Betrayal with Murder (A Rilynne Evans Mystery, Book Three) Read Free Page A

available.”
    “Okay,” she said as she nodded in resignation. “I need to text my… friend and let him know I made it safe.”
    “I hope I didn’t ruin your Valentine’s Day,” he said as he glanced down to the red dress she was still wearing. “Although, I’m guessing that I did, as I’ve never seen you in a dress before.”
    They walked out the doors to the awaiting car, the cold air brushing against her exposed skin. “It’s okay. Ben knows how important this is. I’m actually glad that I was out with him when I got your call. I think I might have completely fallen apart, otherwise.”
    “Ben as in Ben Davis?” he asked as he slammed the trunk closed, looking both curious and impressed.
    Rilynne gave him a quizzical look as she slid into the passenger seat. “I take it you’ve heard of him?”
    “I’ve been to several of the forensic lectures he’s spoken at,” he explained. He climbed into the car and turned it on. “I make it a point to keep up with the forensic breakthroughs. I even sent him some evidence from a case we were working on a few months back. Many consider him the top in the field, and I tend to agree.”
    Rilynne couldn’t think of anything to do but smile. “He’s quite impressive. He’s also been a really great friend to me since I moved to Addison Valley,” she explained. “We’ve been through quite a lot together.”
    “How would you feel about sending all of the evidence collected from the scene and off of the body to him for analysis?” he asked as he pulled onto the highway. With almost no traffic on the road, Rilynne knew it shouldn’t take them more than forty-five minutes to reach the station. “I have no doubt that our team here can handle it, but they’re working several other cases right now, and I’m sure you’ll want this to have top priority. He’s also been working on several new procedures, and I want to make sure we have every resource we can on this.”
    “I’ll let him know that everything’s coming,” she said. Though she would never have suggested it, she had been wishing he could have been the one to process everything. She was elated that Wooldridge had proposed the idea himself. “He just finished training an entire shift of new people, so I’m sure he’ll be able to give it his undivided attention.”
    They spent the rest of the drive talking about the different happenings in their lives. It was just after three when they pulled in front of the large hotel that sat adjacent to the police station.
    “Meet me at the station at eight and we’ll head to the coroner’s office,” he said. “I’ll make sure all of the evidence is collected so we can have it escorted to Addison Valley. We should be able to get it out by noon tomorrow if you’ll let Mr. Davis know to be expecting it.”
    Rilynne checked in and took the elevator up to her third floor room. She walked in and went straight to the bed, collapsing out of both physical and emotional exhaustion. It was another half an hour before she mustered up the strength to roll over and reach for her phone.
    “First class?” she asked when he answered. By the sound of Ben’s voice, she had a feeling he hadn’t gone to sleep. “I would have been just fine in coach.”
    “Are you saying you didn’t enjoy first class?”
    “I wouldn’t go that far,” she joked. “I’ve never been in first class before. It was amazing. It still must have been expensive, though.”
    “Don’t worry about it,” he replied coolly. “I have a lot of frequent flier miles. Are you just getting in?”
    “I landed about an hour and a half ago,” she replied. “Wooldridge picked me up and dropped me off at the hotel next to the station. I’m going to meet him there in the morning to go to the coroner’s office.”
    “Good,” he said. “Have you learned anything else?”
    “No,” she stated as she let out a small yawn. “The coroner won’t be in until the morning, and though the forensic team