Never Sleep With Strangers by Heather Graham Read Free Book Online Page B

strangely dark. She felt as if he were studying her, assessing her. And he looked as if he suddenly wanted to push her away from him.
    â€œExcuse me, will you, please?” he said quietly. And then he was gone.

4
    R eggie Hampton linked arms with Sabrina. “My dear, you are a breath of fresh air. Tell me, what’s been happening with you since July?”
    Sabrina tried not to watch Jon Stuart as he strode away from her. She forced herself to focus on Reggie, and replied with enthusiasm, “I’ve been home visiting my family.”
    â€œAt the farm?”
    â€œYes. I have an apartment in New York now, but I’ve been staying at my folks’ and my sister’s for a while. She just had a baby, her first, a little boy. Naturally, we’re all just delighted. I spent a few months out there to help when the baby was born.”
    â€œYou should be having your own babies soon.”
    â€œReggie, not every woman has babies these days.”
    â€œBut you want children, don’t you?”
    â€œYes, I do, when the time is right.”
    â€œAre you going to remarry Br—”
    â€œNo. Enough about me, Reggie. How is your family?”
    Reggie told her briefly about her sons, grandsons and new great-granddaughter as they crossed the entry to the great hall, where dinner would be served. They all milled around the bar first, making drinks.
    Brett popped up again to supply Sabrina with a gin and tonic, heavy on the lime, then whispered happily that he’d moved the place cards around at the dinner table and put her next to him. They sat down to a magnificent meal of pheasant and fish. As they ate, they all talked and laughed; it might have been a high school reunion. Then Jon, at the head of the table, rose, thanked them again for coming and reminded them that they were there not only for fun but also for the benefit of children’s charities. Each writer had submitted a favorite cause, and the one who solved the mystery claimed the lion’s share of the donations.
    â€œWhen do we start?” Thayer called out.
    â€œTomorrow morning,” Jon replied. “Those with the energy are welcome to catch up on each other’s lives tonight. Those who are too exhausted from jet lag can get some sleep. Things will be pretty much the same as they were previous years. Camy and Joshua have worked out the particulars. I won’t know who the murderer is any more than any of you will. In the morning, you’ll all receive your character roles and a description of the situation. The murderer will discover who he—or she—is, and then he or she will have to get busy before being discovered. The murderer will have been assigned the order in which the victims are to be dispatched. The victims will be ‘murdered’ with a washable red paint, and naturally we’ll take care of any cleaning expenses. Any questions?”
    â€œSure,” Joe Johnston said, speaking up. “Even if I’m not the murderer, can I shoot Susan anyway?”
    Laughter rose, then faded, as Susan stared them all down. “You’re right at the top of my list, too, Joe,” she told him sweetly. She pointed a finger at him and made a popping sound, as if she were pulling a trigger. “And you’ll be covered in something a lot worse than red paint!”
    â€œCome, come, children, behave,” Anna Lee Zane drawled.
    â€œWell, shit, I’m sorry!” Joe said.
    Anna Lee shook her head, as if it were as impossible to deal with writers as with unruly children.
    Jon rose. “If you all will excuse me, I have a few things to attend to,” he said. “Please, make yourselves at home. We’ll meet here at nine tomorrow morning. For the early birds, coffee will be on the buffet by six.”
    He exited the great hall, closing the double doors behind him. Sabrina stared after him, biting her lower lip, wishing suddenly that she hadn’t come.
    Brett’s hand