Free Deadly Notions by Elizabeth Lynn Casey Page B

something like that.”
    “Do you remember how I told you she wasn’t the only one who wanted to strangle her?”
    He nodded. “Oh. Wow.”
    “Unfortunately those feelings were muttered aloud—shared behind hands and hinted at via whispered innuendos by the likes of Margaret Louise, Debbie, Beatrice, Rose, Dixie, Leona, Melissa, Caroline Rowen, Samantha Smith, and in a roundabout way, me. And they were overheard, and then shared with the police shortly after Ashley’s body was found.”
    “Shared?” He released her hand, raking his own through his burnished brown hair. “Shared by whom?”
    “Ashley’s boss, Regina Murphy.” She grabbed the throw pillow to her left and hugged it to her chest, the memory of Regina’s face crystal clear in her mind. “I remember when she walked up. The kids were taking turns on the swings and Ashley was holding back the line so Penelope could take a ride without having to wait like the other kids.”
    Milo rolled his eyes.
    “When Penelope’s turn was over, Jackson was waiting. Penelope asked to ride again and Ashley agreed. When Jackson started to cry, she told him to grow up. That’s when Debbie muttered her desire to strangle Ashley. A desire that was seconded several times over by everyone standing there.”
    “And Regina heard that?”
    She nodded. “And now it’s all one big mess.” Resting her chin on top of the pillow she closed her eyes. “You should have seen our circle meeting tonight. By the time it was over, everyone was pointing at everyone else just to get the heat off of themselves.”
    His arms came around her and pulled her close. “I’m sorry, Tori. I really am. But don’t you worry, Chief Dallas will figure out who really did this and the heat will dissipate. It has to.”
    She willed herself to keep the doubt silent. Expressing it didn’t do any good. Instead, she opted for something a little closer to wishful thinking. “You’re right, Milo. It’ll be okay.” For a moment she simply breathed in his nearness, allowed it to bolster her spirits as much as possible. “Wait! How was your dinner with Beth?”
    “It was okay,” he said. Ever so gently he stroked the side of her face with his hand in a gesture she’d grown to love. “It would have been better if you’d been there with us.”
    “She might have been surprised if I was.”
    His hand stopped. “Why would you say that? She knows about you.”
    “To hear her talk she doesn’t.” The second the words were out she wished she could recall them, the general sentiment sounding almost bitter.
    “When did you see her?”
    She told him about meeting his college sweetheart at Debbie’s Bakery just that morning, describing, in detail, the things that had been said. Including the part where Beth seemed clueless as to Tori’s place in Milo’s life.
    When she was done, he simply scratched his head. “I don’t know, Tori. Maybe she was more distracted than I realized last night when we met. I mean, she was all keyed up about everything from some deal she’d just ironed out to the new company name she needs to design into a logo and how all of that is going to take her to the top. Maybe she was so focused on that she didn’t really listen to the things I had to say.”
    “Maybe.” She grabbed his hand in hers and rubbed it against her cheek until he took over on his own once again. “Or maybe she just wants you all to herself.”
    He laughed. “Not likely.”
    She sat up straight, unsure of the tone in which his words were spoken. Had she heard disappointment? Or wishful thinking? Or was her imagination in hyper I’ve-been-hurt-by-love-before mode? “Wh-what’s not likely?” she stammered.
    “That I’d ever let that happen.”
    “No lingering feelings? No haunting what-ifs?”
    “None.” His hand dropped to her shoulders and squeezed. “How could there be when I’ve got someone a gazillion times better?” His back pocket vibrated against the sofa, making them both jump.