Shallow Grave-J Collins 3 by Lori G. Armstrong Read Free Book Online

I’ll call
    you soon.”
    My fi ngers gripped the counter. I needed something solid to hold onto because my whole world had just been tossed upside down.
    51

    I don’t know why I was crying. Bawling never solved a damn thing. Plus, I felt stupid because I should’ve been overwhelmed with joy that a part of Ben had lived on, not crying like a sissy girl.
    Kevin steered me to the living room and plopped me on the couch. I wallowed in his concern for . . . oh, about one minute . . . before I surrounded myself with my own brand of comfort: several mouthfuls of Don Julio chased by the fi zzy goodness of Coors.
    My eyes watered when I knocked back shot #5.
    “Maybe you oughta lay off the tequila,” Kevin said.
    “I haven’t seen you cry this much since the day you squared off with Leanne about Kiyah last spring.”
    His hand froze in the box of Triscuits. Our eyes met in remembrance of a steamy kiss that wasn’t unwanted, 52

    just untimely.
    He glanced away quickly and rammed a stack of crackers in his mouth.
    We’d never discussed our lapse in judgment. It was pointless now.
    I smoked until his discomfort evaporated and the booze loosened my tongue. “Does this day seem surreal to you? Or is it just me?”
    “Abita showing up with Ben Junior? Or watching Lang Everett end up in the pit of despair?”
    Kevin’s sense of humor always made me smile. “Both, I guess. Maybe it’s selfi sh, but I’m thinking more of Abita and Jericho. What was your impression of her?”
    “Damn young. But, at the same time, she seems wise beyond her years.” Kevin dusted cracker crumbs from his shirt. “However, I don’t think it’s coincidental she’s here now. What was your gut feeling?”
    “Besides that she didn’t try very goddamn hard to fi nd me to tell me I had a nephew?”
    “Would that’ve made a diff erence, Jules?”
    I hated that he had a point. “No. It just seems so . . .
    soap-opera-ish. A secret love child. Th
    e father dies under
    mysterious circumstances. Th
    e mother fears for her life,
    so she keeps the child hidden until it suits her purposes, whatever those nefarious purposes may be.”
    Kevin’s eyes narrowed. “She didn’t say anything like 53

    that.”
    “She didn’t have to.”
    “What if she opts not to contact Ben’s family?”
    I tipped my beer to him. “More power to her.”
    “Seriously? Th
    en I take it you won’t be running to
    Doug with the news he’s a grandfather?”
    “Fuck off .”
    Kevin grinned. “I’m just saying . . .”
    “You’re talking out your ass trying to piss me off so I’ll stop bawling.”
    “Hate to tell you, babe, but it’s working.”
    True. My eyes were dry, even when my head spun, a combination of tequila and a merry-go-round of what-ifs. I rested my head in the couch cushions and closed my eyes. “Th
    anks.”
    “Anytime.”
    I needed to stop fi xating on Abita and Jericho. My mind wandered. Oh joy. Th
    e other disturbing events
    pushed to the forefront. “Kev, what do you think was in that hole at the Everett place?”
    “Doesn’t matter. Our main concern is getting the tape from Sheriff Richards and turning it over to Rushmore West so we can get paid.”
    “Th
    at’s it? You’re not the least bit curious?”
    “Only in that it’ll prove we weren’t at fault for his death.”
    54

    I lifted my head and stared at him. “You used to love to fi gure out shit like this. What happened?”
    “Serious, real life, pay-the-bills shit happened.” He sighed and dragged a hand through his hair. “I hate to bring this up. I know tomorrow is Saturday and we’ve both been putting in a ton of hours, but we need to clear our desks before next week. In the next ten days Greater Dakota Gaming is sending us a huge roster of potential employees for their California operation.”
    Ninety percent of our business involved fi nding information for companies on potential employees, part-nerships, verifying employment histories. Boring as that might sound, it