Read Online Hoodoo Woman (Roxie Mathis Book 3) by Sonya Clark - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Sonya Clark
Ads: Link
first clue. I did a little copy and pasting of my own, saved the articles in a new folder on my desktop and clipped some of the pictures too. A few were school photos but most were candid shots and much more recent based on the changes in her face. She was a stunning girl, with all-American beauty queen looks.
Even crappy cellphone pictures couldn’t hide the intelligence in her eyes. This was a smart girl, a self-aware girl. A dead girl.
The Ledger articles didn’t tell me much. Frankly, I hadn’t expected them to. Not a lot of muckraking goes on in small town papers. I just wanted a place to start. Testimonials about what a great girl Britney had been were just as useless but I did copy down every name I found. Done with that, I found a few more generic articles from some other West Tennessee new sources and finally Daniel’s planted bit in a ghost-hunting forum.
Then I went back to the Ledger . The day’s edition had just hit the web, a nice big color picture of Ray standing by his patrol car as others suited up in hazmat gear to bust up a meth lab. He had his hands on his hips and he squinted against the bright lights set up for the drug task force to work by in the dark.
I had no trouble believing plenty of women routinely offered him pie.
I spent the rest of the day avoiding town, holed up in the lake house reading and napping. Mostly napping. Not wanting to discuss my evening plans with Daniel, I slipped out before he woke for the night.
Ray lived on the opposite side of the county, about fifteen minutes from downtown Blythe. He’d inherited his grandfather’s house and kept it in excellent condition. I parked next to his patrol car and climbed the steps to the porch. It took knocking three times for him to answer the door.
Soaking wet. Wearing only a towel. Yeah, Ray Travis could definitely still get all the pie he wanted.
Chapter 11
Ray had played football in high school, star quarterback. With him being a decade older I didn’t remember firsthand but he used to keep some trophies and pictures in one of the upstairs rooms of the house. He’d kept in good shape, his wet body rippling with muscle most guys over forty could only dream of. A light dusting of chest hair curled over fair skin. It was too early in the year for his fisherman’s tan. Even better than the muscle though was the grumpy teddy bear look on his face. I liked the sight of that more than I should have.
“So.” I smiled, hoping he remembered how charming he used to find me. “I’m a little early.”
His lips twitched. He remembered. “Yeah, you are. Come on in.” He gestured for me to come inside and closed the door behind me. “You know your way around. Make yourself to home. I’ll be back when I’ve got some clothes on.”
“Don’t go to any trouble on my account.”
Grabbing my wrist, he stepped close enough I could feel the heat rolling off his skin. “We’re gonna have to set some ground rules. For both our sakes.”
I’d stepped over a line. I always did with Ray. It was something I couldn’t seem to help, even now. “Okay.”
“You have a boyfriend, so no flirting.”
Thoroughly chastised, I nodded. “You’re right. No flirting.”
He rubbed the inside of my wrist with his thumb. It made me remember things I shouldn’t. “It’s hard enough to look at what I can’t have,” he said, voice husky with a longing that shocked me.
“Ray.”
Moving away, he said, “You and me are going to try something new. It’s called being friends. I hear it’s nice.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Yeah, that’ll be nice.”
He held my gaze for a long moment then looked away. “Be right back.” He climbed the stairs quickly.
I whirled and stumbled into the living room then dropped onto the couch. Brushing away sudden tears, I focused on the job. Dead girl, ghost haunting the town. Boyfriend hundreds of miles away and wanting me to banish part of myself. Flirting with an ex like the slut my
Even crappy cellphone pictures couldn’t hide the intelligence in her eyes. This was a smart girl, a self-aware girl. A dead girl.
The Ledger articles didn’t tell me much. Frankly, I hadn’t expected them to. Not a lot of muckraking goes on in small town papers. I just wanted a place to start. Testimonials about what a great girl Britney had been were just as useless but I did copy down every name I found. Done with that, I found a few more generic articles from some other West Tennessee new sources and finally Daniel’s planted bit in a ghost-hunting forum.
Then I went back to the Ledger . The day’s edition had just hit the web, a nice big color picture of Ray standing by his patrol car as others suited up in hazmat gear to bust up a meth lab. He had his hands on his hips and he squinted against the bright lights set up for the drug task force to work by in the dark.
I had no trouble believing plenty of women routinely offered him pie.
I spent the rest of the day avoiding town, holed up in the lake house reading and napping. Mostly napping. Not wanting to discuss my evening plans with Daniel, I slipped out before he woke for the night.
Ray lived on the opposite side of the county, about fifteen minutes from downtown Blythe. He’d inherited his grandfather’s house and kept it in excellent condition. I parked next to his patrol car and climbed the steps to the porch. It took knocking three times for him to answer the door.
Soaking wet. Wearing only a towel. Yeah, Ray Travis could definitely still get all the pie he wanted.
Chapter 11
Ray had played football in high school, star quarterback. With him being a decade older I didn’t remember firsthand but he used to keep some trophies and pictures in one of the upstairs rooms of the house. He’d kept in good shape, his wet body rippling with muscle most guys over forty could only dream of. A light dusting of chest hair curled over fair skin. It was too early in the year for his fisherman’s tan. Even better than the muscle though was the grumpy teddy bear look on his face. I liked the sight of that more than I should have.
“So.” I smiled, hoping he remembered how charming he used to find me. “I’m a little early.”
His lips twitched. He remembered. “Yeah, you are. Come on in.” He gestured for me to come inside and closed the door behind me. “You know your way around. Make yourself to home. I’ll be back when I’ve got some clothes on.”
“Don’t go to any trouble on my account.”
Grabbing my wrist, he stepped close enough I could feel the heat rolling off his skin. “We’re gonna have to set some ground rules. For both our sakes.”
I’d stepped over a line. I always did with Ray. It was something I couldn’t seem to help, even now. “Okay.”
“You have a boyfriend, so no flirting.”
Thoroughly chastised, I nodded. “You’re right. No flirting.”
He rubbed the inside of my wrist with his thumb. It made me remember things I shouldn’t. “It’s hard enough to look at what I can’t have,” he said, voice husky with a longing that shocked me.
“Ray.”
Moving away, he said, “You and me are going to try something new. It’s called being friends. I hear it’s nice.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Yeah, that’ll be nice.”
He held my gaze for a long moment then looked away. “Be right back.” He climbed the stairs quickly.
I whirled and stumbled into the living room then dropped onto the couch. Brushing away sudden tears, I focused on the job. Dead girl, ghost haunting the town. Boyfriend hundreds of miles away and wanting me to banish part of myself. Flirting with an ex like the slut my
Similar Books
