Read Online I Shall Not Want by Debbie Viguié - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Debbie Viguié
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struck her. “Joseph’s a suspect, isn’t he?”
“Lady, everyone’s a suspect,” Paul snapped. “Your boyfriend isn’t anything special in that regard.”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Cindy protested, though it seemed such a foolish thing to quibble about as the coroner began to remove Sammy’s body.
It made no sense. Buddy didn’t have a diamond-studded collar or even a crystal one. This couldn’t be the work of jewel thieves. Could it be completely unrelated? Somehow she didn’tthink so. The timing was just too weird. “Joseph, I wanted to ask you, do you know for sure that you still have Clarice’s diamond collar?”
“What do you mean?”
“Are you sure that someone didn’t steal it and leave a crystal one in its place?”
“I can find out as soon as I get her back. She’s wearing the real one, or at least, she was.”
“You know, even women know enough to leave the real jewels in the safe and wear the copies,” Paul said.
Joseph shrugged, an embarrassed look on his face.
“Ms. Preston, you can go home. We’re done with you for now,” Paul said.
She opened her mouth to protest and then snapped it shut. She glanced uneasily over her shoulder at the mob of reporters. Paul followed her gaze. “I’ll have someone escort you to your car.”
“Thank you,” she said.
A uniformed officer moved close and walked with her toward the parking lot. When they left the cordoned-off area, a couple of reporters rushed forward, but he shot them a look so full of menace that even Cindy wanted to run away from him.
“I’m glad you’re on my side,” she admitted as the reporters backed off.
“Just doing my job, ma’am,” he said.
They made it to her car, and he stood guard as she put it in reverse and exited the parking space. As soon as she hit the boulevard, she relaxed slightly. She thought about the pictures that might show up in the paper, though, and realized she should make a couple of phone calls when she got home. The last thing she needed was another wake-up call from her mother.
6
A S IT TURNED OUT , SHE GOT AN EARLY - MORNING WAKE - UP CALL ANYWAY , but it was from Mark. She avoided asking him where he’d been the day before and agreed to meet with him and answer some more questions on her lunch break. After hanging up the phone, she dragged herself out of bed. Despite having played nearly two hours of solitaire trying to calm down, she hadn’t fallen asleep until nearly four a.m., and then she had had nightmares about speed dating. Every time the bell rang, a different dog jumped up into the chair opposite her instead of a guy.
She checked her e-mail and saw the alert reminding her that she had signed up to go to a timeshare presentation that evening. She was sure she wasn’t in the mood to go, no matter what prizes they tempted her with.
Nothing else caught her eye, so a couple of minutes later she climbed into the shower and promptly fell asleep sitting on the bench along the back while trying to shave her legs. She woke up when the hot water ran out. She considered walking to work, afraid that she’d fall asleep driving even though the church was only a couple of minutes away. Ultimately, she forced herself to run three times around the car, breathing in the cold air before getting behind the wheel.
She staggered into work a couple of minutes late, and Geanie looked up from her desk with a smirk. “Late night?”
“Don’t ask,” Cindy groaned as she sank into her chair. It was a Monday, and those never seemed to go well. She was sure there was some fresh disaster waiting in the pile of papers on her desk or in her e-mail, and she wished she could find a way to avoid it all and go back to bed.
“Oh, but inquiring minds want to know. Besides, it’s more fun to hear about it from you than to read it in the paper.”
Cindy groaned and slammed her head down onto her desk. She had managed not to think about the newspapers yet that morning. “What do they say?”
“Lady, everyone’s a suspect,” Paul snapped. “Your boyfriend isn’t anything special in that regard.”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Cindy protested, though it seemed such a foolish thing to quibble about as the coroner began to remove Sammy’s body.
It made no sense. Buddy didn’t have a diamond-studded collar or even a crystal one. This couldn’t be the work of jewel thieves. Could it be completely unrelated? Somehow she didn’tthink so. The timing was just too weird. “Joseph, I wanted to ask you, do you know for sure that you still have Clarice’s diamond collar?”
“What do you mean?”
“Are you sure that someone didn’t steal it and leave a crystal one in its place?”
“I can find out as soon as I get her back. She’s wearing the real one, or at least, she was.”
“You know, even women know enough to leave the real jewels in the safe and wear the copies,” Paul said.
Joseph shrugged, an embarrassed look on his face.
“Ms. Preston, you can go home. We’re done with you for now,” Paul said.
She opened her mouth to protest and then snapped it shut. She glanced uneasily over her shoulder at the mob of reporters. Paul followed her gaze. “I’ll have someone escort you to your car.”
“Thank you,” she said.
A uniformed officer moved close and walked with her toward the parking lot. When they left the cordoned-off area, a couple of reporters rushed forward, but he shot them a look so full of menace that even Cindy wanted to run away from him.
“I’m glad you’re on my side,” she admitted as the reporters backed off.
“Just doing my job, ma’am,” he said.
They made it to her car, and he stood guard as she put it in reverse and exited the parking space. As soon as she hit the boulevard, she relaxed slightly. She thought about the pictures that might show up in the paper, though, and realized she should make a couple of phone calls when she got home. The last thing she needed was another wake-up call from her mother.
6
A S IT TURNED OUT , SHE GOT AN EARLY - MORNING WAKE - UP CALL ANYWAY , but it was from Mark. She avoided asking him where he’d been the day before and agreed to meet with him and answer some more questions on her lunch break. After hanging up the phone, she dragged herself out of bed. Despite having played nearly two hours of solitaire trying to calm down, she hadn’t fallen asleep until nearly four a.m., and then she had had nightmares about speed dating. Every time the bell rang, a different dog jumped up into the chair opposite her instead of a guy.
She checked her e-mail and saw the alert reminding her that she had signed up to go to a timeshare presentation that evening. She was sure she wasn’t in the mood to go, no matter what prizes they tempted her with.
Nothing else caught her eye, so a couple of minutes later she climbed into the shower and promptly fell asleep sitting on the bench along the back while trying to shave her legs. She woke up when the hot water ran out. She considered walking to work, afraid that she’d fall asleep driving even though the church was only a couple of minutes away. Ultimately, she forced herself to run three times around the car, breathing in the cold air before getting behind the wheel.
She staggered into work a couple of minutes late, and Geanie looked up from her desk with a smirk. “Late night?”
“Don’t ask,” Cindy groaned as she sank into her chair. It was a Monday, and those never seemed to go well. She was sure there was some fresh disaster waiting in the pile of papers on her desk or in her e-mail, and she wished she could find a way to avoid it all and go back to bed.
“Oh, but inquiring minds want to know. Besides, it’s more fun to hear about it from you than to read it in the paper.”
Cindy groaned and slammed her head down onto her desk. She had managed not to think about the newspapers yet that morning. “What do they say?”
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