Read Online Hollyhock Ridge by Pamela Grandstaff - Free Book Online

She just wouldn’t. Mark my word: that
woman is dead.”
    “Matt must be frantic,” Claire said.
    “Oh, I don’t know,” Pudge said. “He might be kind of
relieved. You ever see the inside of that house?”
    “No,” Claire said. “But I’ve heard.”
    “They had a plumbing problem a couple a years back, and Matt
called me rather than his own brother; there’s some bad blood there, on account
of Sonny’s divorce. I tell you, that house would give a pack rat
claustrophobia. I’ve never seen anything like it. Stuff piled up to the
ceiling, with just enough space to walk though each room. It’s just like on one
of those shows.”
    “Well, Kay had nothing to do with her disappearance,” Claire
said. “You know that, right?”
    Pudge shrugged.
    “All I know is what I hear,” he said. “And I hear Sonny was
there, too, which makes it all the more interesting.”
    “Why is that?”
    “Everyone knows Sonny’s got a grudge against Diedre,” Pudge
said. “Diedre helped Karla hide her affair for months before she left Sonny.
They pretended to go places together when Karla was meeting her boyfriend.”
    “Doesn’t Diedre work for Sonny?”
    “That she does,” Pudge said. “Now ain’t that interesting?”
    “I assume all these people are your friends?” Claire asked.
    “Why, sure,” Pudge said. “I grew up with the Delvecchio
boys.”
    “Then I’d hate to hear how you talk about your enemies,”
Claire said.
    “I’m just a-telling you all this so you can warn Kay,” Pudge
said. “My wife tried to talk to her this evening but she won’t listen.”
    “Warn her about what?”
    “That rich harpy she’s a-runnin’ against has started spreading
the lies far and wide,” he said. “She as much as accused Kay of murder.”
     
    Sam and Ed walked in together, and Claire took a pitcher of
beer and three glasses to their table. Sam, an Iraqi war vet turned technology
genius with recurring PTSD issues, had the usual inscrutable expression on his
face, but Ed looked worried.
    “I’ve been calling you all evening,” Ed said.
    “My phone ringer must be off,” Claire said.
    That wasn’t true; she’d just been ignoring his calls.
    “There’s something I need to discuss with you,” he said.
    “Excuse me,” Sam said, and went up to the bar.
    “Go ahead,” Claire said.
    “I’m sorry I ran off right after dinner,” Ed said.
“Something came up.”
    “No problem,” Claire said. “I wanted to talk to Kay.”
    “Eve’s in town,” he said. “You remember me saying she’s
doing a story on the federal investigation.”
    “I do remember,” Claire said. “I also remember you saying
you were going to have Sean draw up your divorce papers so she could sign them
when she got here.”
    “Something’s happened,” Ed said. “There’s no easy way to
tell you this …”
    The door opened and Eve walked in. She was pretty and
petite, with expertly streaked blonde hair, outfitted in a fashionable ensemble
perfectly proportioned to her figure, except for the pronounced baby bump she
was sporting out in front.
    “No need to,” Claire said.
    Eve lit up at the sight of Ed, who jumped up to pull a chair
out for her. She made a show of kissing his cheek and then wiping away the
lipstick in a very familiar manner. She barely glanced at Claire, but waved at
Patrick and smiled as if they were the best of friends.
    “Good to see you,” she called out to Patrick. “We need to
catch up later.”
    “Eve, you remember Claire,” Ed said.
    Claire did not offer to shake hands and neither did Eve.
    “Nope, sorry,” Eve said. “It’s been a long time since I was
in Rose Hill.”
    She said the name of the town in the same way one might say,
“Alcatraz.”
    “Congratulations,” Claire said.
    Eve reached out and squeezed Ed’s hand.
    “We’re so excited,” she said.
    “It’s such a surprise, Claire said. “I didn’t know you two
were back together.”
    “Back in March,” Ed said, “when I took