Revenge of Innocents by Nancy Taylor Rosenberg Read Free Book Online Page A

one. Do me a favor. Find him before I do.”

CHAPTER 5
    Wednesday, October 13—6:30 A . M .
    T he morning sun filtered in through the white wooden shutters, casting the room in a golden hue. Carolyn was snuggled in Marcus’s arms. She inhaled the masculine scent of his skin as she gazed at his handsome face. When he slept, his forty-eight years disappeared and his face took on a look of childish innocence. She loved the graceful slant of his nose, his hooded, seductive eyes, his sensuous lips. Her hand drifted between his thighs; then she felt her head throbbing and the events of the day before thrust their way to the surface.
    Slipping out of bed, she squatted on the wood floor, using her feet to push herself into the corner. After she’d left the coroner’s office, she had gone to check on Drew and relieve Linda Cartwright. Her eyes drifted closed, and she was standing at the front door of Veronica’s house.
    Carolyn knocked several times, but no one answered. Using the key Veronica had given her years ago, she let herself in, not wanting to wake the children by ringing the doorbell. Empty beer cans were scattered on top of the coffee table, alongside toys, newspapers, and various clutter. Drew was asleep on the sofa.
    She checked the bedrooms and found all the children in their beds except Jude. Since Linda wasn’t there, she assumed Drew had sent her home.
    Carolyn tiptoed back down the narrow hallway, walking over and tapping Veronica’s husband on the shoulder. When he only groaned and changed position, she said, “Drew, it’s Carolyn. Where’s Jude?”
    “How the hell do I know?” he said, his speech slurred from the alcohol. “She’s probably doing dope with one of her low-life friends. I drove around for hours trying to find her. For all I know, she’s shacked up with some gangster.”
    Carolyn sat on the edge of a chair across from him. “I’m going to notify the police that Jude is missing. I’m worried, Drew. Veronica’s murder has been on the news. She should have called or come home by now.”
    Drew pushed himself to a seated position. “This shit happens all the time, Carolyn,” he told her. “That damn kid drives her mother and me nuts. She should be in college, but all she’s interested in is partying.” He rummaged among the beer cans until he found one that still had a few drops left in it. Once he slugged it down, he tossed the empty can into the pile. “You got any cigarettes?”
    “I don’t smoke,” Carolyn said. “Didn’t you stop years ago?”
    “Yeah,” Drew said, leaning forward over his knees. “After what happened to Veronica, I’m wondering why. We knock ourselves out to stay healthy and then some maniac comes along and…” He covered his face with his hands. “Christ, what am I going to do? I tried to tell the kids, but I couldn’t. I keep thinking I’ll wake up tomorrow and Veronica will be beside me in the bed. That isn’t going to happen, is it?”
    Carolyn shook her head. “You have to tell them, Drew.”
    “I know, I know…All I want to do is sleep right now. I’ll find a way to tell them. I just can’t do it right now.”
    “The police are going to ask you a lot of questions,” Carolyn said. “Didn’t you used to work for National Insurance?”
    “I worked for National Car Rentals before I got the job at Boeing. Jesus, Carolyn, that’s got to be fifteen years ago. What does this have to do with what happened to Veronica?”
    “Nothing,” she said, folding her hands in her lap. “Were you and Veronica having problems?”
    “Of course we had problems,” Drew told her. “We have a screwed-up teenager, and with both of us working, we still have to scrimp to make ends meet. It didn’t help that Veronica started popping out babies ten years after we had Jude. Veronica swore she was on birth control, but I think she snookered me. Then she decided Stacy had to have a brother or sister closer to her age. I don’t know where Michael came