The Pursuit of Lies (Book #4, Paradise Valley)

From the Amazon Bestseller Debra Burroughs, topping the charts in Romantic Suspense and Women Sleuths, comes another exciting and entertaining book,
The Pursuit of Lies.

Praise for Debra Burroughs’ romantic suspense novels
…

“Each time Ms. Burroughs puts out a new book I can’t wait to download it. And once again the folks of Paradise Valley don’t disappoint. Since this is the fourth book, it’s almost like reading about people you know and can’t wait to catch up with. From the first page I was intrigued and caught up in the plot. I really enjoyed the entire book and was kept guessing till the end.”

~ Janet

Amazon Reader

“The main character is recently widowed and fiercely independent. She has a close knit group of girlfriends who’ve been helping her along. And it is with this group of friends in this small town setting that quickly comes to life right before your eyes. The characters and the plot are both superbly written. I’ve read 3 in the series and hope there will be others to follow…I’ve grown comfortable with this small town and this fun group of friends.”

~ Dryzl

Amazon Reader

“Loved this book. Great suspense and kept you on the edge of your seat. Would definitely read this author again.”

~ Gloria Wilhite

Amazon Reader

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Afterword

Other Works by Debra Burroughs

About the Author

Copyright

Table of Contents

“Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.”

~ Sir Walter Scott

PROLOGUE

The scariest thing about both truth and lies is that they always catch up to you, no matter how hard you try to hide them.

~*~

The young blonde woman lay waiting on the neatly made bed, smoothing out her white silk teddy before reclining against the sumptuous pillows.

“I’m ready for you,” she called out, eager for what was coming. Resting a hand behind her head, she smiled to herself, pleased with the life she had fashioned. Successful, and respected in her profession, she had no time for a serious romantic relationship—she was married to her job. So, having a handsome male friend, one with benefits and no strings, suited her just fine.

The man was charming and sexy—what woman in her right mind wouldn’t have been attracted to him? He was honest enough to admit to her upfront that he was committed to someone else, but she didn’t mind. That may even have been what drew her to him.

Casual dating with no commitments was all she could manage at the moment as she climbed her professional ladder to success. Her emotional needs, little as they were, as well as her physical needs were being met. That’s all she wanted for now.

Stripped to the waist and barefooted, her lover stood in the doorway. She admired his physique as he turned to switch the bathroom light off. The bedroom was softly lit by the dimmed lamp on one side of the bed.

She flashed him a seductive smile as he put a knee on the bed and hovered over her, with one hand held behind his back. “Why so quiet, Colin?”

“I have a surprise for you.”

“Is that what you’re hiding back there?” She craned her neck to see. She didn’t like surprises. “What is it? Let me have it.”

The thrill of anticipation rippled through her body. She loved receiving gifts, especially expensive ones.

His hand whipped around and he gave her the surprise. Rather than a beautifully wrapped box, like she had expected, he held a long sharp knife. She thought he was playing around until she gazed into his fiery eyes. He moved so swiftly that she’d had no time to recover from the shock of his actions or force out even one scream.

The knife plunged deep into her chest and everything went black.

Chapter 1

As Emily Parker meandered through the busy Blue Moon Café, searching for her party, she thought her chest might burst open from excitement. As she wound through the noisy lunch crowd, she picked up snippets of conversations—people talking about their family, the latest football game, or the weather—but nothing as wonderful as the news she’d come to share. She caught sight of one of her girlfriends waving her over.

Her friends had snagged a coveted booth at the back of the restaurant, along a wall of windows with a breathtaking view of the river flowing by. It was early autumn and the trees along the water’s edge were beginning to turn various shades of yellow, orange, and red.

Emily slid into the booth and greeted everyone.

“You’re late, Em,” Isabel said. “We already ordered for you—the usual.”

“Sorry, I just wanted to make sure you were all here first.”

“Why is that?” Maggie asked, leaning forward with her chin on her palm and her big blue eyes focused on Emily.

“Girls,” Emily glanced around the table, “I have an announcement to make.”

“What is it, Em?” Camille laid a perfectly manicured hand on Emily’s arm. Her short and spiky red hair looked as if it was on fire with the sunlight from the window behind her lighting it up.

“Yes, what?” Maggie repeated.

“Another juicy new case, perhaps?” Isabel asked, pushing her long dark waves over one shoulder.

“No, not a new case, juicy or otherwise.” Emily paused for dramatic effect, glancing from face to face. “I’m talking about a new life.” A big smile spread across her face.

“What does that mean, Em?” Maggie began to sit back in her seat, as she tucked a strand of long blonde hair behind her ear. Then she bolted forward. “You aren’t movin’ away, are you?”

“No, nothing like that. What it means, girls, is…” Emily stuck out her hand and displayed the sparkling diamond ring Colin had given her the night before, “that I’m engaged!”

The atmosphere at their table erupted with excitement and congratulations.

“I had a feeling,” Camille said, pulling Emily’s hand nearer to her for closer examination.

“Really? Because I was totally taken by surprise.” Emily tossed her head back when she laughed and her loose honey-blonde curls tickled her neck.

“Give me a break.” Isabel smirked. “You’re a private eye and you didn’t see this coming? I saw it coming from a mile away.” As an FBI analyst, with great attention to detail, Isabel Martínez was the practical, analytical one in the bunch.

