The Scent of Lies

by Debra Burroughs

  * * *

  Colin arrived at Emily’s bungalow and she greeted him with a big kiss. She explained to him about the call and how she was thrilled to find out that Evan had not stolen her grandmother’s ring, as she had suspected. She had been in a cheerful mood before talking to the jeweler, but now she was positively soaring among the clouds.

  She slipped on her high heels, grabbed her tiny handbag, and they were on their way.

  They were the last to arrive at the upscale restaurant, and the maître‘d showed them to their party. Already seated at a large round table were Alex and Isabel, Jonathan and Camille, along with Maggie and Delia. Colin and Emily took the last two chairs, as the laughter and conversations around the table turned into greetings, welcoming the two of them.

  She looked across the linen-covered table at her cherished friends, with the flickering candlelight from the centerpiece casting a warm glow on their faces. She felt very fortunate to have these wonderful people in her life.

  Alex clinked his champagne flute lightly with his knife and stood to gain their attention. “I would like to offer a toast, so raise your glasses to our dear friend and hero, Emily Parker, and to our new friend, Colin Andrews. We say thank you for your courage and hard work in solving this case and setting our other new friend, Delia, free.”

  “Here! Here!” they all clamored in unison, carefully tapping their crystal glasses together then taking a sip.

  “And to my incredible wife, Isabel, for her excellent work in uncovering crucial evidence in the Heaven Scent embezzlement case that led to the FBI’s arrest of that slippery Anna Petrova.”

  “Here! Here!” the friends shouted, once more taking a drink in celebration.

  “Say, Colin,” Jonathan turned toward him, “did you ever find out who took the shots at Emily?”

  “Turns out it was one of Marcela’s cousins,” Colin replied. “He’s in a gang over in Caldwell, and she convinced him to do it for her. Apparently, she had been in a gang herself in Los Angeles. That’s why her mother moved here a few years ago, to get Marcela away from the gang life.”

  “And here we thought she was just a quiet little housekeeper. Go figure,” Jonathan remarked, turning his attention back to his sassy redheaded wife.

  “Colin,” Emily said, regaining his attention. “I’m happy this case is over, but there’s one thing that has been nagging at me.”

  “Oh, yeah, what’s that?” he asked, giving her his undivided attention.

  “Andropov said he saw a dark-haired woman wearing something that was light colored, like beige, stabbing Ricardo. When we arrived at Delia’s home that night, wasn’t Marcela wearing something else?”

  “Yes, blue pajamas.”

  “That’s what I thought. How could Andropov have gotten that so wrong?” she asked.

  “I wondered that myself after her confession to you. We’d searched Delia’s home from top to bottom, including the housekeeper’s room, but we never found anything with the victim’s blood on it, except the knife and the robe Delia was wearing that night. So I questioned Marcela about it when she was in our custody. I wanted to know if our guys missed something.”

  “What did she say?” Emily asked with growing interest.

  “She laughed. Then she told me she had changed out of her tan jogging suit after she stabbed Ricardo, knowing Delia would eventually come down and find him. She had wiped the blood off her hands with the clothing and stuffed it in a gym bag. We didn’t find it because after we questioned her, we told her she couldn’t stay at the house for a few days and she went and packed a bag.”

  “And that’s where the bloody clothes were,” Emily remarked.

  “Yeah. She pretended she was this shy little housekeeper who didn’t speak much English. That wily woman took the bloody clothes with her in the bag she packed—carried them out of the house, right under our noses.” He shook his head with embarrassment.

  “Ouch,” Emily empathized.

  “I won’t ever let that happen again,” Colin declared.

  Dinner orders were taken and the lavish gourmet entrees were thoroughly enjoyed, while conversation among the group never lagged. Occasionally, taking small breaks from conversation, Emily’s gaze danced around the table and she basked in the warm friendships that encircled her.

  “Emily,” Delia said, seated beside her. “I have to ask, what is that lovely scent you’re wearing? It smells heavenly.”

