A Catered Mother's Day by Isis Crawford Read Free Book Online Page B

Seriously.”
    â€œStupid? Absolutely. Childish? Without a doubt,” Bernie replied. “But that doesn’t make her a murderer.”
    Libby scratched a bite on her calf. Mosquitoes loved her. “All I know is that if it weren’t for Ellen all the macaroons would be packed up and we would be done.”
    â€œI can’t argue with that,” Bernie told her.
    She slowly began putting weight on her ankle and winced as the pain shot up her leg again. God, what she wouldn’t give to be home right now with a couple of packages of frozen peas on her ankle and a glass of Scotch in her hand.
    She didn’t say anything else for a minute, just sat there listening to the night sounds and letting the breeze wash over her. She thought she heard an owl in the distance, but she wasn’t sure. Suddenly she was very tired. She knew she should get moving but she really didn’t want to. Then she had an idea.
    â€œLibby,” she began.
    â€œNo. Absolutely not,” said Libby, cutting her sister off. She was way ahead of her.
    â€œYou don’t know what I’m about to say,” Bernie protested.
    â€œI’ve got a pretty good idea. You want me to go after Ellen by myself and I’m not going to,” Libby told her.
    â€œI’m not asking you to go after her, Libby,” Bernie said. “I’m just asking you to beat her back to her Subaru and get the key from under the fender.”
    â€œAnd then what?”
    â€œWait for me.”
    â€œWhat if she wants her key back?”
    â€œDon’t give it to her.”
    â€œWhat if she attacks me?”
    Bernie snorted. “Ellen? Don’t be ridiculous. She’s not going to attack you.”
    â€œWhat if she does? After all, you didn’t think she’d climb out the window either. Or what if she decides to run away?”
    â€œLibby, please,” Bernie answered. “I would do this if I could, but I can’t. I realize there’s no good solution here, but finding Ellen and talking to her is the least bad one. All I’m asking is for you to stall her until I get there.”
    â€œHow are you going to get there? You can hardly walk.”
    â€œI’ll manage. I’ll just rest a lot.” Bernie took Libby’s hands in hers. “Please, I’m begging you.”
    â€œI’m not sure that leaving you is such a good idea.”
    â€œI’ll be fine. I swear I will,” Bernie promised when Libby hesitated. “I’ll call if I have a problem.”
    â€œPromise?”
    Bernie raised her right hand. “Sister swear.”
    â€œYou’d better.”
    â€œI will.” Bernie gave Libby a gentle shove. “Now go.”
    As Bernie watched her sister leave she thought about the disaster this evening had turned into and about how it was all her fault. She probably shouldn’t have come—Libby was right about that—but how could she not have? And now she was stuck with a sore ankle and a bunch of unanswered questions—questions she couldn’t let go of. Why had Ellen run? Who was the guy in the bed? What had happened to him? Bernie was still thinking about that as Libby trudged off to the Riverview Motel. Hopefully, she would arrive in time.
    On the other hand, Libby wasn’t thinking about how she’d keep Ellen from getting the key if she got there first, or about the body in the bed, or even about her sister hobbling alone in the dark. She was thinking about how relieved she was to be getting out of the woods. She didn’t like places like this in the daytime, and in the nighttime she liked them even less. You couldn’t see where you were going, things kept hitting you in the face, you could hear strange rustles and creaks, and even though Libby knew there were no bears or wolves in Westchester, she couldn’t help thinking that there were.
    And then there were the vampires—she could kill Bernie for bringing them up.