Three Missing Days (Pelican Harbor #3) - Colleen Coble Page 0,1
the locks again before she headed to her home office with her coffee.
No one could see in this tiny cubicle with no window, but she rubbed the back of her neck and shivered. She’d work for an hour, then go into the lab. The familiar ranges and numbers comforted her. She sipped her coffee and began to plow through the stack of papers. Her eyes kept getting heavy. Weird. Normally she woke raring to go every morning.
Maybe she needed more coffee. She stretched out her neck and back and picked up the empty coffee cup.
Gail touched the doorknob and cried out. She stuck her first two fingers in her mouth. What on earth?
The door radiated heat. She took a step back as she tried to puzzle out what was happening, but her brain couldn’t process it at first. Then tendrils of smoke oozed from under the door in a deadly fog.
Fire. The house was on fire.
She spun back toward the desk, but there was nothing she could use to protect herself. There was no way of egress except through that door.
If she wanted to escape, she’d have to face the inferno on the other side.
She snatched a throw blanket from the chair and threw it over her head, then ran for the door before she lost her courage. When she yanked it open, a wall of flames greeted her, but she spied a pathway down the hall to her bedroom. Ducking her head, she screamed out a war cry and plowed through the flames.
In moments she was in the hall where the smoke wasn’t so thick. She pulled in a deep breath as she ran for her bedroom. She felt the cool air as soon as she stepped inside and shut the door behind her. Too late she realized the window was open, and a figure stepped from the closet.
Something hard came down on her head, and darkness descended.
* * *
“I want you to leave my husband alone.”
Chief of Police Jane Hardy turned toward the snippy female voice that carried over the sound of the milk frother and blew away the good feelings induced by the aroma of coffee. The vitriol belonged to Lauren Dixon.
And was directed at her.
Her police dog, Parker, heard the note of aggression too and stepped in front of her with a soft growl. The ruff of his red fur stood at attention, and Jane put her hand on his head to calm him.
Dressed in a baby-blue shirt and tight jeans, the blonde exuded sex appeal. Her confidence was as compelling as her silky locks and sinuous long legs.
Lauren jabbed a finger toward Jane. “I’m talking to you, Chief Hardy. Defender of justice and keeper of the peace. You’re not doing a very good job of it in the personal arena.”
A wave of heat surged up Jane’s neck, and she glanced around to see several Pelican Brews patrons standing nearby and listening with avid expressions. The wail of a fire engine rose above the din in the room. She snatched her coffee and beignet off the high bar and exited the coffee shop with Parker on her heels.
Her forehead beaded with perspiration from the early morning sunlight before she reached the shade of the park down the street. She found an outdoor café table far away from any other people.
Lauren followed as Jane had hoped. If they had to have this conversation, she would rather it be in private. Jane plunked her breakfast onto the small black wrought-iron table and turned to face Lauren again. Parker stepped between them.
Jane tipped up her chin. “I have nothing to say to you, Lauren. Your fight with Reid has nothing to do with me.”
But they both knew it did. Lauren’s ex-husband, Reid Dixon, was the father of Jane’s fifteen-year-old son. Their past was murky and convoluted, and Jane wished they could find their way without entangling themselves in Lauren’s machinations.
Lauren had disappeared eight years ago, and after seven years, Reid had her declared legally dead. Her appearance had upended everything. Something Lauren clearly liked doing.
Lauren tossed her blonde head and stared at Jane through narrowed green eyes. “Reid is still married to me.”
“You’re legally dead, Lauren. It was what you wanted. You walked away from Reid and Will without a thought. You haven’t so much as called to check on either of them. Not even Will.”
The glint in the woman’s eyes dimmed a bit. “There were circumstances that prevented me.”