  “It’s called Truth, by Calvin Klein.”

  Just then Colin leaned over from Emily’s other side and whispered in her ear. “You do smell delicious—and did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?”

  “You did,” she murmured as her cheeks flushed warmly, enjoying his nearness.

  The wait staff cleared the dinner plates and the chatter quieted down. Colin took that opportunity to invite Emily to step outside with him for a little fresh air. She agreed and he took her hand to help her up. Every eye around the table was on them as the chatter picked up again—this time about them, Emily was sure.

  “Don’t be gone long, you two,” Camille warned. “They’re bringing out some ridiculously decadent desserts.”

  Colin led Emily through the restaurant and out the front door to a beautifully landscaped courtyard. The umbrella of wispy trees was strung with little white lights, and the air was fragrant with the border of jasmine. Because of the lateness of the hour, they had the romantic garden all to themselves.

  He gently pulled her close and ran his arms around her waist. Without a word, he began to gently sway to a silent beat. Emily followed his lead and slid her arms around the broad shoulders filling out his fitted black suit, looking up into his adoring eyes. He began to hum softly as he touched his cheek to her temple.

  “Remind me,” she said as she mirrored his movements, “what’s the name of this song, again?”

  “Unforgettable.”

  “Ah, yes,” she said, closing her eyes. The height of her stiletto heels allowed her to rest her head in the curve of his neck. She took pleasure in the musky scent of his cologne and the feel of their bodies swaying together in unison.

  Colin’s right hand slid up her back until it rested at the top of her neck. She leaned her head back into his caress and looked with longing into his eyes.

  He hesitated for a moment, seeming to study her. Then he kissed her like she had never been kissed before. He rekindled a fire in her that had lain dormant since her devastating loss. From the hunger in his kiss, she knew his latent embers were stirred, as well.

  When he finally released her, he gazed into her eyes. “Emily Parker,” he said, “I think you are one spectacular woman.”

  “Hmmm,” she paused, noticing the twinkle of the tiny lights reflecting in his passionate eyes. She laid her cheek against his and whispered into his ear. “That would be a smokin’ hot lady PI to you, mister.”

  “You got that right.” He laughed and kissed her again.

  – THE END –

  Thank you so much for reading my book,

  The Scent of Lies. I hope you enjoyed it. The

  highest compliment an author can get is to

  receive a great review, especially if the

  review is posted on Amazon.com.

  – Debra Burroughs

  CONTACT INFORMATION

  www.DebraBurroughsBooks.com

  Debra Burroughs would love to hear

  from you. You can email her at:

  Debra@DebraBurroughsBooks.com

  Or connect with her on Social Media:

  Twitter: @DebraBurroughs

  Facebook: www.facebook/debraburroughsbooks

  And here’s a sneak peek at another

  Debra Burroughs Romantic Suspense novel

  Three Days in Seattle

  Prologue

  Whitney began to stir from a deep sleep, waking to find herself in pitch-black darkness, her hands and feet bound. She tried to move, but she couldn’t. Yanking against the ropes proved useless, as the bonds were fa
stened to something solid.

  Her head began to pound and her breath was coming in short gasps, but she couldn’t get much air. Something was over her mouth—duct tape, maybe? She didn’t know or care, she just needed air.

  She struggled to scream, but the only sound she could make was a high-pitched moan.

  Where am I? What’s happening to me? Murky thoughts slogged through her disoriented mind. Maybe I’m dreaming, she thought. Wake up, wake up, wake up! But it was not a dream.

  The sound of something scraping the floor made her freeze. She tried to listen, hear if someone or something was coming, but her heart thudding in her ears made it hard to concentrate.

  A door creaked open, and she blinked as the harsh light hit her eyes. Was someone coming to rescue her? Or was it her captor? She decided not to risk it and shut her eyes, going limp, hoping her pounding heart would not give her away.

