WHO KILLED EMMALINE? by Dani Matthews Read Free Book Online

looking back at me. “Krista, I don’t think that’s a wise idea.”
    Both my mom and I ask in unison, “Why not?”
    He looks uncomfortable. “Cordane’s is a Goth store. I think that’s the accurate term one would use for it.”
    “There is nothing wrong with Goth,” I say defensively.
    Bewilderment is etched across my mom’s face as she looks at me. “You want to work in a Goth store? Why would you want to do that?”
    “That’s not what I meant,” Mitch cuts in, speaking to me as his eyes hold mine. “What you don’t know is that a young lady about your age was murdered last year. The only two suspects in her case work there. In fact, I think the older one even owns it.”
    “What?” my mom asks with alarm.
    Mitch’s announcement has me blinking with surprise. “You mean Dane is Cord’s brother?”
    “You sound familiar with the youngest Bodine brother,” Mitch states, his expression turning concerned.
    “People talk at school. I didn’t realize the store was owned by one of them.”
    My mom’s fork clatters loudly to her plate. “First thing tomorrow, you are quitting,” she announces.
    Common sense appeals for me to listen to her, but I can’t help but ignore it. Yeah, Dane’s weird and all, but I didn’t sense any threatening killer vibes from him. Plus, I’m actually excited about the job and looking forward to spending my afternoons and evenings there. I don’t want to quit because of some rumors. Then again, if Dane was a suspect, I guess they might not be just rumors. But if he’s free, that means the police didn’t find anything, and he’s probably innocent, right? Maybe I do need some time to think about this, but my mom doesn’t need to know that.
    “I don’t want to quit,” I tell them quietly.
    Mitch looks just as stunned as my mom. “Why not?” he asks, finding his voice before my mom can.
    Because I want to piss you both off, I think to myself. Is it bad that a small part of me relishes the idea of doing something that they both are against? I want them to get a taste of what it feels like to have no control over someone else’s actions. “I haven’t even started yet,” I point out calmly, not wanting to get into an argument with them. “I might even like it,” I add. It definitely won’t be boring, that’s for sure.
    “You’re working for a murder suspect! ” my mom exclaims as her cheeks begin to redden with her agitation.
    “They’re just allegations,” I say, standing my ground. Sure, if I decide to continue working there, it’ll be a little disturbing working for a man that could have possibly murdered someone, but I tell myself to think logically. The police have no proof, and they might just be pointing fingers at the easiest suspect. It’s also a public store. With windows. I highly doubt Dane would kill one of his employees when anyone who happens to be walking by could see.
    “The youngest brother works there as well. You would be working with both of them,” Mitch informs, his brow furrowing as he studies me intently, as if he’s trying to figure out what would possess me to even apply there in the first place.
    That’s right, Mitch mentioned earlier that Cord works there, too. I have a lot to think about later tonight. “I’ll be working on my own most of the time, so it doesn’t really matter,” I say, brushing off his concern.
    “Krista, I agree with your mother on this. You shouldn’t work there.”
    Their insistence that I quit just makes me want to dig my feet in even more and do the opposite. “I am not quitting.”
    “Kristalynn Marie Broderick, you are quitting that job,” my mom informs me in a tight voice.
    I narrow my eyes at her. “You can’t make me.”
    “You are seventeen young lady, not yet an adult.”
    “So I can have sex and risk pregnancy, but I can’t work at a public store because the owner has a bad reputation?” I ask dryly.
    Mitch sits back, rubbing his face and looking uncomfortable now that the