Free Thugs and Kisses by Sue Ann Jaffarian Page A

confused. The other left me curious. Both worried me.
    I said goodbye to Dev, saying he was probably right about Steele, even though in my heart I didn’t believe it.
    A few minutes later, while I was scrounging in the refrigerator for some dinner, my phone rang. I jumped for it, only to be disappointed yet again. This time the display showed no data , meaning an unknown caller. I answered and got a huge shock.
    “Odelia,” the caller said after hearing my hello. “This is Sally Kipman.”
    “Sally?”
    “Yes, quite a surprise, huh?”
    I grimaced at the phone. “Yes, but a pleasant one.”
    She laughed lightly. “You never were a good liar, Odelia.”
    She was right, so I cut to the chase. Between Greg and Steele,
I wasn’t in the mood to play polite parlor games. “What’s up, Sally?”
    “It’s about Donny Oliver. I was wondering if we could get together to discuss what happened.”
    “Whatever for? Did you kill him?”
    “No, of course not, but the police are questioning me and have me in their sights.”
    “You?” I couldn’t hide my surprise.
    I tried to remember where Sally was when Donny came staggering into the reunion, shot and dying, but couldn’t. But at that exact time I was dancing with Dev with visions of white gowns and flowers parading through my head. A pang shot through me like an electrical shock at the memory. Suddenly, dinner didn’t seem important, but a box of Thin Mints definitely was in order.
    “Why would the police suspect you?” I asked her while rummaging through the freezer for my private stash of the minty chocolate cookies.
    She hesitated, no doubt weighing her answer with care. “Because Donny and I were … well, we were involved in a legal action many years ago.”
    “You?” I said again. After retrieving a box of cookies, I shut the freezer door and concentrated on the call.
    “Yes, me. And the police are nosing around to see if it might be some sort of revenge killing.”
    “I take it Donny won the legal battle.”
    “Yes, Odelia, he did.” Her voice was curt.
    “May I know what it was about?”
    Another pause. It made me wonder if she was going to tell me the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, or a watered- down version.
    “Donny is the father of my son, Lucas.”
    My eyes popped open at the news. There was nothing watered down about an answer like that.
    “When Lucas was eleven,” she continued, “Donny found out he was the father and fought for custody. He won.”
    “He won? Who’d give that jackass a kid?”
    “The court, Odelia. Donny made a strong case that I wasn’t fit to raise a child, especially a boy. It was a morals issue.”
    I was speechless.
    On the other end, Sally sighed. “It’s rather ironic, actually.”
    She paused. I waited.
    “You see, Odelia, you were right all those years ago. I am a lesbian.”

Trying to listen to Dev’s advice and not panic, I made it to Wednesday. There was still no call from Greg, still no call from Mike Steele. Two boxes of Thin Mints and three fingernails had been sacrificed to the cause, along with a bit of my sanity. Tonight, I was meeting Sally Kipman to discuss Donny Oliver’s murder. Something told me that by tomorrow I wouldn’t have a box of cookies or a single nail left.
    I know I promised Dev I wouldn’t get involved with Donny’s murder. And Sunday I told Greg I had no interest in it. But this morning, while walking with Reality Check around the Back Bay, Zee had taken me aside and insisted on knowing if I was sticking my nose where it didn’t belong. I couldn’t or wouldn’t give her a straight answer, which in itself was an answer. She had stared hard at me, hands on hips, for a long time. Then she shook her head, gave me a hug, and started walking after the others down the trail. Zee understood that when something bothered me, I couldn’t let it go until I had answers, and that I would be relentless in my search. I did this with both big and small issues alike.