  Chapter 1

  “Forget it, Nigel! It’s been a very long day. I’ll finish up in the morning. I just need to soak in the tub for a while and get to bed. I will call you first thing tomorrow, I promise.” Kate McAllister clicked off her cell phone and set it on the bathroom vanity, exhausted after her hectic photo shoot in the Hollywood Hills ran late into the evening.

  The warm water in the claw-foot tub was beckoning her. She was anticipating being enveloped by its warmth, letting it soothe away the stress of the day. Sticking one painted toe in the water, she checked the temperature before getting in. Perfect, she sighed softly.

  As she was about to drop her fluffy white robe to the floor and step into the bath, the cell phone shrilled on the vanity behind her. “Shoot,” she muttered under her breath. “If that’s Nigel again, I’m going to kill him.”

  A slight frown creased her brow as she turned and glanced at the Caller ID. She recognized the area code was for Seattle, where her baby sister Whitney lived, but if it were her sister, the phone would have shown her name and not Unknown Caller.

  Peering up at the wall clock, she saw the time was ten-forty-five pm. Why would someone I don’t know be calling me this late? Tension began creeping up the back of her neck. No one calls this late just to chat. She reluctantly picked up the phone.

  “Hello?”

  “Kate, this is Suki. I’m sorry to call you so late.” The woman on the other end of the line rattled on, “But, I, well, I need to—”

  “Whoa. Slow down. You said your name is Suki?” Kate questioned, raising an eyebrow.

  “Yes, you know, Whitney’s roommate.”

  “Oh, yes, sorry. I didn’t recognize your name. Now, slow down and tell me – what’s wrong, Suki?”

  “Whitney’s gone missing.”

  “What? When?” Panic began to set in. Kate’s thoughts began flying in a thousand different directions, like a flock of sparrows spooked by the threat of danger. Gathering her thoughts, she tried to focus. Ordinarily, she connected with Whitney every day or two, but she had been so busy with work lately that Kate was ashamed to admit she did not notice when she hadn’t heard from her sister recently.

  “She’s been missing since last night. Well, no, today. I mean, well, I didn’t realize until this morning that she hadn’t come home last night.”

  “Maybe she just stayed overnight at a friend’s house. She is twenty-four years old. She can stay out all night if she wants.” Kate hoped that was all it was. The thought her sister could really be missing made her feel sick in the pit of her stomach.

  “No, no, I don’t think so, really. I think she would have told me so. We try to keep each other safe that way, you know. I have such a bad feeling about this, Kate. I think you should come to Seattle right away.”

  “You mean, like right now?” This news was all so unexpected. Frantic thoughts swirling in Kate’s mind made it hard to process.

  “Well, yeah. I mean, as soon as you can, of course.”

  “So, what do the police say?” Kate asked, searching for a voice of reason.

  “Police?”

  “Yes, Suki. You did call them, didn’t you?” Incredulous that her sister might be in danger and the police had not yet been informed, Kate’s eyes widened as she stared blankly at the phone. Are you kidding me? Her heart began beating hard against her chest, sending pulsing blood painfully racing to her head.

  “I’m sorry, Kate, don’t get mad. I think you have to wait twenty-four hours before you can report someone missing, don’t you?”

  “How should I know, Suki? I would have called them to find out, not just assumed.” A muscle twitched in Kate’s jaw.

  “You’re right, you’re right. I’m sorry.”

  “I will call them as soon as we get off the phone. I want to talk to the police myself before I come running up there.” Suki had all day to call me, why did she wait until now? Was she hoping Whitney would eventually show up? Something doesn’t feel right.

  Perhaps Whitney was just staying over with a new boyfriend that Suki didn’t know about. Or maybe she went with some girlfriends for a long weekend. Suki is probably just overreacting. Kate clung to that thought to give her a sense of security.

  On the other hand, if her sister really were missing, of course she’d drop everything and hop on the first flight to Seattle. She felt uneasy just cancelling work and reorganizing her life on the whim of this woman she barely knew. Kate had photo shoots in the Los Angeles area lined up all week, people depending on her, so she wanted to be sure it was warranted.

