Scry Me A River: Suspense with a Dash of Humor (Blood Visions Paranormal Mysteries Book 2)
Page 20
"Your presence at the center started the ball rolling on a lot of things," Connor continued. "Bernie Reynolds's murder, of course. But the longer you stayed around, the more questions were being asked. Jane got nervous. And on top of that, as Cindy got closer to her graduation, she started taking on more responsibilities, like digging into the medication records. Probably hoping for a promotion or at least a raise."
"That backfired on her," Arie said.
"It sure did."
"But then why go after me?" Arie said. "I had no idea Jane was stealing meds."
"Something you said once apparently made her think that you were suspicious of her. Besides, she had to shift the focus onto someone. After watching you for a while, Jane decided you and Grumpa were only there as a ruse. She thought someone had sent you to spy on her." Connor shot her a sideways glance that made her face heat up—other parts, too.
"Imagine that," Arie said. "A ruse."
"Yeah. I think her decision to fire Cindy was an impulsive one. Problem was, once she got rid of Cindy, she didn't have anyone to push the blame on, at least until you came along. I think the idea was to make it seem like you and Cindy were in on it together. Apparently, you were advocating for Cindy, trying to get her job back."
"I was," Arie said. "It was just so unfair. And now something else makes sense..."
"What makes sense?" Connor angled toward Arie, resting his arm along the back of the bench near her head.
"What?" Connor’s smile made a dimple flash. He repeated the question since Arie seemed a little distracted.
"Some of the questions Barbie asked." Arie watched his face closely. "They make sense now. She kept going on and on about Cindy and how I must have known her."
"Barbie, huh?"
Arie's face flushed.
"She is kind of plastic, I guess," Connor conceded, which lifted Arie's heart, "but it's probably not a good idea to call her that to her face."
"Well, it's not like I'm going to be seeing her again," Arie said.
"Yeah, about that—"
"What's going to happen to Viv?" Arie asked.
"She's going to get a psych eval. My guess is they'll find her incompetent to stand trial. I don't like it when that happens. I'd much rather a jury sent her to prison, but at her age, I can see them recommending a psych hold. Probably send her to Mendota when it's all over."
"Grumpa feels responsible."
"He'll have to figure that out for himself," Connor said. "We all do." He caught a lock of her dark-brown hair and twisted it around his index finger.
A frisson of delight coursed through her body. "Um, but what about... Um..."
"What?"
"Um... Karen. What about Karen? She was scamming poor Ruth out of her money, wasn't she?"
Connor laughed. He slid his finger out of the spiral curl he'd formed and twisted up another lock. "Poor Ruth isn't so poor."
"She's rich?"
"No, I mean she's not a victim. Everything she has is tied up tighter than a tick. No way either she or Karen could ever get at it. She knew it, too."
"You mean...!"
"She had Karen running her all over, doing special favors, practically eating out of her hand. Her own personal slave, in fact. Karen had no clue. She thought she had a big ol' payday coming."
Arie laughed. "Good for her. Ruth, I mean."
"I agree." Connor tugged gently on the hair twisted around his finger. "So..."
"So?"
"So, what about us?" he said in a soft voice.
Arie closed her eyes. For a few moments, she'd let herself forget about the divide in their relationship. She knew what he wanted her to say. She knew he wanted her to promise to stay out of trouble, to stay away from murder cases. She didn't see how that would be possible, though, not if she kept her current job. Furthermore... Arie liked her job. It was disgusting and nauseating and financially undependable, but she liked it. She liked working with Grady. She liked hearing Guts's war stories. She was proud of her ability to face death and the gross but amazingly efficient way human bodies recycled themselves back to the earth.
Ashes to ashes,
Dust to dust.
She felt as though that work—and maybe the visions, too—were something she was supposed to do.
Arie opened her eyes to meet Connor's. "I'm sorry," she said. "I can't—"
A compact body with pigtails and a toy police car clenched in her hands launched between the two, landing squarely on Connor's lap. "Daddy, that boy said I can't play with my car because I'm a girl." A grubby finger pointed accusingly at the offending peer, a stocky boy wearing jeans and a Spiderman T-shirt.
"Did you tell him your daddy's a cop?"
"Yes, and I said you would throw him in jail if he keeps being mean."
"Well, that might not be so easy. You remember what has to happen first?"
Maeve nodded, her pigtails bouncing. "He needs a trial first."
"That's right."
"Okay, then I'm going to be the judge." She slithered off Connor's lap and turned to Arie. "Will you hold my car?"
Every cell in Arie's body ignited in happiness. "Of course I will." She clutched the toy to her chest.
"Okay, but don't let that boy get it," Maeve instructed, "because it's time for his trial, and I don't want him escaping."
"No, of course not. I'll guard it with my life."
Maeve grinned, a gap from a missing incisor flashing the delicate pink of her tongue. Then she ran off, shouting, "It's time for your trial! You have the right to be honest. You have the right—" The rest of her version of the Miranda rights was drowned in vigorous protests from the accused.
Still clutching the police car, Arie turned to face Connor.
"You have the right to remain silent," he said. Then he kissed her.
<<<<>>>>
Thank you for reading SCRY ME A RIVER.
I hope you enjoyed it!
One of the best things about being a writer is hanging out with my reader friends! If you are interested in hearing from me, you can join my Readers’ Group at http://donnawhiteglaser.com/readers-group/
ALSO BY DONNA WHITE GLASER
THE LETTY WHITTAKER 12 STEP MYSTERIES:
THE ENEMY WE KNOW
THE ONE WE LOVE
THE SECRETS WE KEEP
THE BLOOD WE SPILL
THE LIES WE TELL
THE BLOOD VISIONS PARANORMAL MYSTERIES:
A SCRYING SHAME
SCRY ME A RIVER
CONNECT WITH ME:
Website: http://donnawhiteglaser.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/readdonnaglaser
Facebook: http://facebook.com/donnawglaser
SCRY ME A RIVER
By Donna White Glaser
Kindle Edition
Copyright 2017 Donna White Glaser.
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events of persons, living or dead, is entirely accidental.
All rights reserved.
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Credits:
Cover design by Cormar Covers
Editing by Red Adept Editing
r: grayscale(100%); -o-filter: grayscale(100%); -ms-filter: grayscale(100%); filter: grayscale(100%); " class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons">share