Read Online Dirty Rotten Tendrils by Kate Collins - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kate Collins
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zip-front suede jacket, brown pants, and sneakers, and was pulling out a notebook as he arrived breathlessly before me.
“What do you hear about Lipinski?” he asked, his seafoam green eyes searching mine.
“Who are you working for today, McKay? The News or WNCN-TV?”
“Does that matter?” He tried his Prince Charming smile on me, but I merely scowled back. Looking over Connor’s shoulder, I spotted a photographer on the opposite side of the street, adjusting his lens, so I moved to let Connor block me from the camera’s view.
“So what’s the buzz?” he asked. “I’m sure you’ve been in touch with your former boss, or at least your buddy on the police force.”
As if I’d tell Connor anything. But he would never believe I hadn’t gotten the news somewhere. “Sorry. All I know is what I heard on the radio.”
“Yeah, right.” Connor gave me a wink. “Come on, Abby, strictly off the record—what’s Dave Hammond’s involvement?”
“Why would you think Dave is involved?”
“Rumors, kid. Rumors and innuendos. You know how the gossips are in this town.”
“And just what are these rumormongers saying?”
“That the Cody Verse lawsuit could have made Dave a wealthy man, secured his retirement, but the Lip cut him off at the knees in court yesterday, so Dave cut him off for good last night. Personally, I understand how the Lip’s actions could make a man snap—”
“Lipinski didn’t cut Dave off at the knees, McKay, and Dave certainly didn’t kill him. You’re fishing now.”
“So toss me a tuna, baby. Is it true Dave was incommunicado all evening? That he was the last to see Lipinski alive?”
The last? Dear God, please don’t let that be true! “Not true at all.”
“So you have spoken to him?”
“No! Look, all I know is that Dave Hammond went to see his mom at Whispering Willows after his meeting with Lipinski, then went straight home. So if anything is going to be cut off at the knees, how about those nasty rumors? Attorneys face each other in court every day. They don’t kill each other afterward.”
“If you say so, sweetheart, it’s good enough for me. So what were you doing yesterday evening, Freckles, other than missing out on dinner with me?”
“Good-bye, McKay.” I unlocked the yellow door and slipped inside, locking it behind me. The photographer appeared to be taking photos of Bloomers, so I stepped back out of sight.
“Was that the reporter who jerked you around last fall?” Lottie asked. She was standing in front of the big bay window where we displayed a continuous rotation of flower arrangements.
“Yes, but don’t worry. I’m wise to him. He’ll never get anything useful from me again.”
“Some news about the Lip, wasn’t it?” Lottie said, as I joined her at the window. “What will it do to Andrew’s case?”
“Cody Verse will have to hire another lawyer,” I said, “and the judge will have to give the new counsel time to prepare. Dave could be in for weeks, even months, of this media circus.”
“Poor Dave,” Grace said, and we all sighed in sympathy for him.
We stood at the bay window like lost souls, gazing across the street at the people milling about on the courthouse lawn, waiting for something to happen.
“Time to get on with things, then,” Grace said, and we all headed in different directions.
We were busy all morning, until suddenly around noon there was a buzz of activity on the courthouse steps as microphones were set up. The shop emptied out immediately as people rushed across the street to hear the latest news.
“Anyone want to see what’s happening?” I asked Grace and Lottie.
“You go ahead, sweetie,” Lottie said. “I’m not in any hurry to freeze my toes standing in that cold grass. Are you, Gracie?”
With their blessings, I grabbed my coat and jogged across the street just as Melvin Darnell, the chief prosecuting attorney—or DA, as the lawyers called him—stepped up to the row of
“What do you hear about Lipinski?” he asked, his seafoam green eyes searching mine.
“Who are you working for today, McKay? The News or WNCN-TV?”
“Does that matter?” He tried his Prince Charming smile on me, but I merely scowled back. Looking over Connor’s shoulder, I spotted a photographer on the opposite side of the street, adjusting his lens, so I moved to let Connor block me from the camera’s view.
“So what’s the buzz?” he asked. “I’m sure you’ve been in touch with your former boss, or at least your buddy on the police force.”
As if I’d tell Connor anything. But he would never believe I hadn’t gotten the news somewhere. “Sorry. All I know is what I heard on the radio.”
“Yeah, right.” Connor gave me a wink. “Come on, Abby, strictly off the record—what’s Dave Hammond’s involvement?”
“Why would you think Dave is involved?”
“Rumors, kid. Rumors and innuendos. You know how the gossips are in this town.”
“And just what are these rumormongers saying?”
“That the Cody Verse lawsuit could have made Dave a wealthy man, secured his retirement, but the Lip cut him off at the knees in court yesterday, so Dave cut him off for good last night. Personally, I understand how the Lip’s actions could make a man snap—”
“Lipinski didn’t cut Dave off at the knees, McKay, and Dave certainly didn’t kill him. You’re fishing now.”
“So toss me a tuna, baby. Is it true Dave was incommunicado all evening? That he was the last to see Lipinski alive?”
The last? Dear God, please don’t let that be true! “Not true at all.”
“So you have spoken to him?”
“No! Look, all I know is that Dave Hammond went to see his mom at Whispering Willows after his meeting with Lipinski, then went straight home. So if anything is going to be cut off at the knees, how about those nasty rumors? Attorneys face each other in court every day. They don’t kill each other afterward.”
“If you say so, sweetheart, it’s good enough for me. So what were you doing yesterday evening, Freckles, other than missing out on dinner with me?”
“Good-bye, McKay.” I unlocked the yellow door and slipped inside, locking it behind me. The photographer appeared to be taking photos of Bloomers, so I stepped back out of sight.
“Was that the reporter who jerked you around last fall?” Lottie asked. She was standing in front of the big bay window where we displayed a continuous rotation of flower arrangements.
“Yes, but don’t worry. I’m wise to him. He’ll never get anything useful from me again.”
“Some news about the Lip, wasn’t it?” Lottie said, as I joined her at the window. “What will it do to Andrew’s case?”
“Cody Verse will have to hire another lawyer,” I said, “and the judge will have to give the new counsel time to prepare. Dave could be in for weeks, even months, of this media circus.”
“Poor Dave,” Grace said, and we all sighed in sympathy for him.
We stood at the bay window like lost souls, gazing across the street at the people milling about on the courthouse lawn, waiting for something to happen.
“Time to get on with things, then,” Grace said, and we all headed in different directions.
We were busy all morning, until suddenly around noon there was a buzz of activity on the courthouse steps as microphones were set up. The shop emptied out immediately as people rushed across the street to hear the latest news.
“Anyone want to see what’s happening?” I asked Grace and Lottie.
“You go ahead, sweetie,” Lottie said. “I’m not in any hurry to freeze my toes standing in that cold grass. Are you, Gracie?”
With their blessings, I grabbed my coat and jogged across the street just as Melvin Darnell, the chief prosecuting attorney—or DA, as the lawyers called him—stepped up to the row of