If She Should Die by Carlene Thompson Read Free Book Online Page B

at Ames’s house tonight. I’d rather come to your house. Is that okay?”
    “Sure,” Christine said promptly. “And it’s
our
house.” Jeremy beamed. “I’d be glad for the company, and I know Rhiannon will be happy to see you.”
    Months after Dara had disappeared, when Christine graduated from college and moved out of the house, she had taken Dara’s black cat, Rhiannon, because Patricia detested her. So did Patricia’s obnoxious little dog, Pom-Pom, who never gave Rhiannon a moment’s peace.
    “I can’t wait to see Rhiannon,” Jeremy said enthusiastically. “And can I watch
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
?”
    “Certainly. I like it, too. But you have to call home first to let them know you’re with me. If no one is there—”
    “I know. Leave a message on the machine.” Jeremy sounded like a beleaguered teenager. “I don’t have to be told stuff a million times, Christy.”
    “Sorry. I didn’t know you were so sensitive.”
    “It just wears me out when you say things over and over.” Jeremy sounded slightly cranky, something Christine didn’t want to deal with tonight.
    “I won’t keep repeating myself. I promise.”
    “Good.” Jeremy wiped his mouth and scooted out of the booth. “Now I’ll make my call.”
    “Where are you going?”
    “To the pay phone.”
    “Where’s your cell phone?”
    Jeremy’s face reddened. “I left it at the store.”
    “Jeremy, it’s very important for you to keep the cell phone with you.” She stopped. She was about to deliver a lecture he’d heard a hundred times. “Sometimes I forget mine, too. Do you have—”
    “Money for the pay phone? Yeah,” Jeremy said over his shoulder as he headed toward the front of the restaurant and the pay telephone. “For Pete’s sake, Christy!”
    Christine smiled to herself. When others treated Jeremy like a child, she got annoyed, but she did it herself. Constantly. It irritated him with good reason. He was twenty now. It was time for her to stop hovering over him.
    “It looks like this is the place to be tonight.”
    Christine looked up to see Sloane Caldwell standing beside her booth. Sloane was an associate in Ames’s law firm, and a few years ago they’d been engaged. She’d broken off the engagement only weeks before the wedding, but they’d remained friendly, if not close. “The place does seem to be doing a booming business tonight,” she said. “I think it’s so gloomy, people hate to go home. Have a seat. Jeremy’s gone to use the phone.”
    “Forgot his cell phone again?”
    “Yes,” Christine said without defensiveness. Sloane had always been kind to Jeremy, and during their engagement he’d seemed happy at the prospect of having Jeremy live with him and Christine. Not many men would have been so accepting of a woman’s mentally challenged younger brother. “He’s decided to spend the night at my house and wants to let Ames know.”
    Sloane sat down. He was a big, rugged-looking man with broad shoulders and a deep, booming voice that served him well in court. He had thick, curly brick-colored hair, an open smile, and a dozen lines shooting from the corners of his dark hazel eyes as if he’d been looking into the sun too long. His nose bore a bump from a long-ago break and a thin scar traversed his chin, both imperfections the result of his playing high school football. In spite of the designer suits he favored and his flawless manners, Christine had always thought Sloane looked like he should be spending his days hunting in the mountains instead of sitting behind a desk in a law office. He’d never married after their broken engagement.
    “You look beautiful, as always, Chris, but I can tell when you’re troubled,” he said kindly. “Want to tell me what’s wrong?”
    “You’ll hear soon enough, if you haven’t already. A body wrapped in plastic washed ashore today. They think it might be Dara.”
    Sloane’s lips parted and he stared at her for a moment, his eyes seeming to go