Read Online Death of the Couch Potato's Wife: Cozy Christian Mysteries (Women Sleuth, Female Detective Suspense) by Christy Barritt - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Christy Barritt
Ads: Link
black, clacked toward the storm door in high heels, a top with a plunging neckline, tight black pants, and way too much jewelry. “Yes?”
“I just thought I’d introduce myself. I’m Laura Berry, and I live two houses down from you.”
A smile grazed her lips but didn’t reach her eyes. “Hi, I’m Gia.” She held out a manicured hand, tipped with blood-red fingernail polish.
I reached for it and attempted a handshake, but her grip felt so limp that it gave me the shivers. I pulled back and rubbed my hand on my jeans. Awkward silence chirped between us.
I cleared my throat. Charming. Persuasive. Credible. Get with it, Laura! “So, today’s the big day, huh? Moving’s no fun. I just moved here myself nine months ago. Finally I won’t be the new kid on the block.”
A man paced into the room behind her, a phone glued to his ear. From where I stood, he looked like Marlon Brando from The Godfather days. He stopped at the base of the stairs and grunted. “I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse.”
What did that mean? An offer who couldn’t refuse? Was it just me or were there threatening undertones to that statement?
He snapped his cell phone shut and walked toward us. A warm smile spread over his face. “And who do we have here?”
“Our new neighbor, Lori.”
“Laura.”
The man raised his head slowly, his gaze never leaving me. “Good to meet you, Lauren. I’m Steele. We look forward to getting to know you.”
New York accent. Definitely a New York accent. The rumor around town had been that they were from Virginia.
“Long trip here today?” I asked Gia.
She shrugged, looking at a chip on her nails. She had the detachment of someone who’d lived in the city. Could this woman be my new best friend?
There was a small problem. I realized, right then, that I didn’t miss the detachedness of urban dwellers. “I got here a few days ago,” she said. “Steele just got here today.”
A few days ago. That meant she arrived just in time for—
“I saw the police down the street the other day. There something I should know about this neighborhood?” Gia’s thin eyebrows arched together, and she turned her attention from her fingertips.
“It’s usually pretty dull.”
“Then what happened at that house?” She pointed at the Flynns’. Suddenly, I had her full attention.
I tried to think of a way to word it nicely, without the murder sounding so evil. How could I say it with cushion, though? Murder was murder. There was nothing nice about it.
“I met the man who lives there. What was his name?” Gia tapped her pointy-toe shoe against the tiled entryway. “Larry? Gary?”
My insides went ice cold. “Jerry?”
She snapped her fingers, a near miracle for someone with nails her length. “That’s it. I met Jerry. He seems like a nice enough man.”
“When did you say you got here?”
“Five or six days ago.”
Five or six days ago. When Jerry was supposed to be out of town.
Chapter 9
My phone chirped when I stepped back into my house. Icicles were already running through my veins after Gia’s announcement. And that video of me had been filmed from inside Jerry’s house. He was quickly moving up on my list of suspects.
Psycho, stupid, tech savvy. Check, check, and, based on all of the commercials he’d been in, Jerry had to have some kind of knowledge of cameras, right? So, check.
I needed to talk to Kent. Needed to tell him what was going on. Who else could I trust? Babe? I loved her, but she had a tendency to blab things all over town.
I slammed the front door shut behind me, warding away the cold. It didn’t work. My phone chirped again, so I reached into my back pocket. I didn’t recognize the number, but I put it to my ear and answered anyway.
Static crackled on the other line. “Hello?”
Finally, a tinny, masculine voice came through the line. “How about we get away for the weekend? Maybe that will help you forget.”
“Really?” a woman said in
“I just thought I’d introduce myself. I’m Laura Berry, and I live two houses down from you.”
A smile grazed her lips but didn’t reach her eyes. “Hi, I’m Gia.” She held out a manicured hand, tipped with blood-red fingernail polish.
I reached for it and attempted a handshake, but her grip felt so limp that it gave me the shivers. I pulled back and rubbed my hand on my jeans. Awkward silence chirped between us.
I cleared my throat. Charming. Persuasive. Credible. Get with it, Laura! “So, today’s the big day, huh? Moving’s no fun. I just moved here myself nine months ago. Finally I won’t be the new kid on the block.”
A man paced into the room behind her, a phone glued to his ear. From where I stood, he looked like Marlon Brando from The Godfather days. He stopped at the base of the stairs and grunted. “I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse.”
What did that mean? An offer who couldn’t refuse? Was it just me or were there threatening undertones to that statement?
He snapped his cell phone shut and walked toward us. A warm smile spread over his face. “And who do we have here?”
“Our new neighbor, Lori.”
“Laura.”
The man raised his head slowly, his gaze never leaving me. “Good to meet you, Lauren. I’m Steele. We look forward to getting to know you.”
New York accent. Definitely a New York accent. The rumor around town had been that they were from Virginia.
“Long trip here today?” I asked Gia.
She shrugged, looking at a chip on her nails. She had the detachment of someone who’d lived in the city. Could this woman be my new best friend?
There was a small problem. I realized, right then, that I didn’t miss the detachedness of urban dwellers. “I got here a few days ago,” she said. “Steele just got here today.”
A few days ago. That meant she arrived just in time for—
“I saw the police down the street the other day. There something I should know about this neighborhood?” Gia’s thin eyebrows arched together, and she turned her attention from her fingertips.
“It’s usually pretty dull.”
“Then what happened at that house?” She pointed at the Flynns’. Suddenly, I had her full attention.
I tried to think of a way to word it nicely, without the murder sounding so evil. How could I say it with cushion, though? Murder was murder. There was nothing nice about it.
“I met the man who lives there. What was his name?” Gia tapped her pointy-toe shoe against the tiled entryway. “Larry? Gary?”
My insides went ice cold. “Jerry?”
She snapped her fingers, a near miracle for someone with nails her length. “That’s it. I met Jerry. He seems like a nice enough man.”
“When did you say you got here?”
“Five or six days ago.”
Five or six days ago. When Jerry was supposed to be out of town.
Chapter 9
My phone chirped when I stepped back into my house. Icicles were already running through my veins after Gia’s announcement. And that video of me had been filmed from inside Jerry’s house. He was quickly moving up on my list of suspects.
Psycho, stupid, tech savvy. Check, check, and, based on all of the commercials he’d been in, Jerry had to have some kind of knowledge of cameras, right? So, check.
I needed to talk to Kent. Needed to tell him what was going on. Who else could I trust? Babe? I loved her, but she had a tendency to blab things all over town.
I slammed the front door shut behind me, warding away the cold. It didn’t work. My phone chirped again, so I reached into my back pocket. I didn’t recognize the number, but I put it to my ear and answered anyway.
Static crackled on the other line. “Hello?”
Finally, a tinny, masculine voice came through the line. “How about we get away for the weekend? Maybe that will help you forget.”
“Really?” a woman said in
Similar Books
![Morganville Vampires [01] Glass Houses](https://fs.dianahicksbooks.com/587959/thumbs/152x264/morganville-vampires-01-glass-houses.jpg)
