Jeanne Glidewell - Lexie Starr 04 - With This Ring by Jeanne Glidewell Read Free Book Online

He set down a glass of water and grabbed the back of a chair. “What happened to you? Here sit down before you walk into a wall. Oh, honey, you look awful. You didn’t get stung in the face by a bee, did you? If so, I need to get you to the emergency room. I’ve seen how you react to bee stings before.”
    “No, it wasn’t a bee, Stone.”
    Stone pulled the chair out away from the small kitchen table and I gratefully took a seat. My vision really was greatly impaired at this stage. I was also beginning to get a terrible headache in my temples. At least the queasiness in my stomach had abated somewhat. Before I began to speak again, I pulled off a band-aid the nurse had placed over the needle mark in the crook of my arm, more to emphasize the fact I’d actually donated blood than anything else.
    “There was a man stripping floors with ammonia and I guess I reacted poorly to it,” I said. That was true enough.
    “He was stripping floors with a powerful chemical like ammonia while a blood drive was going on?”
    “Well, yes, both were happening simultaneously.”
    “Didn’t you or anyone else complain? Why did you even stay there if it was affecting you?” Stone asked.
    “I was the only one who was having a problem. My eyes didn’t begin to swell this badly until I was on the way home or I would have left sooner,” I said. I had yet to actually lie, but I felt a bit guilty for being so evasive with my answers. I needed to divert the conversation to a safer subject. “Listen, I need to take a couple Tylenol and lie down with a wet rag over my eyes for a spell. I tend to react poorly to all sorts of strange things. I’m sure I’ll be fine in no time at all. Any news about Pastor Steiner?”
    “Nothing so far, but Wyatt is stopping by later this afternoon, right after his shift ends. I’m sure he’ll have some news to share. And don’t worry. I’ll remember what he says, and repeat to you anything Wyatt tells me after you get up from your nap. I know how interested you are in this murder case. But for now, you really need to take your medicine and go lie down.”
    * * *
    Wyatt did stop by in the afternoon while I was asleep, and he did have news to relate to Stone. However, it wasn’t the type of news I’d hoped for. Sometimes I wondered why I even liked the human garbage disposal as much as I did. He could get me in to hot water without even trying.
    I’d been napping for several hours, I realized, when I felt Stone patting me on the upper thigh. As I began to awaken I noticed my vision had improved, and the burning and swelling of my eyes had decreased somewhat. Even my pounding headache had disappeared. The second thing I noticed was that the expression on Stone’s face was alarming. He was obviously upset about something, and it made the hairs on my arms stand on end. That look usually ended up with me apologizing for something foolish I’d done.
    “What’s going on?” I asked, with my voice barely audible.
    “That’s what I’d like to know, Natalie, ” he retorted. I could tell he was trying to control his temper and finding it hard to do. “WSRC? I mean really, Lexie. A WSRC? Is that the best you could come up with? I hate to inform you, but the Rockdale police department does not have a Witness Statement Record Collector on their payroll. What were you thinking?”
    “Uh, well, I, uh—”
    “You just had to get involved, didn’t you?”
    “Well, you see, I, uh. Um, I just—”
    “How long were you planning on sneaking behind my back and placing yourself in jeopardy again? Did Wendy know about this?” Stone asked. He was clearly extremely displeased with me. Worrying about the wedding going off on schedule might be a moot point now. He might have decided he wanted nothing further to do with me. And who could blame him? I wouldn’t want to marry me either, if I were Stone. I had to tread lightly, I realized.
    “Honey, I’m sorry I misled you. I really had no intention of getting