Free Exclusive by Fern Michaels Page B

ever tries to come back, I’ll know about it, but this time I will kick his ass before he gets a chance to kick mine.”
    Though Toots wasn’t so sure Sophie was joking, she laughed anyway. “Yeah, that’s one way to get back at the old bastard if he tries to come back and haunt you.”
    Sophie shifted around, her eyes downcast. Toots knew what she was going to say before the words came out of her mouth. “None of the faces I saw were Walter. If so, I would’ve socked the son of a bitch right in the kisser.”
    “You don’t think I’m crazy for thinking this…?”
    “No more than I am. Look at what I saw. It wasn’t my imagination. The cold, the puffy-looking clouds, faces whose mouths moved with no sound coming from them. That sounds crazy. However, I am smart enough, sane enough, to know it was not a figment of my imagination. I suppose Walter could materialize just as easily as those…things, but something tells me he’s burning in hell with all the other bastards who beat up on women just so they could feel superior. Want to know what I really believe?”
    “What?” Sophie asked.
    “I think there is a special place in hell for men like him. Women, too. Mean people.”
    Sophie seemed to consider her words, “Yeah, I suppose that would be nice. Maybe Lucifer himself deals with jerks like Walter. I for one don’t plan on finding out anytime soon.”
    “Then you’d better lay off Ida, because the killer looks she gives you could be fatal.”
    Again the pair laughed until their eyes were damp with tears, and both had stitches in their sides.
    “Don’t ever tell her this, but I do love the old bitch. I just delight in tormenting her. Those looks she gives me are priceless, so I doubt I’ll stop annoying her any time in the near future.”
    “I wouldn’t dream of raining on your parade with Ida, but don’t go too far. Cut her some slack now and then. She’s still a bit on the sensitive side. I can’t believe she hasn’t mentioned Jerry lately. She never misses an opportunity to tell me how it ruined her life when I supposedly took him away from her.” Jerry had been dating Ida when he fell madly in love with Toots. Like a fool, Toots married him. He’d been nothing more than a cheapskate and an inadequate lover to boot. She didn’t like to think ill of the dead, but facts were facts. Toots figured her assessment of his qualities was more than generous. “I did her a favor when I married the old schmuck.”
    “True, but we all know she would never admit that. What number was he anyway?” Sophie asked.
    Toots paused. “Five or six. I can’t remember.”
    “Between you and Ida, I’ve never been able to keep up. Good thing Mavis and I stuck with just one marriage each. Though we could have been husband-hoppers like you two. We’d have a hell of a lot more men to bash, that’s for sure.” Sophie grinned as she placed a stack of panties in the top drawer.
    “Yes, not that it matters now. We can’t remember mine and Ida’s as it is,” Toots said. “Husband-hoppers, huh?”
    “Yeah, I gave you two that nickname way back in the day. I think I even told Mavis about it. She said that you and Ida were just having a tough time finding the perfect match. It sure sounds better than ‘sluts’ or ‘tramps.’”
    Toots raised her hand high in the air. “I ought to smack you for that. I was never a tramp. Or a slut. That was Ida, who screwed anything and everything outside her marriage. My feelings are hurt that you would think of me that way.”
    “Oh can it! I didn’t come out and say you were a slut. Some did, back in the day, but I think they were just jealous because they didn’t have dates or couldn’t get laid.”
    Toots sat down on the bed. “Please, let’s not talk about sex. It’s too early in the day. I want to get this ghost business taken care of and soon. Let’s get cleaned up and go to the Polo Lounge.” Toots pounced off the bed like a cat with one remaining life.