Suspicions by Christine Kersey Page B

Personal Papers was written across the
top. She pulled the file out and spread it on the floor.
    Only one thing looked interesting enough to
investigate further. It was a large envelope with the words pre-nup
written across it. Yanking the papers out, she rapidly scanned the
writing. Most of the legal terms were beyond her understanding but
one concept seemed to jump out: If Mark Stone divorced Amanda, he
would have no claim on her inheritance money.
    If that’s not a motive I don’t know what is,
she thought, a relieved smile turning up the corners of her lips.
And if Kyle is with Mark, I know he’ll be okay.
    Putting everything back where it had been,
she locked the drawer and stood up, then looked around to make sure
nothing was out of place.
    As her glance fell on the desk, she
remembered seeing a small box in one of the drawers. She hadn't
paid much attention to it when she was looking for the key, but she
decided to take a peek now.
    Then she heard Mark's voice. It sounded like
he was coming down the hall. Her heart pounded against her ribs as
she frantically looked for a place to hide. The closet. She ran
over to it, slid open the door and saw stacks of boxes.
    No time! He was drawing closer. She climbed
on top of the sturdy boxes and crouched down, her head almost
touching the ceiling.
    Just as she slid the closet door shut, the
door to the office opened, then closed and she heard the sound of
Mark's heavy footsteps. She held her breath, terrified he would
need something out of the closet. She heard the jangle of keys and
then the sound of him opening the file cabinet
    Thank goodness I was able to return those
keys before he wanted them, she thought. Then she heard knocking on
the office door and the file cabinet slammed closed.
    “Mark, would you come here a minute?” It was
Amanda's voice.
    He sounded impatient. “Yeah, I'll be right
there.”
    She could hear him leaving the room and she
allowed herself to breathe again. The musty smell made her cough
and she slapped her hand over her mouth.
    Counting off the seconds until a full minute
had passed, she cautiously peeked out the closet door. No one was
in the room and the door leading to the hallway had been shut.
    She climbed down from the boxes, hesitating
before she left. She could picture that small box in the desk and
just knew she had to see what it was.
    Remembering exactly where it had been, she
opened the correct drawer and grabbed the box. She thought there
might be a pair of earrings in it or some other type of jewelry,
but instead she found a small silver key with a tag attached to it
that read 29C. Putting it in her pocket, she closed the drawer.
    Cracking the office door open, she looked
both ways. Then, seeing no one in sight, she tiptoed to the front
door and pulled it open. She let out a heavy sigh as the reporters
converged on her, her nerves feeling raw. She yelled, “No comment.”
Then ran across the street to the safety of her own home.
     
     
     

Chapter Fifteen
     
     
     
    Back at her desk, Stacey pulled out the paper
and pen and wrote down what she had discovered. Then she wrote:
another woman? Who is this woman? Where did he meet her? Does
Amanda have any idea she exists?
    While Stacey was contemplating her next move
she heard the front door slam. Quickly shoving her notes in a
drawer under some papers, she pushed back from the desk. “Jason? Is
that you?”
    With a scowl on his face and his fists
clenched, he walked into the office. “Those stupid cops,” he
murmured as he began rummaging through the desk.
    She could feel the blood drain from her face.
“Oh Jason. What happened? Did they arrest you?”
    He stopped and looked at her, his eyebrows
drawn together. “What?”
    “I tried to warn you, but you hung up on
me.”
    He straightened and faced her. “How could you
know?”
    “Well, the FBI asked where you worked and I
told them.” She noted the look of surprise on his face as she went
on. “I tried to call you and