Read Intent to Kill for Free Online Page B

release.”
    “Press release? You mean you’re not giving me the exclusive?”
    The guy never stopped pushing buttons. “You’re the first one I called,” said Emma. “Does that count for anything?”
    “Not really. But I’m a pushover. Send it to me. I’ll see what I can do.” She thanked him and hung up before he could take the conversation in the usual direction.
    What other talking heads owe me a favor?
    She gazed out her office window, thinking. The sun was setting, the long shadows of downtown Providence ushering in darkness. It was a beautiful sunset, but an eerie feeling came over her as she realized that three years ago to the minute, Chelsea James was driving to the PawSox game with her two-year-old daughter in the backseat. They were probably excited about going to see Ryan play. Maybe Chelsea was even a little anxious about running late. Without question, she was completely unaware of how defenseless she and Ainsley were against another driver who’d had too much to drink. Emma thought about Ryan, too, inside the stadium wondering why his wife and daughter were late for such an important game.
    Ryan. He needs to know.
    Emma couldn’t let him hear about this latest tip on the eleven o’clock news. The same went for Chelsea’s parents. From a professional standpoint, a phone call from the Victim Services Unit would have sufficed. On a personal level, however, it didn’t seem like enough. Emma grabbed her briefcase and hurried downstairs to her car. She made a few more calls to her media contacts while on the road. At the freeway exit she dialed Ryan’s number. He was pleasant enough, given the anniversary, but he did seem puzzled by her call.
    “I’m in the neighborhood,” she said. “I’d like to stop by, if that’s okay. We may have a break in the case.”
    He didn’t hesitate to invite her over.
    It was after 8:00 P.M. when Emma knocked on the door. The curtain in the bowfront window moved, and through the shining pane of glass Emma caught a glimpse of a young girl who checked her out and then disappeared.
    “Daddy, somebody’s here!” her little voice called.
    The door opened a minute later, and when Ryan greeted Emma, she didn’t answer right away. Ryan had sounded very together on the telephone, but the look in his eyes and the sadness in his smile only confirmed that no homicide had only one victim.
    “Are you sure this is a good time?” she said.
    “Of course.”
    He took her coat as she entered, and Emma heard the patter of Ainsley’s little feet scampering up the stairs. They went into the living room, which was way too small for the sixty-inch big-screen television in the corner, but that kind of thing was to be expected from an ex-jock with no woman in the house. The place was otherwise furnished nicely, in a Rooms To Go kind of way. The numerous framed photographs on the walls and end tables lent a homey feeling. Emma spotted Chelsea in about a dozen of them.
    “Did you eat supper yet?” asked Ryan. “Ainsley never touched her chicken. Five-year-olds, you know. They live on the bag of Cheetos they eat ten minutes before coming to the dinner table.”
    “I’m fine, thanks. I don’t want to intrude. I just want to share some important news with you.”
    She removed the press release from her purse and showed it to him.
    He read it once to himself, then reread the key language aloud: ‘ “Assistant Attorney General Glenda Garrisen announced that late yesterday afternoon a trial attorney in the Criminal Division was contacted by an anonymous tipster who may have information pertinent to the ongoing investigation into the death of Chelsea James.’”
    Ryan looked up from the release, his expression ashen. “Did your anonymous tip say something like ‘accidents happen’ or ‘it was no accident’?”
    “No. Why do you ask?”
    He told her about the call from Tony from Wattahtown, and about the message attached to the bouquet of flowers on Chelsea’s grave.
    “Did