“Well, okay, maybe not totally.” Lately, Emily’s time and her thoughts had been consumed with solving crimes and apprehending criminals. She and Detective Colin Andrews had become inseparable, both personally and in work, but the subject of marriage had never come up—at least not until he proposed.

“I’m just thrilled for y’all,” Maggie cooed. She was known among her friends as the southern-belle fitness queen. Lovely as she was, with her bright blue eyes, flowing blonde hair, and a body that wouldn’t quit, Maggie Sullivan had the most horrendous luck with men.

“Oh, Em, you’ll have to let me throw together a fabulous engagement party for you and Colin.” Camille Hawthorne was a caterer and event planner, and this engagement would give her the perfect excuse to host another of her famous affairs. “Please say yes.”

Emily glanced around the table at all the smiling faces. “Yes.” Her answer drew an excited round of approval from the girls.

“I’m happy to have it at my house,” Isabel offered. She and her attorney husband, Alex, had a spacious, upscale home in one of the nicest neighborhoods in Paradise Valley.

“Oh, Isabel, that would be wonderful,” Camille replied.

Emily smiled as she gazed around the table at her friends. “You girls are the best.”

“Have you set a date?” Isabel asked.

“Not yet.”

“Oh, Emily, you’d better hurry,” Camille advised. “All the best venues will be booked if you don’t.”

“There’s plenty of time for that.” Emily held out her left hand and admired her sparkling new ring again. “Let me just enjoy being engaged before we have to start working on all the wedding details.”

The waiter brought their food and the rest of the hour was spent eating and talking about the upcoming wedding. When they had finished, the girls ambled out to the parking lot to say their good-byes.

“Hey, isn’t that Colin?” Maggie asked, pointing to a red Jeep Wrangler whizzing by on the main street that abutted the parking lot.

“Looked like him,” Isabel replied. “Short dark hair and all.”

“Maybe,” Emily said, straining to catch a glimpse of the vehicle. “I’ll give him a call in a little while.”

“Okay, I’ve got to get back to work. Congratulations, again.” Isabel gave Emily a quick hug. “I’ll see you all Thursday night.”

The four of them regularly got together each Thursday evening for a girls-only potluck dinner at one of their homes.

“Yes, at your house this week,” Camille replied. “The theme is Mexican.”

“Again?” Maggie asked, wrinkling her nose.

“I have a new recipe for
Chili Rellenos
that I’m dying to try,” Camille said.

“Then Mexican it is.” Emily opened the door of her white Volvo sedan and slid behind the wheel. “See you Thursday.”

Once Emily was out on the main road, she dug her cell phone out of her handbag and dialed Maggie’s number.

“Hello.”

“Hey, Maggs, it’s Emily. I wanted to talk to you privately.”

“What’s up?”

“I have a case I’m working that I could use your help with.”

“Ooh, I love helpin’ out on your cases. What’s it about?”

“Possible insurance fraud. I’ve been hired to tail a man to see if he’s faking an injury. I could use your help to trap him, see if he’s lying.”

“Trap him? Won’t that be dangerous?”

“No, don’t worry. It’s just a figure of speech.”

“What do you want me to do?”

Emily went over the plan with Maggie. “If this guy is faking it and he gets away with his little scam, it’ll cost my clients millions.”

“Okay then, I’m in!”

“Meet me at my house tomorrow at four? Then we’ll work out the details.”

“All right. I have a few clients in the afternoon, but I should be finished by then.” As a fitness instructor and personal trainer, Maggie could pretty much set her own schedule.

“Hey, looks like Colin is calling on the other line. I’d better take it.”

“Tell him congratulations for me.”

“Will do.” Emily clicked her phone to the other call. “Hello, Colin.”

“Hey, Babe. How’d your lunch with the girls go?” Colin’s deep, masculine voice was soothing and sensual, and the very sound of it warmed her.

“They were all very excited about the engagement. Camille tried to nail me down on a wedding date.”

“Sounds like Camille. Hey, I can’t talk long. I’m on my way to Boise to meet with ADA Laraway about a case.”

“Allison Laraway? You’ll have to tell her about our engagement.”

“I’m sure she couldn’t care less.”

Emily thought back to when Colin first landed in Paradise Valley, taking a job as the new police detective, and how Assistant District Attorney Allison Laraway, a polished and sophisticated blonde, had tried to get her claws into him.

She recalled how Colin had seemed oblivious to her overtures. Emily shook her head slightly at the thought, reminding herself that she had won Colin’s heart in the end, not Allison.

“By the way, Maggie thought she saw you drive by the restaurant when we were in the parking lot getting ready to leave. Isabel too.”

“Wasn’t me.”

“Must’ve been some other tall, dark and handsome guy driving a red Jeep.”

He chuckled. “So, will I see you for dinner tonight?”

“I have a job to do this afternoon, but I should be done by seven. Why don’t you come by then?”

“Can’t wait. I’d love to stay and chat, but I’d better let you go. I’m pulling into the parking structure and I’ll probably lose reception.”

“I love you, Colin.” As she spoke his name, she remembered his soft warm lips on hers the night before, after he had proposed to her, and a light tingle spread across her body. She hoped he heard her before losing cell service.

~*~

While Colin went to meet with ADA Laraway, Emily drove across town to check on her assignment, Mr. Martin Dillingham. The overweight thirty-eight-year-old man claimed to have severely injured his back during a fall at one of the popular restaurants in the area. He now wore a back brace and walked with a cane.