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

encouraged him to take two sleeping pills. By the time I left for the meeting with the kids, he was passed out on the bed. I imagine that’s where he’ll remain until sometime tomorrow morning.”
    “Then I’ll wait here until you get inside.” Tori stuffed the gift bag back in her tote and offered the woman a quick hug. “Try to stay positive, okay?”
    “I’m trying, I really am.” Debbie wrapped her long slender fingers around the recessed handle and pulled, the door swinging open to the curb. As quickly as she swiveled her legs to the street, she stopped and turned back to Tori. “Why don’t you come in for just a minute? I’d like to show you the fabric I have in mind for some of the sacks . . . see if it’s okay.”
    “Are you sure? I don’t want to wake Colby.”
    Debbie laughed. “Not even a freight train will wake him right now.” Stepping from the car, she leaned down and motioned Tori to follow. “C’mon. It’ll only take a moment.”
    “Okay.” Tori set the tote on the now-vacant passenger seat before stepping from the car, her keys safely housed in her backpack purse. With a few quick strides she joined her friend on the sidewalk.
    Falling into step with one another, they headed toward the house, the gathering dusk making it difficult to navigate the stretch of porch steps that didn’t benefit from the glow of a nearby streetlight. “I’m sorry, Victoria. I could swear I flipped on the porch light as I was . . .”
    Tori cast a sidelong glance at her friend as the woman’s words suddenly trailed off. “Debbie, is everything okay?”
    “The door.”
    “What?”
    Debbie pointed at the partially opened door in front of them, her voice a nervous whisper. “I pulled the door shut behind me . . . I know I did.”
    “Are you sure?” Tori asked as she forced her words to sound calm and reassuring. “Is it possible you were distracted by one of the kids? You have a lot on your mind, you know.”
    “Not enough to be that careless.”
    She knew Debbie was right. In addition to being a successful entrepreneur, Debbie Calhoun was also meticulous. About everything. Leaving a door half open at a time her family was under fire didn’t fit the bill. Not even close.
    “I’ll call Chief Dallas.” Slipping her backpack purse from her shoulder, Tori unzipped it and reached inside, her hand closing over her cell phone. “I’m sure he can be here in a matter of minutes.”
    “Wait.” Debbie stepped forward and turned her ear toward the opening. “I don’t hear anything. Do you?”
    Tori listened for a moment as well. “No, but maybe we should still call. Just to be sure.”
    “I don’t know, Victoria, maybe I was distracted. Jackson was still so sad . . . and Suzanna’s hurt had turned into anger by that point. And I was trying to juggle my sewing stuff and the cookie squares with Jackson’s little hand . . . Maybe I really did just leave it open.”
    It sounded plausible when presented like that, but still, this was Debbie Calhoun they were talking about.
    “Really, I think it’s okay.” Debbie pushed the door the rest of the way open and beckoned Tori to follow, her hand finding a wall-mounted light switch in record fashion. In an instant, the front hallway of the Calhoun home was bathed in light, the only sound coming from the grandfather clock that stood sentry beside the wood planked staircase. “See, it’s fine.”
    Tori watched as Debbie’s shoulders drooped in relief, the same sensation running through her own body. “Phew. You had my heart starting to race there for a moment.”
    “Mine, too.” The woman gestured toward the parlor on their left. “Make yourself at home, Victoria. I’m going to grab that fabric to show you and check in on Colby real quick.”
    “Take your time.” Tori’s hand found the light switch for the parlor and stepped inside, her pulse beginning to slow to a near-normal rate as she stopped beside the mantel adorned with pictures of Debbie’s