Read Online Give Murder A Hand: Lizzie. Book 2 (The Westport Mysteries) by Beth Prentice - Free Book Online

at Riley and noticed him blush as he stood.
    “Allison,” he said, moving towards her. “I wasn’t expecting to see
you.” He smiled as she reached up and hugged him. “I thought we were seeing
Allison Greene,” he added.
    “I’ve changed my name since I saw you last.”
    “Married?” he asked.
    “No. Well, yes I was. I’m divorced now though. He was threatened by
my success apparently.” She laughed. “Gosh, I haven’t seen you since you left
for the army. I don’t think my heart ever recovered from you leaving,” she
trilled, giggling.
    “Ha. It looks like you’ve done really well for yourself.”
    Allison looked around her and shook her head. “What are you doing
here anyway?” she asked.
    “I’m here with Lizzie,” he responded, turning his attention to me.
    Maybe it was because my anxiety was already high but something felt
off here. Allison turned to me. I noticed the very subtle up and down look as
she took me in, her smile frozen in place as recognition flashed in her eyes. I
stood and smoothed down my dress, wishing I was anywhere but here.
    “Hi,” I smiled and gave a little wave.
    “Oh, yes of course. I do remember Lizzie being booked in today. It’s
lovely to meet you,” she said, extending her hand for me to shake. I felt her
cool skin against mine and my anxiety reached a whole new level. I got the
distinct impression she really wasn’t
happy to meet me at all.
    “Well, why don’t you go through, Lizzie. Make yourself comfortable
and I’ll be in shortly,” she said, indicating to the door that she had just
come through. She turned her attention back to Riley. “Wow. I can’t believe
you’re here. You look great, by the way,” she gushed, touching his arm as she
spoke.
    To be honest I was used to girls flirting with Riley but this felt
completely different. It didn’t take a genius to figure out they had a history.
But so what? I knew Riley’d had partners before me. True, we hadn’t really
spoken too much about them. Every time I thought about Riley with another woman,
I felt sick in my stomach, but I knew they existed.
    “Go through, Lizzie,” she repeated.
    I looked at Riley, hoping he would stay with me. Even though—watching
Allison flirt with him—it might be better if he waited outside.
    Riley looked at me and smiled. “If it’s okay, Allison, I’m going to
stay with Lizzie for this visit.”
    “Of course it’s alright. I’d love to have you.”
    I bet she would.
    Walking ahead of them both, I entered the little room and sat down
on the chair provided. I looked around the room. I’m not sure exactly what I
expected but this wasn’t really it. The room was painted a very subtle latte
color with a plush chocolate-colored carpet. The chairs were white, high-backed
and very comfortable, with a small glass table between myself and where Allison
would sit. The white shelving on the wall behind her held an assortment of
books, flowers and a burning candle that filled the room with the overwhelming
smell of gardenia.
    Now I usually liked the smell of gardenia but as there was not a
single window in the room, I could feel my eyes sting and a headache start. But
then, the headache could be from my unusually high blood pressure at the moment.
Riley sat in the chair next to me and I watched as Allison sat and crossed one
long leg over the other, her peep-toed Jimmy Choo showing her pedicure to
perfection.
    “Now Lizzie, what brings you here today?”
    “Umm ... I’m ... umm...having some nightmares,” I said, my voice
croaky. I cleared my throat, hoping I sounded a lot more confident than I felt.
    “Really? Well, why don’t we start with some basic information about
yourself. What’s your family situation, where you live, that kind of thing.”
    I spent the next ten minutes telling her my life story including
what happened with my stalker. “To be honest with you, until I bought the
house, I’d never had nightmares before.”
    “Okay. What we are going to