Dead Right by Brenda Novak Read Free Book Online Page A

answers wil haunt you more than the questions.”
    She rocked back in her seat, suddenly uneasy. “What?
    Clay, if…” Swal owing hard, she tried to calm the butterflies fluttering around in her stomach. “If you want to tel me anything, do it now.”
    Could she have imagined the slight hesitation that fol owed? “That’s al ,” he said.

    “I don’t understand. How could the answers be any worse than the questions?”
    “Who knows? Maybe he was involved in something he shouldn’t have been.”
    “That’s crazy! He was a humble servant of Christ,” she said, her voice rising. “You know what a good man he was.
    You lived with him, heard his sermons. He took religion very seriously.”
    Clay said nothing.
    “Do you know something I don’t?” she asked, her disquiet turning to panic.
    “Only what I was thinking when they pul ed the Cadil ac from the quarry.”
    “Which was…”
    “People don’t usual y murder a middle-aged man without a reason.”
    “He could’ve been robbed! Maybe whoever attacked him stole the money from his wal et,” she said. “Or maybe there was no real motive, other than childish anger, lashing out, stupidity. There’re hundreds of reasons that have nothing to do with him.”

    “You’re thinking of Mike Metzger.”
    “Of course.”
    “Mike might be a dope hound but he’s not a murderer.”
    “You don’t know that. See? That’s the problem. We al have our suspicions, but no one real y knows. That’s why folks keep blaming you. If Mr. Solozano uncovers the real culprit, they’l have to stop, and I’l be damn glad of it.”
    “It might be easier on you if you’d quit defending me,” he said. “You don’t have to, you know.”
    “Yes, I do. When folks accuse you, it hurts me, too. I’m tired of it. And I’ve had it with al the people who’ve implied that I must be an idiot to miss the obvious.”
    “Ignore them.”
    She made a face even though he couldn’t see her. “I can’t. You live outside town. I have to mingle with Stil water’s residents every single day.”
    “But this investigator can’t be cheap,” he argued.
    He had no idea…. “He’s not that expensive,” she lied.
    “You can afford him?”

    She pressed her thumb and forefinger to her closed eyelids. “Of course.”
    “Then you’re committed to this.”
    Hunter Solozano had asked her the same thing. “Yes.
    This is a gamble I have to take. Won’t you be relieved to know the truth? Aren’t you even a little curious?”
    “I’ve put the past behind me,” he said. “We have to live with what is.”
    She started to say she couldn’t face a future of not knowing. Every time she tried, the nightmares came more often. But she hadn’t told anyone about her sleepless nights. She was afraid she’d sound crazy.
    “I wish I could do that,” she said. “But I can’t.” At the sound of the door opening, Madeline turned. Irene had just walked in. “Mom’s here,” she told Clay. “Can I cal you later?”
    “Sure. In the meantime, try to relax, okay? You’re worrying me.”
    “I’m fine,” Madeline said, but she had a headache from being awake most of the night. “Fine” actual y felt a long way off.
    “Cal me if you need anything,” he said and hung up without a goodbye. He didn’t waste words. She’d gotten more out of him today than she usual y did, but she didn’t have time to think about that. Her stepmother looked upset.
    “Hi, Mom.” She rounded the desk to give Irene a hug.
    “Hi, honey.” Irene embraced Madeline rather stiffly, proof that she was as anxious and upset as Madeline was. “Have you heard from Chief Pontiff?”
    “No. You?”
    An expression of disgust tugged at her stepmother’s lips. “He’d never cal me. Not unless he had another search warrant. Or an arrest warrant.” Although Chief Pontiff seemed less prejudiced against the Montgomerys than some people in Stil water, he wasn’t particularly friendly to them, either. In the absence of