After Glow by Jayne Castle Page A

rocked back and forth on the desk a couple of times. “But Wyatt was shot in the back, according to the papers, and never saw the person who tried to kill him. Plus, I’ll bet that Martinez didn’t know about this lovers’ triangle thing when she questioned you and Emmett. Her view of the situation may change when she finds out those three had a tangled past.”
    Lydia slumped deeper into her chair.
    “On the other hand,” Melanie continued on a brighter note, “this is a Guild matter and everyone knows that the Guild polices its own.” She hopped off the desk. “Well, gotta run. Things to do. By the way I meant to tell you that Shrimp is feeling very pleased with himself.”
    “Why is that?”
    “He got an offer from a private collector for the Mudd Sarcophagus. The guy apparently saw it in the Tomb Wing last week and wants it badly because it fills out his collection. He’s willing to pay a lot more than it’s worth. Shrimp is thrilled, as you can imagine. He says you can use the profits to get a more interesting coffin.” She rolled her eyes. “What a concept, huh? An interesting coffin.”
    “Thanks for the heads-up.”
    “The client is making arrangements to pick it up Fri-day at five. Shrimp wants you to supervise the crating and packing and see that it gets safely out the door with all the paperwork in order.”
    “I’ll make a note.” Lydia pulled her desk calendar toward her and flipped the pages to Friday’s date.
    “Also, just so you’ll know, I’m going to slip out of here a little early today. Got a date with Jack tonight.”
    Jack Brodie, Lydia knew, was another in a long line of ghost-hunter dates for Melanie.
    “Don’t tell me, let me guess,” Lydia said. “The two of you are going to spend the evening somewhere in the Old Quarter.”
    Melanie wiggled her brows. “Jack promised me that he’ll summon a little ghost or two to burn before we go back to my place.”
    “Have fun,” Lydia mumbled.
    “Oh, I’m sure I will. You know what they say, there’s nothing like a hunter in bed after he’s burned a ghost. We’re talking hot, hot, hot.” Melanie grinned from the doorway. “But you already know that, don’t you? After all, you’re dating the top hunter, himself.”
    “Emmett is stuck in an office for the foreseeable future.” Lydia knew she sounded unbearably prim. She couldn’t help it. Melanie’s easy way with sexual innuendos and her casual lust for hunters was always a bit disconcerting. She could feel herself turning a vivid shade of pink. “He hasn’t got time to zap ghosts for fun and games.”
    “Too bad.” Melanie disappeared around the corner.
    Lydia sat for a long time, staring morosely at the front page photo of the Tattler . The gossip about a scandalous lovers’ triangle at the top of the Cadence Guild was only going to get worse. The story was simply too juicy to fade away.
    If anyone could take care of himself, it was Emmett, she thought. But he had his hands full at the moment.
    Something told her that the next few days and weeks were going to be very difficult for all of them.
    ----
     

Chapter 9
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    Emmett opened the file that Perkins, Wyatt’s administrative assistant, had just handed him. “This is the list of people who phoned Wyatt the day before he was shot?”
    “This is the list I gave to Detective Martinez, when she interviewed me,” Perkins said with clipped precision. “It includes all of the business calls, both incoming and outgoing, that were made from this office on that date.”
    Emmett looked up. Perkins probably had a first name but no one in Wyatt’s headquarters had used it in so long that it had been forgotten. Perkins evidently preferred it that way.
    He was a small, dapper man who looked more like a butler than a professional secretary. A circle of close-cropped gray hair surrounded his gleaming bald pate. He peered at Emmett through gold-framed spectacles.
    “Can I assume from the way you