A Dirty Shame by Liliana Hart Read Free Book Online

the occasional thong, but it probably wasn’t normal to think about what people wore under their clothes, so I never mentioned it aloud.
    “Good morning, Sheriff,” she said, gifting Jack with a simpering smile that had my hackles rising before I could control it. I forced myself to relax. I’d never been jealous of Jack’s hordes of women. There was no reason to start now, especially considering Lorna was the polar opposite of Jack’s type.
    Lorna’s smile disappeared and a stern frown took its place when she turned that watery blue gaze to me.
    “I didn’t realize you were back in town, J.J. We all thought you’d decided to go for good since trouble seems to follow you around. Sins of the father. Remember that. Repentance is the key, child. I’m sure I’ll see you at services Sunday morning.”
    A snarl was trying to work its way out, and I was thankful at that moment that my voice chose to fail me. I’d been considered a bad omen of sorts ever since I moved back to Bloody Mary. When I’d been growing up, I’d always been known as that odd Graves child—the one whose parents liked being with the dead more than socializing with the living. The one whose grandmother had drunk herself to death and whose great-grandmother had been pushed from a third-story window. I came from bad stock, but I was fourth-generation so they tolerated me. Jack’s mother was the only one who’d really welcomed me into her home and treated me like one of her own.
    Now I was known as that odd Graves woman, whose parents had killed themselves to avoid going to federal prison for running an international smuggling ring through their funeral home. After I’d gotten my head bashed in and my throat crushed this past December, I’d heard a lot of people say it was no more than I deserved, considering what I’d come from. No more than they’d expected. As if I was the one who needed to pay for my parents’ misdeeds. Them driving off a cliff into their own fiery hell hadn’t been punishment enough, apparently.
    Jack took a step closer to me and put a protective hand on my shoulder. I didn’t even flinch this time. I wasn’t sure if it was to show his support or hold me back in case I decided to pop Lorna in her prissy mouth, but it made me feel better all the same. Especially since Lorna didn’t particularly care for the fact that Jack and I had always been close.
    “We’re here to see Reverend Thomas,” Jack said. “He’s expecting us.”
    She nodded stiffly and switched her herb basket to the other hand so she could dig in her apron pocket for keys. “I’m supposed to show you into his office. One of the water heaters busted this morning, and the Reverend is talking to Leo Sklut. Ever since Leo put his name in the yellow pages under the plumbing section he thinks he can charge an arm and a leg for his services. The Lord will show him the way, or Leo will burn in a fiery hell with the rest of the sinners of this world.”
    “It’s going to be crowded down there,” I muttered. Jack pinched my arm, but I could feel his silent laughter as we followed Lorna inside.
    She led us through a plain entryway with dark wood floors and stark white walls. Small ornamental crosses hung on the walls to the left, and a large picture of the Virgin Mary holding a baby Jesus was painted on black velvet and framed in gold on the right. It smelled of Pine Sol and old people, and I had the sudden urge to turn around and go back outside so I could breathe the fresh air of the newly tarred parking lot.
    “Please don’t touch anything,” Lorna said as she showed us into the Reverend’s office and pointed to the two straight-backed chairs in front of a scarred wooden desk. “The Reverend is very particular about his things. He said he’d only be a few minutes.”
    She tried to back out the door, but Jack stopped her. “While we’re waiting, I’d like to ask you a few questions about Reverend Oglesby.”
    Lorna’s eyes went hard and her