Read Online Cereal Killer by G. A. McKevett - Free Book Online Page A

you’ve gotta be smart, girl, or it could wind up costing you, big time. Really, you don’t know this guy from Adam. I wasn’t kidding when I said he could be a criminal. The Internet is a major hunting ground for sex offenders. This meeting of yours could be a setup.”
    Marietta sniffed and stuck out her chin. “My Bill is not a criminal. He’s a Sunday school teacher for Pete’s sake.”
    “Says who?”
    “He told me so himself. And he volunteers his spare time to Big Brothers and his local Boys & Girls Club, and he even works for Toys for Tots at Christmastime.”
    “Well, you might be safe then,” Savannah mumbled into her coffee cup. “He’s probably a pedophile.”
    “What?”
    “Nothing.”
    The back door opened, and Savannah was relieved to see Tammy walk in. Her sunny disposition was even more welcome than usual in the midst of a family thunderstorm.
    “Hi!” Tammy said, radiating cheer and goodwill. Savannah silently blessed her.
    Seeing Marietta at the table, Tammy looked confused for a moment, then beamed. “Marietta! How nice to see you again.”
    Marietta said nothing, just stared at her blankly. Quickly, Tammy crossed the room, holding out her hand. “We met in Georgia, remember?” she said. “When you were going to get married and... Well, it didn’t work out that time, but... Anyway, it’s good to see you. I didn’t know you were coming.”
    “Neither did I,” Savannah said under her breath.
    “I got in last night,” Marietta said. “And my sister and I are already getting into it.”
    “Getting into what?” Tammy asked.
    “Tammy doesn’t speak Southern,” Savannah explained. “She’s a Yankee.” Turning to Tammy, she said, “Marietta means that she and I are having a disagreement about the wisdom of flying across the country to date somebody you met in an Internet chatroom.”
    Savannah watched Tammy’s face as her fleeting expression of alarm was displaced by a poker smile. “I see,” she said evenly. “And when are you meeting this... gentleman, Marietta?”
    “At six o’clock tonight in Malibu on the Pacific Coast Highway. Isn’t that romantic? We have a date for drinks and dinner and .. —she smiled coyly—“whatever.”
    “It’s that ‘whatever’ crap that’s troubling me,” Savannah said.
    Marietta tossed her head. “My big sister doesn’t trust my judgment. She’s afraid that I’m going to get myself raped.”
    “Or murdered, or infected or impregnated or robbed or swindled....” Savannah sighed. “Gee, the possibilities just abound.”
    Tammy glanced from sister to sister, then nodded. “Ah. Okay.”
    Silence reigned for several long, long seconds.
    “I have an idea,” Tammy volunteered.
    Savannah jumped, like reaching for a lifeline. “What? What’s your idea?”
    Tammy turned to Marietta. “You aren’t meeting your friend until six o’clock. So you’ll be here until five or so, right?”
    ‘Yeah.” Marietta looked suspicious.
    “And it’s only about nine,” Tammy said, looking at her watch. “So that gives me eight hours to check him out for you. If you want me to, that is.”
    Marietta shook her head and crossed her arms over her mostly exposed chest. “No way. Love means trust. How could I face my soul mate this evening, knowing that I’d had a private investigator probing into his private affairs all day long?”
    “Tammy is very good at this,” Savannah said. “She’s discreet. She can do most of it over the Internet. He’ll never even know.”
    “But I would know,” Marietta argued. “And I have to live with myself. My relationship with Bill is the real thing, and when it’s real, you don’t have to invade somebody’s privacy like that. It’s a violation, plain and simple, and I won’t stand for it.”
    Savannah studied her sister thoughtfully across the table for a few moments, then she said, “Tammy can find out if he’s really single, like he says he is, and not married with five