Free Cold Pursuit by Carla Neggers Page B

bitch Melanie over scones at the Three Sisters Café.
    Nora heard Devin behind her. Part of her wanted to run up to the Whittakers and let them take care of her.
    Maybe Alex was right and she was just a wimp.
    Of course, he hadn’t said “wimp.” He was the big diplomat, after all. He’d just had a talk with her about accepting herself, understanding her limitations, pushing herself in areas where she could excel instead of setting herself up for failure.
    In other words, she was a wimp.
    She’d never liked him that much. Even when he and her dad were friends—before he’d married her mom—she’d thought he was a jerk. When she’d mentioned her class with Elijah, Alex had laughed and said he’d like to see her down at the local army recruiting office. Normally she’d have laughed, too, and pretended she wasn’t hurt, but instead she’d summoned up the guts to tell him he was making fun of her and she didn’t appreciate it. He’d gotten this shocked look and said he just meant to tease her, not to demean her. He’d seemed so genuine, so serious, that for about two seconds Nora had believed he wanted a real relationship with her, one that meant something.
    Now he was dead.
    Murdered…
    She wondered if her father was as upset by Alex’s death as her mother was. Everyone had thought her dad would hate Alex, but he didn’t.
    No one would think about how she felt. The in-the-way stepdaughter.
    It was all so surreal.
    She picked up her pace, already debating whether she needed everything in her pack. It was so heavy. She felt a sudden, blinding anger toward her father for telling her about Alex the way he had, calling her on her cell phone, just blurting out that he was dead. Deep down, though, she knew there was no easy way to give someone such news. She could imagine how awful it must have been for Devin when he’d found Drew Cameron. He’d hiked up the north side of the mountain alone and had been forced to leave Drew’s body up there in the snow while he hiked down again, got back to his truck and drove out to where he could get a cell signal and call for help. At least he hadn’t actually been the one to give the Camerons the terrible news. The state police had done that part. And Drew Cameron’s death had been an accident. As much as she didn’t like Alex, it sickened Nora to think that someone could have run him over on purpose.
    My dad, for one.
    â€œNo!”
    Devin rushed to her side, and she realized she’d screamed. “I’m okay,” she said quickly, not looking at him. How could she even think such a thing? Her father could never kill anyone. That he could fall for a woman as horrible as Melanie didn’t mean he was capable of running over the friend who’d stolen his first wife from him.
    Her father loved Melanie, and that gave him even less reason to kill Alex.
    Her dad couldn’t possibly be a suspect.
    â€œYou’re freaking me out,” Devin said.
    Nora pushed ahead of him out to the gravel turnaround. “Sorry. I have a lot on my mind.”
    â€œDid something else happen, besides realizing your money’s missing? Did Melanie find out we’re checking her out?”
    â€œNo, nothing like that.”
    Melanie already knows I hate her. She knows.
    Nora set her pack down next to the car Alex had bought for her against her father’s wishes. It was a used Subaru; it wasn’t as if he’d given her a brand-new, expensive car. As irritating and demeaning as he could be, Alex hadn’t wanted her riding her bicycle on the hills and narrow roads of Black Falls, or hitchhiking, or relying on friends. In his own way, he’d tried to help her, even if his primary purpose was to keep her from bugging him. He would tell her that he worked so hard because he was dedicated to making the world a better place. How could she complain about him not coming to her