Death Threads by Elizabeth Lynn Casey Read Free Book Online Page A

rather than the weekly sewing circle meeting that had managed to turn Mondays into one of her favorite days of the week.
    Gone was the sound of the animated chatter and good-natured gossip that was as much a part of each meeting as the sewing itself. Gone was the verbal banter over who brought what for the dessert table. And gone were the smiles on the faces of women who treasured the opportunity to spend a few hours with close friends while engaging in a hobby they all loved and respected.
    Instead, the chatter and gossip had been replaced by the intermittent sound of throat clearing laced with a suffocating silence. Instead of a dissertation about a particular recipe’s lineage, covered plates were merely plunked down on the table and ignored, their claim to fame left unspoken. And instead of smiles there were only sullen faces—sullen and angry.
    Except Debbie Calhoun’s. Hers simply looked sad. Heartbroken, even.
    Tori stood just outside the doorway of the family room and studied her friend. The woman’s normally upturned lips drooped low and her eyes cast downward as if she were waiting for the floor to open up and swallow her whole. And if the expressions on the faces of the other women in the room were any indication, they were not only waiting but hoping she’d meet with the same fate as well.
    Milo was right. The steadfast loyalty she’d grown to admire among the residents of Sweet Briar could, indeed, be a double-edged sword—a sword that was now pointed in Debbie Calhoun’s direction.
    “Oh, Tori, hi. I didn’t hear you come in.” Melissa strode down the hallway from the back of the house, an assortment of toys nestled against her side by one forearm, an infant propped atop the other. “I just finished nursing Molly Sue and Jake took the rest of them—plus Debbie’s two—to the park to play for a little while. If we’re lucky he’ll get them nice and tuckered before bringing them back home.”
    Tori shook her head and smiled, her hands instinctively releasing her sewing box and tote bag in favor of her hostess’s most recent addition to the family. “I don’t know how you do it, Melissa.”
    “The secret is to not think. If I did, I’d have to be committed.” Melissa released an audible sigh of relief as she handed the wide-eyed baby to Tori. “I apologize for this place”—she gestured around the room with her newly freed hand—“looking the way it does. But housecleaning is an art form I’ve yet to relearn since baby number seven arrived.”
    “That’s okay. You’re focusing on the important part first. Anyone who’s spent more than two seconds with your kids knows they’re rare—respectful, creative, encouraged, and loved.” Tori looked down at the baby in her arms and smiled as they locked gazes. “Molly Sue will be no exception, I’m sure.”
    “Thanks, Tori, I think I needed that more than I realized.” Bringing her mouth within inches of Tori’s ear, Melissa lowered her voice to a whisper. “Would you see what you can do about lightening the mood in there? It’s been like this since Debbie showed up with Jackson and Suzanna. But before she came . . . wooo, I needed earplugs for the kids’ ears so they wouldn’t pick up the nasty things being said in this very room.”
    “That bad, huh?”
    “Worse.” Melissa looked around briefly then whispered in Tori’s ear once again. “I think it’s safe to say Debbie Calhoun is public enemy number two.”
    “Two?”
    “The top spot belongs to Colby.”
    Tori nodded, her heart aching for the woman who sat quietly in her chair, the pattern for a child’s summer dress lying completely ignored in her lap. It was hard to see anyone shunned by people who were supposed to be their friends, but it was even harder to see it happening to a woman like Debbie Calhoun—a woman who’d treated her with nothing but kindness and compassion since the day they’d met.
    “Here, let me take Molly Sue so you can work your magic.”