Quiet as the Grave by Kathleen O`Brien Read Free Book Online Page B

more sympathetic. But her own heart had been a little cracked, and at the time she hadn’t been very good at tenderness or compassion.
    Still…Mike Frome, a cold-blooded murderer? Not until penguins ice-skated in hell.
    â€œBut why would he kill her? Even if he didn’t love her, they were already divorced.”
    â€œThat’s what the police said. But that doesn’t matter. He killed her. She had a new lover, did you know that? She was going to spend a month with him in Europe. Mike couldn’t stand that, so he killed her.”
    â€œBut…” She tried again to be logical. “If he hadn’t ever loved her, why would a new lover bother him?”
    Millner shook his head roughly. “It’s not like that for a man. It’s not about love. It’s about…territory. Men get crazy when other men try to take away what belongs to them.”
    Okaaaay…so logic was out. This guy had crawled out of the Dark Ages. He thought women were chattel, and he assumed all other men agreed.
    â€œWell, assuming for a moment that you’re right, that he did kill her, how could I help you? I haven’t seen him in ten years.”
    Millner’s eyes began to glow again, sensing hope. “But you saw her. You saw Justine, back when you painted Gavin’s picture. She told me about that. You must have heard something. Seen something. Maybe you heard them fighting.”
    â€œNo. I didn’t.”
    â€œNot even on the phone?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œWhat about bruises? Was there ever any sign that he’d hit her, or pushed her around?”
    Suzie scowled. “ No ,” she said firmly. “Mayor Millner, I’m sorry, but—”
    He frowned, but he didn’t look defeated. “I thought for sure—well, no matter. You can always say you saw things.”
    Good grief. She was through being gentle and logical.
    â€œAre you out of your mind? You want me to lie?”
    Millner didn’t seem to understand why she was so upset. “Not lie. You know what he was like. He toyed with you, too, didn’t he? Everyone says he broke your heart. Surely you’d like to see him pay for all the people he’s hurt.”
    â€œActually, you’re wrong on so many counts I can’t cover them all. I would not like to see him go to jail for a murder he didn’t commit. For God’s sake, Mayor. Would you pin a murder rap on an innocent man?”
    His face was turning red. “An innocent man? You think Mike Frome is an innocent man? He didn’t love her. He used her. He broke her heart.”
    â€œBut that’s very different from—”
    He looked at her through wet, bulging eyes. She wanted to look away, but the intensity of the gaze was mesmerizing.
    â€œDid you know he left her alone that day, that last day? He pushed her out of his car and left her alone in the dark, all alone on the side of the road. If he didn’t kill her with his bare hands, at the very least he delivered her, helpless, to the man who did.”
    Suzie stared at him. He was so red he was almost purple. She wondered if he had heart trouble. She thought of that trembling arm, and she wondered how long he had to live.
    â€œI’m sorry,” she said softly. “I can’t help you.”
    He began to cry openly. They were harsh tears, torn out of him. Tears of frustrated fury, not simple grief. It was a horrible sound.
    â€œYou could help me,” he said raggedly. “You just won’t. And I know why. You still hate Justine. You hate my poor baby girl because she has everything you wish you had. You’re willing to let a man get away with murder because you won’t let go of your petty high school jealousies.”
    She couldn’t even find the heart to refute it. How could she tell this man that high school jealousies died as soon as you hit the real world and discovered how big and rich and exciting it was—and that