Secrets and Seduction: 5 Romance Novels Read Free Page A

both men and women.”
    Nick made another note to ask Marisa Avalos who she’d seen waiting with her friend. “Mr. Wentworth, I know it’s painful, but would you describe what you saw.”
    Scott took a deep breath and breathed out. “The train was coming. We stood back a few feet from the tracks waiting. Then when the engine was almost in front of us, Carolyn threw herself in front of it. I grabbed for her, but couldn’t catch her. I had to pull in my arms fast or I’d have been hurt, too.”
    “And did you see what happened to your wife?”
    Scott frowned at him. “I told you, she jumped in front of the train.”
    Nick held on to his temper. “I meant did you see the train hit her?”
    Scott shook his head. “No, I didn’t watch her die. I couldn’t bear to see that.”
    “I understand.” Nick’s gut told him Scott Wentworth had lied, but Nick wasn’t sure about what.

CHAPTER 2
    Nick couldn’t find another witness to corroborate Wentworth’s story. But he did find someone who told a different story.
    The Voglers were a middle-aged couple who’d spent the morning boating like the Wentworths had. They lived thirty minutes away in Corning and kept their boat on Seneca Lake during the summer. They’d driven up to make the most of the sudden warm spell.
    “The young woman dropped something,” Aaron Vogler insisted. He had a striking black handlebar mustache.
    “Did you see what it was?” Nick asked.
    “No. I saw it flutter to the ground and the next thing I knew, she was reaching for it. I couldn’t react fast enough.” He gulped, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “And then she fell.”
    “Did you see what it was, Mrs. Vogler?”
    Peggy Vogler put her hand to her chest and shook her head. Her short brown hair was artfully streaked with blonde. “No. I was watching the train. All I saw was her arms outstretched as she leaned forward in front of the train. I couldn’t watch the rest.”
    “Did she jump in front of the train?”
    “Jump? No.” Mr. Vogler shook his head. “Maybe she lost her balance, but I’d swear she wanted whatever she’d dropped.”
    “I just don’t know.” Mrs. Vogler looked distressed.
    Nick thanked them and said the sheriff’s department would be in touch if anything further were needed.
    Why was Wentworth so sure his wife had jumped? Hadn’t he seen her drop something? Until the train moved, Nick would have difficulty proving Mr. Vogler’s version of events. He knew from his years as an EMT that people witnessing a traumatic event often gave conflicting stories. But why would a man say his wife had killed herself?
    Unable to find anyone else who’d stood with the Wentworths on the promenade, Nick interviewed bystanders. Some had seen Carolyn Wentworth sucked under the train. One person had seen her fall, but that had been from fifty yards away and from an angle behind the Wentworths.
    So Nick was left to wonder who was right: Scott Wentworth or the Voglers and Marisa Avalos? He’d like to help Marisa discover the truth.
    • • •
    “I’m sorry about Carolyn,” Kevin said once they arrived at Marisa’s apartment in the green and white Victorian up the steep hill from the pier.
    “I can’t imagine not being able to talk to her again.” It had been hard enough living in separate cities. Marisa caught back a sob as she led him out onto the second-floor smoking porch. She didn’t want to be cooped up inside.
    “Do you want me to drive you to your office so you can be with your mother? You probably don’t want to be alone right now and, well, things are kind of awkward between us at the moment.”
    His reminder brought fresh pain. Her chest tightened. She didn’t need to add more pain on top of what she was already feeling, but she had to know.
    “How long have you been planning to move?”
    “You know I’ve wanted my own practice since I got my vet’s license. I never made any secret about that. And frankly, I miss the big city. Marisa, I can’t stand it