Fiona Frost: Order of the Black Moon by Dr. Bon Blossman Read Free Book Online Page B

black suit followed me home, and I entered an eerily quiet foyer , exhausted .
    I wandered around the house, looking for signs of life as I received a message from Detective Chase with an offer t o buy us lunch at Chuck’s Diner the following day to discuss the case. I replied with a yes and forwarded the message to everybody on the team . Within a minute, Willow responded s he had a potential conflict, Lauren and Maddie responded yes, and to my sadness, there was no response from Wolfe.
    After checking on the status of Janice, Luminal , and Gerald Smith with my parents , and finding out there had been no progress on any of them, I jumped in to bed with my clothes on from the day , quickly drifting off to sleep.
    Saturday came in a flash. I had set my alarm to allow extra time to take a hot, soothing bath, which usually made the world right, but this time, the steamy soak didn’t work.
    Agent Bronson followed Maddie and me to Chuck’s Diner . We climbed out of the car, walking by the sculptures of pink and turquoise fifties-style cars in front of the glass façade of the restaurant. We entered the main dining room; the scent of warm cheeseburgers invad ing my nostrils. The black - and - white checkered floor was disorienting as I gazed downward . Rounding the corner, I caught Lauren’s raspy voice.
    W earing camouflage overalls and a matching cap, she sat solo at a glittery table, rimmed with a replica car bumper at the front . Agent Bronson grabbed a table next to us, ordered coffee, and started reading the paper. Willow , in a navy blue pant suit, showed up a few minutes late r , explaining she had to attend her father’s medical lecture at Hartford , but she explained she snuck out to come to the meeting.
    “ Who’s th e hottie that keeps staring at you like a stalker ? ” Lauren whispered from across the table as she gestured secretly towards my black suit .
    “ That’s Fiona’s assigned federal stalker,” Maddie whispered, laughing. “ I f igured y ou, of all people, would take notice of his appearance . ”
    Maddie burst into a fit of quiet laughter. Lauren was the boy - crazy member of our club. She was the first to make her opinions known about attractive boys , especially older ones . I gave her leeway on this observation, as I had to agree wholeheartedly with her.
    “ W ith Gerald Smith on the loose and wanting to get my dad, they ’re watching my family until they catch him. They don’t think it will be too long, he’s not that smart.”
    Lauren leaned forward , clearing her throat .
    “ T hey couldn’t have picked a hotter agent to follow you — I think I might come over to your house tonight and hang wit’cha . ”
    “ Um, he’s probably about twenty-five. Gross,” Maddie countered, smiling.
    “G’morning girls. Can I get you something to drink to start?” a busty bleach-blonde waitress asked as she held a pen to her notepad.
    We ordered our drinks and explained to the waitress we would wait for the detective before we ordered lunch. It was difficult to focus on the upcoming meeting while watching Lauren openly gawk at Agent Bronson. O verwhelm ed, we were all still reeling from the last murder case. I had a huge rock in my stomach for every issue that was wrong in my life . I thought wrapping my mind around the case would help to reroute my attention and pull me out of the slump. I was only partially right.   I just needed time to pass.
    “Fiona, you don’t look too good. Did you not sleep last night ? ” Maddie asked cautiou sly as the waitress set down a tall glass of Dr. Pepper in front of her.
    Lauren interjected, “Uh, yea h , I was going to say something too, but I thought it was rude.”
    I held my palms in the air to stop the catty interaction.
    “Not rude . I just haven’t felt good lately . I think I might have a touch of what Janice has,” I lied.
    I was an emotional train wreck .
    My phone rang from inside of my pocket , and I reluctantly pulled it