Silent Witness. Leona Karr

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      Ryan had to resist putting his arms around her.

      He settled for lightly tipping his chin up so he could look straight into those soft brown eyes. “It’s going to be all right.”

      She nodded, but her eyes betrayed her fright. He was startled by a suddenly overwhelming need to protect her at all costs. More than that, he realized he wanted to draw her close and kiss those trembling lips. His gaze must have dropped to her lips, but instead of pulling away from his touch, her mouth seemed to part slightly with anticipation.

      Then she suddenly did pull back as they heard a noise in the hall. And without much more warning than that, they were back to business.

      Before turning away, she hesitated as if she wanted to say something more. Then she headed for the door.

      “Good night, then,” he said, but all she gave him in return was a quick nod. And then she was gone.

      The moment was over.

      LEONA KARR

      SILENT WITNESS

      

TORONTO • NEW YORK • LONDON AMSTERDAM • PARIS • SYDNEY • HAMBURG STOCKHOLM • ATHENS • TOKYO • MILAN • MADRID PRAGUE • WARSAW • BUDAPEST • AUCKLAND

      To Leslie Pitz and Angela Hart, with thanks for their help,

       encouragement and love.

      Contents

      About the Author

      Cast of Characters

      Prologue

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      Chapter Six

      Chapter Seven

      Chapter Eight

      Chapter Nine

      Chapter Ten

      Chapter Eleven

      Chapter Twelve

      Chapter Thirteen

      Chapter Fourteen

      Chapter Fifteen

      Chapter Sixteen

      Chapter Seventeen

      Chapter Eighteen

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      A native of Colorado, Leona Karr lives near the front range of the Rocky Mountains. She delights in being close to craggy cliffs, dramatic peaks and hidden valleys. It is no surprise, then, that she chooses this setting for many of her books. She has been on the Waldenbooks bestseller list and received many awards as a multipublished author of novels of romantic suspense, gothic, historical romance, time travel and mystery.

      Books by Leona Karr

      HARLEQUIN INTRIGUE

      574—INNOCENT WITNESS

      623—THE MYSTERIOUS TWIN

      672—LOST IDENTITY

      724—SEMIAUTOMATIC MARRIAGE

      792—A DANGEROUS INHERITANCE

      840—SHADOWS ON THE LAKE

      900—STONEVIEW ESTATE

      949—CHARMED

      973—SHADOW MOUNTAIN

      1056—SILENT WITNESS

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      Harlequin Reader Service

      U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269 Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

      CAST OF CHARACTERS

      Marian Richards—Director of the summer program for deaf children.

      

      Ryan Darnell—Detective at Rock Creek Police Department.

      

      Scotty Tanner—The eleven-year-old rebellious boy attending the summer program who may have witnessed a murder.

      

      Alva Wentworth—Wealthy elderly owner of Wentworth mansion and estate.

      

      Ruth Tilman—Officious personal secretary to Alva Wentworth.

      

      Henry Ziller—Cantankerous caretaker of Wentworth estate.

      

      Victor Blaise—Henry’s nephew is both transient and dangerous.

      

      Toby Bower—Forensic detective at Rock Creek Crime Laboratory.

      

      Arthur Kennedy—The Denver lawyer hired to oversee the summer program may have come with his own agenda.

      

      Nancy Collins and Ron Harman—Teachers involved with the summer program.

      

      Bertha Higgins—Motherly nurse who helps children in the summer program.

      

      Elsie Mullens—Wentworth estate cook, who is both outgoing and friendly.

      

      Joyce Phillips—Is Ryan’s attractive ex trying to stir up trouble?

      Prologue

      Hidden in a thick drift of pine and cedar trees, Scotty Tanner didn’t hear the shot inside the mountain cabin even though a sharp gunfire report echoed loudly from the house. A chatter of blue jays in a nearby ponderosa pine went unheard as he waited and watched. Nothing but stillness dominated the deaf eleven-year-old boy’s world.

      Scotty was spending the summer with a dozen other hearing-impaired СКАЧАТЬ