Just Take My Heart

Just Take My Heart Read Free Page B

Book: Just Take My Heart Read Free
Author: Mary Higgins Clark
Tags: Fiction, thriller, Suspense, Action & Adventure, Crime thriller
Ads: Link
chauffeur, who had worked for him for twentyfive years, was at the wheel. From the slight tilt of his head, Moore knew that Ben was catching every word of what he and Aldrich were saying. Ben's keen hearing was a plus in his line of work, and Moore often used him as a sounding board after his conversations with clients in the car.
    Forty minutes of silence followed. Then they were stopping in front of the Park Avenue apartment building in Manhattan where Gregg Aldrich lived. "This is it, at least for the present," Aldrich said as he opened the car door. "Richard, it was good of you to pick me up and deliver me back. As I told you before, I could have met you somewhere and saved you the trouble of a round trip over the bridge."
    "It was no trouble and I'm spending the rest of the day at the New York office," Moore said matter-of-factly. He extended his hand. "Gregg, remember what I told you."
    "It's burned in my mind," Aldrich said, his voice still totally flat.
    The doorman hurried across the sidewalk to hold open the car door. As Gregg Aldrich murmured his thanks he looked into the man's eyes and saw the expression of barely concealed excitement that he knew some people experience when they are close spectators to a sensational crime story. I hope you're enjoying yourself, he thought bitterly.
    On the elevator to his fifteenth-floor apartment, he asked himself: How could this all have happened? And why did he follow Natalie to Cape Cod? And did he in fact drive to New Jersey that Monday morning? He knew that he had been so distraught, tired, and angry that when he got home he had gone out for his usual run in Central Park, and later was shocked to realize he had been jogging for nearly two and a half hours.
    Or had he been?
    He was terrified to realize that he was not sure now.

6
    Emily admitted to herself that the combination of Mark's death and her own sudden illness had devastated her. Added to that was her father's marriage, his decision to move permanently to Florida, and the fact that her brother Jack had accepted a job offer in California--all emotional blows that had left her reeling.
    She knew she had kept up a good front when both her father and brother worried about leaving her at this time in her life. She also knew that her father signing over the house to her, with Jack's heartfelt consent, was a certain salve to their consciences.
    And it's not as if they should feel guilty, she thought. Mom's been dead twelve years. Dad and Joan were seeing each other for five years. They're both pushing seventy. They love sailing and have the right to enjoy being able to do it year round. And certainly Jack couldn't pass up that job. He's got Helen and two little kids to think about.
    All that having been said, Emily knew that not being able to see her father, her brother, and his family regularly had made the adjustment to losing Mark even more difficult. Certainly it was wonderful to be back in the house --it had a "return to the womb" aspect that brought with it a healing quality. On the other hand, the neighbors who were still there from when she was growing up were the age of her parents. The ones who had sold their homes had been replaced by families with young children. The sole exception was the quiet little guy who rented next door to her and who had shyly told her he was very handy in case she ever needed anything fixed.
    Her immediate inclination had been to turn him down flat. The last thing she wanted or needed was a close neighbor who might try to latch onto her under the guise of helpfulness. But as the months passed, and the little she got to see of Zach Lanning was if they happened to arrive or depart their homes at the same time, Emily's guard began to drop.
    In the first weeks after she was assigned the Aldrich trial, she spent long hours reviewing and absorbing the file. It immediately became necessary for her to leave the office at five o'clock, race home to walk and feed Bess, then return to the office

Similar Books

Wings in the Dark

Michael Murphy

Falling Into Place

Scott Young

Blood Royal

Dornford Yates

Born & Bred

Peter Murphy

The Cured

Deirdre Gould

Eggs Benedict Arnold

Laura Childs

A Judgment of Whispers

Sallie Bissell