Read Online Death Threads by Elizabeth Lynn Casey - Free Book Online Page A

would love to replicate one day. “Jackson cried so hard when he came home from the playground that I thought my heart was going to break in two. And just about the time we got him settled down, he started with one of his nosebleeds.”
    “Nosebleeds?”
    “Yeah.” Debbie waved her hand in the air as she continued to study her home from the passenger side window. “It’s no big deal. Colby gets them, too. But it was one thing after the other and it started him sobbing again. And Suzanna . . . she was crushed, too. Her very best friend uninvited her to a sleepover this weekend.”
    “Oh, Debbie, I’m—”
    “On top of all that,” Debbie continued, the words pouring from her mouth, “Colby was devastated. He kept saying he hadn’t thought the story out enough . . . that he never stopped to think how his need for honesty and truth might affect the kids and me.”
    “I can only imagine how he’s feeling right now. But you have to respect him for taking a stand on something he felt was right.”
    “I guess.” With a quick swipe of her hand, Debbie brushed away one lone tear as it made its way down her cheek. “I just hate to see the people I love hurting. And now, with that letter . . .”
    “Idle threats, Debbie, idle threats. Remember that.” Slowly, the woman turned from the window, her lip quivering in the streetlamp light streaming in through the windshield. “I’m trying. I really am.”
    “I know.” Removing her hand from Debbie’s arm, Tori reached into the backseat and hoisted her tote bag into her lap. “Want to see something?”
    “Sure.”
    “Ella May called in a stack of books she wanted us to set aside last week. And it got me thinking . . . about the people in the nursing home on the northern edge of town. I know they have an on-site library, but it’s mostly books that people have donated over the years—books that were first released decades ago.”
    “Go on.”
    Feeling a slight upward swing in Debbie’s demeanor, Tori continued on, anxious to do anything she could think of to restore a smile to her friend’s face. “The truly house-bound residents simply don’t have easy access to books with more recent release dates.” Sliding her hand into the tote, she pulled out the sample gift bag she’d intended to share with the circle before things got out of hand. “But, maybe, with the help of a few volunteers on a once-a-week basis, we could fill request orders for the residents.”
    Debbie snatched the cloth bag from Tori’s hands and turned it over in her own. “And you want to deliver each resident’s requested books in a homemade sack?”
    She nodded.
    “Victoria, that’s a wonderful idea. Absolutely wonderful.” Opening the bag, Debbie slid her hand inside. “We’ll need to make them a little bigger—to accommodate several hardcovers if necessary.”
    “I agree.”
    “And this would be a wonderful project for the circle to do as a group—like the costumes we made for the dress-up trunk in the children’s room at the library.”
    Again, Tori nodded, a sense of relief washing over her as a genuine smile returned to Debbie’s lips.
    “Oooh, I think I even have some fabric that would be perfect for some of the sacks . . . cheerful colors that’ll make the whole experience even brighter for them.” Debbie dropped the bag onto her lap and clapped her hands.
    “And, even if the circle never accepts me back, this is something I can do on my own here at the house. It might even be something Suzanna can help with as well.”
    “They’ll come around, Debbie. I’m sure of it.” Tori nudged her chin in the direction of the house. “It’s kind of dark in there, is Colby home?”
    Debbie quietly folded the sample bag and handed it back to Tori. “He wasn’t feeling very well when I left. He tried to pass it off on a persistent sinus infection, but I know better. He’s upset about the fallout of his article and it has him as low as I’ve ever seen him. So I