Danger Comes Home (Kelly O'Connell Mystery) by Judy Alter Read Free Book Online Page A

men.”
    “You sure you’re okay?”
    “I’m fine,” she said, guiding him toward the back door. He went reluctantly, casting a last glance over his shoulder at her.
    Theresa threw me a look of desperation that clearly said, “Please help!”
    I shrugged. I’d do what I could.
    Of course, the person I was most interested in, even before Mike asked me to do his skullduggery, was Mona Wilson. She wasn’t as drab as I’d expected. Sure, she could use a good haircut and her clothes were pretty basic—denim skirt, white turtleneck, which of course I assumed was to hide bruises around her throat. She had pulled her hair back into sort of a low ponytail that sat on her neck, a style that looked smashing on Claire but failed to achieve that rating with Mona. But there were no visible bruises, nor scars except for an old one over one eyebrow. Could have been anything. And in spite of all that, there was a quiet dignity and self-confidence about the woman.
    Her cookies looked moist and just right, and she thanked me again for having invited them. “Jenny doesn’t get much fun, and she’s been so looking forward to this evening.” Her voice was hoarse, and I bit my tongue to keep from asking if she had a cold. She must have read my mind, for she said, “I’m sorry, I’ve almost lost my voice. It’s allergies. This is such an awful time of year in Texas.”
    I agreed, but I also knew better.
    “I’m delighted you’re both here. Have you met everyone?”
    She recoiled just a bit. “Oh, no, that’s all right. I’ll just introduce myself in a bit.”
    The girls spirited Jenny away to their bedrooms, and then came back for Theresa, who seemed reluctant to go with them, looking about for Joe. I reminded her he’d gone outside. She followed Maggie but pretty soon came back out and sat next to Mona. “Mrs. Wilson, the girls want me to give Jenny sort of a mini-makeover, and I’m wondering if you’d allow me to trim her hair just a bit. You know, shape it and get rid of the split ends. I’m pretty good at it.”
    Em came up behind her, saying, “She is good at it. She just did mine.” Em’s lank, straight hair, much like Jenny’s but with more shine, framed her small face nicely. Theresa had trimmed it so that the ends just barely curled under. Em twirled in front of Mona and then fluffed her hair, shook her head, and demonstrated that it all fell right back into place.
    “That…that’s lovely,” Mona said, and Em interrupted with “I’m Em, Maggie’s sister.” She held out her hand to shake, and Mona took the offered hand and held it just a minute. Then she looked at Theresa. “Her father, he doesn’t want it any shorter.”
    “He’ll never know I’ve taken scissors to it,” Theresa assured her. “But she’ll feel better about herself.”
    Mona nodded her head in permission, and the girls all darted away. I took soft drinks for them into Maggie’s bedroom, and one look at Jenny, sitting in the chair before the vanity, told me that she loved being fussed over, loved being the center of attention. The spark in her eyes almost made me cry.
    When I went back into the living room, Otto had seated himself next to Mona and was plying her with questions. “You’re new,” he said. “Tell me who you are and how you came to join this lovely group.”
    Mona hesitated only a moment and then she opened up. In her cracked and scratchy voice, she said, “My daughter, Jenny, goes to school with Maggie, and Maggie’s been good to her, especially when Jenny needed some help. I’m grateful to the whole family.”
    Otto began with the questions: where were they originally from, what did her husband do, how did she like Fairmount? I thought he got a bit too personal, but Mona was cleverly evasive so that in the end Otto knew no more than he had before he began his questioning. He then began to tell Mona some of his stories, and she laughed appreciatively. A new audience for him!
    I went on into the kitchen,