  “Kate. Your sister is missing! You really need to come as soon as possible,” Suki pressed. “Surely, you don’t have anything to do that’s more important than this, do you?”

  Kate recognized the guilt card being played. Her late mother had been a master at it.

  “No, of course not. Nothing’s more important than finding my sister, if she really is missing. However, I am going to call the police first and see what they say, even though you may be right about the twenty-four hour thing.”

  “Then you’ll come?”

  As much as Kate hated the thought of upending her whole world overnight, she had to consider seriously the possibility that Suki might be right. If Whitney needed her, she had no choice but to go to Seattle on the first flight she could get.

  “Yes, yes, I’ll come. After I talk to the police, I’ll check for flights out of L.A. tomorrow.” She would have to wait until the morning to change her work schedule. “I appreciate you letting me know, Suki. I’ll be in touch.”

  * * *

  Suki hung up from her conversation with Kate and immediately made another call.

  “Hullo,” a young man answered.

  “It’s done.”

  Chapter 2

  “Hey, lady! You’re up,” a young male’s voice came from behind her.

  “What?” Startled, Kate looked around.

  “You’re up, over there at the counter.” The impatient teenager pointed to the airline ticket counter.

  His voice had jerked her out of a daze. She’d been standing in the long, slow-moving passenger line, replaying her situation and the unproductive conversation with the Seattle Police. She hadn’t been able to get beyond talking to the officer at the front desk because Whitney had not been missing long enough. He hadn’t told her anything of value one way or the other, except that if she was really concerned, she should come as soon as possible. Of course she was concerned. She loved her sister. How dare he suggest otherwise.

  It was because of that bond, that if there were any chance Whitney actually was missing, Kate would drop everything and go. She had arranged to fly to Seattle on the next available flight.

  Unfortunately, getting to Seattle was not so easy. Engine trouble on her connecting flight from Salt Lake City had forced the plane down in Boise, where she had to spend the night and get a new boarding pass for her last-minute change in flights.

  Embarrassed when she realized she was holding up the line, her face reddened and she rushed to the counter.

  “I’m in a huge hurry, ma’am,” Kate s
aid, slapping her driver’s license down on the counter a little harder than she’d intended. “Do you think you could get my boarding pass really fast?”

  The ticket agent glared at her, then moved like a snail. Kate was sure she must have offended the woman. Glancing up at the monitor on the wall, it showed that her Horizon flight to Seattle was departing in twenty minutes, but she was stuck at the ticket counter in this crowded Boise airport, awaiting the re-issue of her boarding pass.

  Kate checked her watch for the umpteenth time, feeling her heart thumping in her chest. Come on, come on, come on, lady! I have a plane to catch! She tapped a staccato beat with the heel of her shoe.

  Finally, the ticket agent offered up her pass. Kate grabbed it, tossed her long blonde hair over her shoulder and turned abruptly to run for the security gate.

  Splat!

  Kate normally considered herself a controlled, refined, twenty-eight-year-old woman. But here she was, sprawled out face first on the hard floor, having tripped over a child’s rolling backpack that she neglected to see in her haste. A manly, well-groomed hand reached down and helped her up. Mortified, her cheeks flushed a bright red.

  The helpful hand belonged to an attractive man who looked to be in his early thirties. Kate could not help noticing his deep green eyes, thick brown hair and the broad shoulders filling out his fleece pullover.

  “Are you okay?” His voice was warm and deep.

  “Yes,” she replied, a nervous giggle escaping her lips. “All, except my pride. Thanks for the help.”

  She scrambled to gather up her purse and coat and made a beeline for the security gate. Under any other circumstances, she would have been happy to linger and talk to the handsome stranger, but not today.

  We hope you enjoyed the excerpt from

  Three Days in Seattle

  by Debra Burroughs