South River Incident by Ann Mullen Read Free Book Online

whether or not she had been kidnapped
was yet to be verified. Either way, Roy Keen’s wife was dead, and the bad guys
just happened to pick Mom’s place to dump the body. That decision might have
been an act of convenience or just plain frustration. Maybe the kidnappers were
out riding around looking for a place, got tired, and decided this was it.
Whatever their reasons were for dumping the body in our back yard, I had a
feeling all was not well on our home front.
    “Are all women as
transparent as you?” Billy asked as he shut the front door. “I was so
embarrassed. You should be ashamed of yourself.”
    “What on earth do you
mean?” I asked. I walked back to the sofa and sat down. I was worn out and all
I wanted to do was lay back and relax.
    Billy came over, sat down
beside me and said, “You’ve been flirting with that man ever since you met him.
You even had the nerve to do it in front of Cole. It was disgusting. I’m
surprised he didn’t say anything. If you were my `ge ya, I’d dump you like a
hot potato.”
    “Fortunately, I’m not.”
    “Do you always have to be
so sarcastic?’
    “Was I being sarcastic? I’m
sorry. I’m just tired.” I batted my eyes at him, mimicking my past
indiscretions.
    “You’re so full of
yourself,” he said, laughingly. “It’s about time for me to leave. I’m tired and
it’s a long drive.”
    “You can’t go out in that mess.
The last time I looked it was still snowing. I bet there’s a foot on the
ground.  It’s too dangerous. You can spend the night with us. How about I fix
us a shot of bourbon before we go to bed? I could use one after all this.”
    “And where are we going to
sleep?”
    “I’m going to sleep in my
bed and you can sleep on the sofa, smarty pants. Don’t pout, it won’t be so
bad.”
    “In that case, I’m leaving.
I would choose my bed over your couch any day. I’m tough. I can handle a little
snow.”
    “Oh, stop being silly. You
can sleep on the sofa. It won’t kill you.”
    Mom’s bedroom door opened.
    “Billy Blackhawk, you’re
not driving home in this blizzard,” she ordered.  “Jesse’s right, it’s too
dangerous. You can sleep on the sofa. I’ll get you a pillow and a blanket while
she gets you a drink.”
    “I guess it’s settled,”
Billy said. He looked over at Mom and smiled. “I sure don’t want to go against
your wishes.”
    Mom had spoken.

Chapter 4
    I don’t know if it wasthe shot of bourbonor the
question Billy jokingly asked about our sleeping arrangements, but something
had triggered a reaction. I spent a restless night having romantic dreams about
him and when I awoke, I was covered in sweat. I couldn’t get the images of the
two of us out of my head.
    When I finally dragged
myself out of bed and went to the window, it was apparent that more snow had
fallen during the night, covering any trace of last night’s visitors. However,
I thought I caught a glimpse of the sun behind the trees in the front yard. I
walked over to the side window to my computer and clicked the icon to log on.
After typing in my zip code, the weather forecast promised the temperature
would be in the low forties today. The roads might be tricky tonight when the
temperature drops back down into the twenties and freezes the melting snow, but
by tomorrow, Thanksgiving Day, the temperature would reach a high of
forty-eight. If the temperature continued to rise in the following days as
predicted, it would erase any signs of our prelude to winter. However, flooding
might become a problem.
    I took a shower, and then
headed downstairs, ready to start a new day. Claire’s door was closed when I
passed her room, and Billy was asleep on the sofa. The dogs were curled up on
the floor next to him. Mom was in the kitchen, and I could smell the aroma of
fresh brewed coffee.
    “Would you like some
coffee, honey?” she whispered.
    “Please,” I answered as I
pulled out a chair at the table and gingerly sat down. I was starting to get