Accused: A Rosato & Associates Novel by Lisa Scottoline Read Free Book Online Page A

about the Gardner case. Murder wasn’t something anybody ever got over, and it was the double-whammy of grief, not only do you have to deal with the fact that someone you love was murdered, but you also have to deal with the fact that they are gone for good. It was impossible for anyone, least of all Mary, who should have been voted Least Likely To Get Over Anything.
    Judy sipped her coffee, black. “Do you want to marry him?”
    Mary hesitated. “Let me put it this way. If I wanted to marry anybody, it would be Anthony.”
    “I have an idea. Close your eyes. Imagine yourself walking down the aisle in a white dress, plastic hair, false eyelashes, the whole thing. How do you feel?”
    Mary squeezed her eyes shut. “Nervous.”
    “How nervous?”
    “Very.” Mary opened her eyes. “Wrong answer, right?”
    “No, truthful. So you’re just not sure.”
    “Right.” Mary brightened. It was good to be understood even when you were crazy, which is why there were best friends and psychiatrists. “I’m not sure. I feel unsure.”
    “It’s natural to be unsure before such a big decision. I’m sure nobody walks down the aisle a hundred percent sure.”
    “I did, with Mike.”
    “You did?”
    “Totally.” Mary could remember the day she married Mike. She had been so happy and excited, a sunny sky of a person. Her family had cried like babies, which was how she knew they were really happy, the line between joy and agony being hair-thin with the DiNunzio family. The Tonys, Mike’s family, and the entire neighborhood had been there, since Mary was the Girl Who Made Good. Mike had been an elementary school teacher, and his third-grade class had come to the church, giggling and fidgeting. She’d felt blessed and happy, and thinking about it now, she fell silent, mulling it over.
    “Okay, well, that aside, how unsure are you now? Quantify it.”
    “Like a percentage?”
    Yep.” Judy nodded, sipping her coffee, and Mary felt oddly as if she were describing symptoms to a doctor.
    “I’m 50 percent sure, and 50 percent unsure.”
    “Yikes.” Judy grimaced.
    “I know. I can’t help it.” Mary rubbed her forehead. “I couldn’t say no.”
    “I get that. So what now?”
    “I said yes, and I’m hoping my feelings will catch up, like my nervousness will go away.”
    “You didn’t set a date, did you?”
    “No.” Mary had avoided doing that, and as soon as the possibility of sex came up, Anthony forgot about wedding plans. “Honestly, that would feel like a deadline. A trial date.”
    “Ugh. That’s not good.”
    “I know.”
    “All right, don’t worry. You want to hear what I think?” Judy eyed her with a sympathetic smile.
    “Tell me, doc. What’s your diagnosis?”
    “The fact is, you’re a baby-steps kind of girl. You take things slow, you process. I’ve known you forever, and you’ve always been that way. And coming right after becoming a partner, getting engaged is too much. You overloaded.”
    “You think?” Mary straightened up.
    “I know.”
    “That’s sounds right.” Mary felt her heart ease, just a little. “Maybe you’re right.”
    “I am. If you don’t start to feel more sure, as time goes on, you shouldn’t go through with it.”
    “No?”
    “No.”
    Mary sensed she was asking permission, even from Judy, but it was nice to have the assist. “When do I make the call?”
    “Not yet. Take your time.”
    “Do I tell him?”
    “Don’t, no. Let it cool. Chill.”
    “Right, agree.”
    “Trust yourself. You haven’t made any wrong moves yet.” Judy reached out and squeezed her arm. “Okay?”
    “Okay.” Mary went to the sink, turned on the faucet, and poured some water into a styrofoam cup. She sipped it, and it tasted like styrofoam, but it wasn’t the cup. Philadelphia water tasted like styrofoam when it came out of the tap. In fact, styrofoam improved the taste of Philadelphia water.
    “Also, I thought about that meeting with the Gardners, and I think you were