Read Racing the Devil for Free Online

though, I hoped a sense of obligation and the lure of an exclusive would be enough to secure a little loyalty.
    Billy hovered over my shoulder as I dialed the number on my cell phone. When she answered, I drew in a breath. Her voice was still enough to drive a sane man mad.
    “Ashleigh, it’s Jared. Jared McKean.”
    “Jared!” She sounded surprised and a little eager. “How long has it been?”
    Not long enough , I thought, but did not say. “A little over a year. I saw you on the news tonight.”
    “Really?” A note of pleasure warmed her voice. “What did you think?”
    “Beautiful, as always. I wanted to talk to you about your lead story.”
    She gave a squeal of nervous laughter. “Yes, I imagine you do. But, Jared . . .”
    “Ashleigh, you know me. I didn’t kill this woman.”
    “Oh, I know. I’m sure this is all a big misunderstanding.” After a little pause, she added, “I understand they’ve got your DNA.”
    “They don’t have my DNA,” I said, though if my suspicions about Heather were true, they very well might. “They have my blood type. But I know that isn’t public information yet. You got taps on someone else’s line?”
    Long pause. “I have a contact on the force.”
    I took in a long, slow breath. “Look, Ash, enough fencing. I need your help.”
    Wary now. “Why should I help you?”
    Why, indeed. “Let’s start with, you used me, you lost me my job, and then you did a story on how I’d been dumped from the force—which was your fault to begin with. Now you’ve plastered my picture all over the news. Nice touch, by the way, choosing the one that makes me look like a homicidal maniac.”
    I could picture her on the other end of the line, the little furrow between her brows, the cupid’s bow of her lips pursed into an indignant pout. “What is it you want?”
    “You’ve already said you had a contact. You can ask around, find out about the victim.”
    “You already know more than I do. They say you’d been banging her for months.”
    Months? I shook my head, although she couldn’t see it. “I didn’t even know her.”
    “Then why are they saying you do?”
    “There was a woman I met . . .” It sounded lame, even to me, but I ran it down for her anyway.
    She was quiet for a moment. Then, “Conspiracy theories really aren’t your style.”
    “You know I didn’t do this. If I was going to kill somebody, I would have done you a long time ago.”
    On the other end of the line, there was a sound like a baby’s hiccup. When she spoke again, her voice sounded strained. “Maybe you should just turn yourself in. The police will figure it all out.”
    This wasn’t necessarily true. Metro had a lot of good cops on the job, but like police forces everywhere, the department was overextended. They didn’t have time to chase shadows when, thanks to Heather, I’d become a prosecutor’s wet dream. It would be tempting just to throw me under the jail and close the books.
    Especially considering the conditions under which I’d left.
    “Ashleigh, I’m just saying, if I were the kind of guy who would do a thing like this, it would have happened by now. My wife left me, and I didn’t kill her. You . . . you were pretty much the devil incarnate, and I didn’t kill you.”
    “Who knows?” She still sounded scared, but she’d gotten back some of her bravado. “Maybe everything just built up.”
    “Think of the story. ‘Local Anchor Woman Clears Innocent Man.’ That could be you. That’s prize-winning material.”
    There was another pause. “It would make a good story. But you have to promise me an exclusive.”
    “It’s all yours.”
    “I need to know exactly what happened last night. What happened with the woman. How your truck ended up at the murder scene. Can you come over and fill me in?”
    “I don’t know . . .”
    “This may take awhile, and I don’t want to do it on the phone. I need to see your face, your mannerisms.”
    I thought about it. There was