. Normally she was gone long before the premises was filled with eerie shadows. But the disturbing situation at the office had kept her there, though she had nothing to show for her efforts except a burgeoning headache.

Thinking it was her less-than-rosy mood that was responsible for her paranoia, Kasey shrugged her uneasiness aside and upped her steps to her Toyota Camry. She had inserted her key in the lock when she heard the noise.

Pop. Like a gunshot.

Surely not, Kasey told herself, positive her paranoia was messing with her mind. Nonetheless, she stood motionless and listened while her heart lurched in her chest and her breathing turned labored. Only after she heard the sound again did she spin around.

Even then, she couldn’t immediately absorb the scene playing out in front of her.

A man was standing in the shadows with a gun pointed at a woman. Kasey froze and watched in manifested horror as another squeeze of gunfire assaulted her ears. This time the woman sank to the cement like a rag doll whose stuffings had been removed.

Kasey knew she had to do something. Anything, other than stand like she was encased in a huge block of ice. Then she heard another strange sound. Finally she realized it was coming from her. A whimpering erupted from her throat. She felt helpless and vulnerable in the midst of an oncoming bout of hysteria.

She shut her eyes, clinging to the remnant of hope that this was nothing but a contorted, macabre nightmare from which she would soon awaken. But when she opened her eyes, the woman remained crumpled and lifeless.

And the man had disappeared.

Do something, Kasey mouthed silently, making an effort to fight through the fog that dulled her mind, but it was impossible.

She had no idea where she found the courage to move her paralyzed limbs. Later, she credited the force of adrenaline that kicked in, giving her the strength to run to the victim and drop to her knees.

“Oh, my God,” she cried when she recognized the ashen-faced woman with the blood-splattered chest.

Her stomach churning and her vision blurring, Kasey lifted her head and took several deep, shuddering breaths, praying again that this was indeed a dream. But when she peered down once more, nothing had changed.

Her business partner, Shirley Parker, remained splayed on the pavement. Dead. Kasey lifted her head high again as the stench of fresh, oozing blood filled her nostrils making her dizzy.

Her stomach pitched and heaved, and for a moment, she feared she might faint. Instead she sucked in her breath, and without touching her partner, fumbled for her cell phone, then dialed 911.

“Please, hurry.” She didn’t even recognize her own voice. It was squeaky and faint. “There’s…there’s been a murder.”

The police station was frigid, though Kasey suspected it was her fractured nerves rather than the temperature that made her teeth clack together. Despite a valiant effort to get her emotions under control, she couldn’t seem to do so. She continued to reel from the fact that her world had just splintered into a million jagged pieces.

“Would you care for a cup of hot coffee?”

How else would coffee be? That unasked, but inane, question made Kasey realize that hysteria was once more bubbling close to the surface. Clasping her hands together in her lap and squeezing them seemed to temper that hysteria. But for how long was anyone’s guess.

Nothing was able to remove the imprint of Shirley’s bullet-riddled, blood-splattered body from her mind.

Kasey shivered again. While waiting for the police to arrive on the scene, she had stayed with Shirley. Her initial reaction, however, had been to jump in her car and drive straight home, lock her doors and crawl into bed. And pretend the nightmare never happened.

She couldn’t say what had kept her at the grisly scene. Perhaps she hadn’t been able to leave her friend alone even in death. Better yet, remaining had been the right thing to do. The police had been on their way, and she was the only witness to the crime.

Through it all, she had kept waiting for the killer to return and deliver her the same fate, though she didn’t think he’d seen her.

But what if he had?

“Here, drink this. Maybe it’ll help.”

Kasey flinched, then nodded her thanks at the man who handed her the cup. His name was Detective Richard Gallain. Even though a shroud of fog still swirled around her brain, she couldn’t help but take note of him. Physically, Gallain reminded her of a bulldog with his slightly bugged eyes, wide full mouth, and heavy jowls. Not a handsome man by any stretch of the imagination, but then he didn’t need to be. Putting murderers behind bars didn’t require good looks, just a skilled mind.

When he had arrived on the scene, Gallain had asked her if she was all right and what had happened. Somehow she’d managed to make enough sense to tell him what she’d witnessed.

Once the crime lab boys had arrived, Gallain suggested she accompany him to the police department for further questioning.

Now, as she waited for that to happen, Kasey sipped on the dark liquid, but it did nothing to soothe her shattered nerves. The coffee barely hit her stomach before it pitched in rejection. Shaking noticeably, she placed the cup on the desk and folded her hands in her lap.