Read Online DEATH IN PERSPECTIVE by Larissa Reinhart - Free Book Online Page B

of the few
     families eating. I scanned the restaurant and didn’t see Casey, but did spot Todd
     and Leah at the bar. I waved and sauntered over to grab a nearby stool.
    I eyed the odd pairing as I said my hellos. Leah had the dark sensualness of a Jazz
     Age singer, although her personality ran more to Gospel. Todd McIntosh’s blond-gold
     mane, wide Cerulean eyes, and winsome smile disguised a sharp cunning used on the
     poker tables. Leah hid her soft, bodacious curves in a tent of colorful cotton/rayon
     blend. Whereas Todd’s tight t-shirt and cargo shorts emphasized the solid, packed
     muscle he formed by lifting boxes for a living. Together their appearance on stage
     in the band Sticks made for a yin and yang that pleased both the men and women of
     Forks County.
    Except for Leah’s mother, who would only be pleased by the plagues of the Second Coming,
     particularly when they smited all the bad seed s like me.
    After giving Todd a quick hug, I hopped on a stool next to Leah. Todd pushed his beer
     down the bar and switched stools, placing me between my friends.
    As he shifted onto his seat, the slot machine cherries permanently inked on his calf
     flashed into view. Those cherries marked him as another ghost-of-ex’s-past. I slid
     my gaze off the tattoo and toward Leah. As she wasn’t six three and a hard body, my
     eyes felt much safer there.
    “Hey Cherry,” said Red. He wiped the scarred bar top before I could lower my elbows.
     “You want a draft?”
    “Why not? I start work at Peerless Day Academy tomorrow. I have a feeling they’re
     going to keep me busy. Order me up a pimento burger and sweet potato fries, please.”
    The freckles and hazel eyes stretched with his grin. “Glad to hear you got a teaching
     job.”
    “She’s not teaching, Red . ” Leah shook her head, causing a cascade of dark spirals to fall across her shoulder.
     “Cherry’s doing art work for the drama department. They’ve got a big production of Romeo and Juliet this winter.”
    “That’s nice . ” Red pushed a frosty mug toward me, which I accepted graciously.And a little greedily, I’ll admit.
    “So I guess your meeting went well . ” Todd drummed his hands on the bar top.
    I stretched my hand over Todd’s to stop the drumming. “Get this, y’all. This teacher,
     Terry Tinsley, is rewriting Romeo and Juliet as some alien musical. And he’s hiring me to figure out who’s behind all the cyberbullying
     at the school.”
    Leah and Red exchanged a long glance.
    “What?” I darted looks. “What’s with the crickets?”
    “Hon’, why does the teacher want your help with cyberbullying? Isn’t that something
     for the police?” Leah toyed with the straw in her Dr Pepper, keeping her eyes off
     me.
    “Sure it is, particularly since Miss Pringle, the principal’s secretary, killed herself
     because of it.”
    “No shit?” Red blanched.
    “Mr. Tinsley is worried about his rep. Someone is dragging skeletons out of the faculty’s
     closets via text. He thinks while I work as art director for the theater, I have a
     good chance to observe as an outsider and find who’s sending the texts.”
    “This is the same guy who wants Romeo and Juliet as aliens?” Red leaned a beefy arm on the bar. “I dunno, hon’. Sounds to me like
     you should stick with the art work. You don’t need some teenager with a spleen full
     of hate spreading rumors about you, too. You’ve already dealt with that.”
    “Which is exactly why I want to help Mr. Tinsley.” I was glad I didn’t tell them about
     his Phantom of the Opera obsession. Tinsley’s explanation for hiring me had sounded saner coming from his
     lips than mine. And I thought he sounded nuts.
    “How is Mr. Max?” Leah asked, using her role as diplomatic subject changer. “Is his
     knee recovering?”
    “Not as fast as he ’d like. But Max wants to help me investigate Tinsley’s anonymous texter. I think he’s
     bored.”
    “I’ll help you, baby,”