Scared Stiff by Annelise Ryan Read Free Book Online

legs.”
    William’s leg pulls away from mine like he just got burned. Izzy shoots me a puzzled look but I’m saved from having to elaborate any further when the waitress brings our drinks. Izzy pays for the round and as the rest of us sample our wares, William picks up his glass, eyes it a moment, and then pulls a hankie from his pocket. He starts wiping down the glass both inside and out and I roll my eyes at Izzy and take a big gulp of my screwdriver.
    Once he has his glass up to muster, William pours his beer and says, “I’m glad you asked me to join you, Mattie. I really enjoyed our time together earlier.”
    “So did I,” I lie. An awkward silence follows and after waiting futilely for several beats for Izzy and Dom to fill the gap, I sigh and jump in. “So, William, since I can’t talk much about my work, why don’t you tell me a little something about yours.”
    “Well,” he says, swiping at some imaginary dirt on his sleeve, “it’s not anywhere near as exciting as what you do, I’m sure. Basically I handle investments, do taxes, and provide accounting services to a few businesses.”
    “Does it keep you pretty busy?” Dom asks.
    William nods and I slug back more of my drink as he flicks away at imaginary dust motes. “I’ve got more work than I can handle most of the time,” he says. Then he turns his doe eyes to me and adds, “But I’d be happy to take a look at your portfolio if you like and make some suggestions.”
    I try to stifle a laugh and end up snorting screwdriver out my nose. The closest thing I have to a portfolio is a file folder in my kitchen drawer that contains my bills and one bank statement. The current balance in my new checking account is just over a thousand bucks, barely enough to feed my ice cream habit for a month. My ex has everything else though I’m hoping to find a good enough divorce lawyer that I can at least get half the value of our house in the settlement. It’s the only thing I have any hope of claiming since we have no kids and all of our other assets are either in David’s name alone or were excluded in a prenup I happily signed in my then, starry-eyed state.
    The house is worth close to a million, though, and since I have no desire to live in it anymore, I’m hoping to force David to either sell it or pay off my share of its value. Until then I am living more or less hand to mouth, the grateful recipient of Izzy’s beneficence in that he not only gave me a job, he is letting me rent a small cottage behind his house that used to belong to his mother, Sylvie. Unfortunately the cottage is next door to the house David and I once shared, a proximity that makes it difficult to let go of my old life, though it does make for easy spying, a fact that has already gotten me into trouble.
    “I don’t think I have enough assets to need an accountant or financial advisor,” I tell William. “Check back with me after my divorce is final.”
    William’s eyes drop from my face to my chest and he says, “I think your assets are just fine.”
    As I roll my eyes I hear a noise that sounds like a snort, and it takes a moment to realize it came from behind me. Then the voice I most want to hear says, “May I join you?”
    I look up and see Hurley standing there. Given that I was hoping to see fiery jealousy, his expression of bemusement is disappointing.
    “Sure,” Izzy says. “Grab a seat.”
    William frowns at the invitation and his expression darkens considerably when Hurley grabs a nearby empty chair and swings it around to our table, setting it right between me and William. His blatant rudeness annoys me and I decide to challenge him.
    “What could possibly bring you out here tonight, Detective?”
    “I come bearing gifts,” he says, flashing me an enigmatic smile and handing over a large manila envelope stuffed with papers. I give him a puzzled look and he explains, “They’re copies of those letters you found. I kept the originals for evidence. You said