Character Witness by Rebecca Forster Read Free Book Online Page A

this.''
    She unzipped her large bag with intertwined G's printed all over it. Kathleen was hit broadside by a scent of questionable taste. Louise fumbled inside her purse and pulled out an envelope that had a streak of waxy color on one end. It matched her lips. Kathleen had leaned close to watch her progress until Louise gave her the evil eye and pulled her bag close. When Kathleen was safely away, Louise tossed the envelope Gerry's way. Clandestinely she searched in her bag again and came up with the top and bottom of the wayward lipstick. She put them back together, talking the whole time.
    '' Those stupid idiots at that insurance company denied my claim. They told me I couldn't have Lionel's benefits. I don't understand it. It was part of the deal. We went to court. You got me that money. Not that we ever, ever expected. . . well, you know. . .but damn, I want my money.
    '' Louise was Lionel Booker's wife,'' Gerry explained. Kathleen nodded and raised a hand, hoping to get a word in edgewise in order to make her escape. She wasn't quick enough.
    '' Ex-wife, thanks to you,'' Louise cooed, lobbing the ball gently back Gerry's way.
    '' It's wasn't a terribly difficult divorce,'' he admitted humbly.
    '' Only because you handled it so well.'' Louise pursed her lips and threw Gerry a kiss. Gerry blushed, pleasing his client. A tingle of distaste ran up Kathleen's spine.
    '' But Lionel died. Tragic. Tragic.'' Gerry shook his head sadly. Kathleen swung hers toward Louise and waited for the explanation she knew would come. It wasn't the one she expected.
    '' Jerk. Idiot. Asshole.'' Louise cried. She gave Kathleen a curt look, '''Scuse me. But the man did it on purpose.''
    '' He died on purpose?'' Kathleen crossed her legs, her skirt slid up an inch. Louise watched, assessed the competition and then checked out her own gams. Satisfied of her superiority she then satisfied Kathleen's curiosity.
    '' I suppose a lady would put it that way but I've never been accused of being a lady.'' This didn't seem to bother her. ''The fool killed himself. He killed himself on purpose. Get it? Suicide?''
    She mocked Kathleen like she was an idiot child.
    '' Look, look.'' Louise reached over the desk and took the paper from Gerry, handing it to Kathleen. A pink diamond encrusted nail poked at the third paragraph. ''I was supposed to get his life insurance if he died. I was supposed to still be paid for the years - the best years! - I gave him when he was alive.''
    She shook the paper.
    '' Shit happens. I read my horoscope every day and I know how fickle things can be. So Gerry,'' She batted her lashes Gerry's way. In profile Kathleen could see those lashes were no more real than her formidable breasts. ''Gerry went to court. He convinced the judge that I needed to be cared for in the event of my ex-husband's death. You're a man among men, Gerry. You saw how hard it was for me to cope. I have no skills to speak of.''
    Back to Kathleen.
    '' So then the fool dies. In the john where he worked no less. Can you believe it? Ugh.'' She shivered and the light from her faux jewels danced across her rigid jaw. ''I don't know that I'd expect anything less. He was a wimp. Worked in an ant hill, lived in the forest, died in the john in a stall. He hid from the world. No backbone.''
    '' Louise, please. You said yourself Lionel was a good man,'' Gerry reminded her, but her memory was more selective.
    '' I thought he was a good man with a future,'' Louise shot back, forgetting her Sunday manners. This was a woman thing anyway. She put one hand on the arm of Kathleen's chair. With the other she reached for Kathleen's champagne. She downed it in one gulp. ''You know what I mean. The disappointment in finding out the man you love isn't the man you think he is. Devastating. It's all about character and ambition. Well old Lionel had plenty of character, but he had the balls of a flea. A woman like me can't live with a man like that. I have needs.'' She finished off the