The Case of the Killer Divorce by Barbara Venkataraman Read Free Book Online Page A

any longer; so I dialed Becca's number. A man answered.
    "Becca's phone."
    "Hi, this is Jamie Quinn. May I please speak with Becca?"
    "Oh, hey Jamie, it's Charlie. Becca's sleep ing, but she said to wake her if you called. I don't think she slept all weekend. Man, this has been rough on her."
    " I bet it has. You know what, Charlie? Don't wake her, I can call back later. But I wanted to ask you something--had you seen Joe recently?"
    "I used to see him around town and stuff. I always said 'hi'--I mean, I felt bad for the guy--but he just ignored me."
    "Did you two ever argue? Was he nasty to you?" I asked.
    Charlie paused before answering. "Yeah, when he first found out I was seeing Becca, he called and chewed my ass out, said I was a bastard, a son of a bitch, and a few other things. But then he quit talking to me altogether."
    After we'd hung up, I wonder ed how Charlie and Joe had become friends to begin with. Charlie was low-key, good-looking in a scruffy way, like a surfer dude, or a guy playing Frisbee with his dog on the beach. Joe, on the other hand, was ambitious, high energy, loud. He liked nice clothes and expensive cars and enjoyed being the center of attention. Having built a tech business which he later sold for a million dollars, Joe liked to think he was the next Steve Jobs. As far as friends go, those two seemed completely mismatched. In any case, I couldn't picture Charlie killing anyone. Too much bad karma and stuff, man.
    It was 3:00, but I was done with work for the day. God bless self-employment! I felt like I'd accomplished a lot, or at least enough, and I needed to clear my head. I decided a little exercise with some nature thrown in was just the ticket, so I headed over to TY Park for a long walk. I always keep exercise clothes and sneakers in my car, in case the mood strikes me, but, since it rarely does, the clothes were fresh and clean. If they'd ever been sweated in at all...
    Topeekeegee Yugnee Park, T.Y. for short, lives up to its name, which means "meeting or gathering place" in the Seminole language. At 138 acres, it's an urban park right in the middle of town with a two mile paved loop shared convivially by walkers, joggers, skaters, bikers, and moms lulling their babies to sleep in strollers. Even at mid-afternoon on a Monday, it was brimming with people. The park has a lot to offer: bikes and boats for rent, campgrounds and playgrounds, basketball, volleyball and tennis, and over a dozen picnic shelters for parties and barbecues. But the best thing about T.Y. is Castaway Island, a large water park with slides, pools and a beach.
    B ack in high school, I used to work at the concession stand during the summer and despite the fact that it was broiling hot, swarming with kids, and crazy busy all the time, it was the most fun I ever had. But then, I wasn't a lifeguard, which was an exhausting, high pressure job. It's amazing how many parents think they don't have to watch their kids around water just because there's a lifeguard on duty. For about $10/hour, our lifeguards saved at least five kids a day from drowning.
    The fun came after we closed the park at 5:00. That's when the staff could play on the slides and swim in the pools. It was a blast! We enjoyed it even more because we had to wait for it all day. It shouldn't surprise you to hear that a few romances got their start during our daily water games.
    As I walked the loop, I took a detour over to Castaway Island. Hearing kids squealing and laughing transported me back to those amazing summers. I was standing there, daydreaming, when som eone tapped me on the shoulder.
    "Jamie? I can't believe it, you look exactly the same! Don't you recognize me?"
    "Um, sorry, I'm not sure I do," I said to the gorgeous guy standing next to me. He was easily a foot taller than me, with smiling brown eyes, sun bleached hair, and so tan he must've spent a lot of time outdoors. I studied his face for clues; this was really embarrassing. And then I almost