Read Online Killing Britney by Sean Olin - Free Book Online Page A

society works in this way so that the women are the leaders, and they share all of one another’s burdens. When any one member of the community is in pain, the rest of the women rally around her and pick up her slack until she’s recovered. I’ve seen you through worse. I’m not going anywhere.”
    “See, that’s what I mean.” Britney squeezed Melissa’s hand one more time and then let it go before she could start to cry.
    As soon as Melissa had left, Adam leaned over and said, “Listen, I’m sorry I gave you such a hard time the other night at dinner. I’ve been thinking about it, and I feel … bad. Can we call a truce?”
    Britney wasn’t sure what to make of this. Knowing Adam, she suspected it might be a trap. She screwed up her face. “I’ll think about it,” she said.
    “Hey, I’ll take what I can get,” he said.
    She could feel someone standing on the other side of her, and with relief, she turned her back to Adam.
    The person waiting to talk to her turned out to be a police officer, a leggy, glamorous-looking woman in her mid-twenties. The familiar blue-black uniform looked better on her than Britney remembered it looking on other female cops. It didn’t bulk up in the butt like they usually did. The severity of the uniform accentuated her long blond curls. When she squatted on one knee to chat, Britney noticed that her nose was covered in faint freckles, and she was chewing bubble gum.
    “I’m Tara Russell,” said the woman, “the detective who’s looking into Ricky’s case. I wanted to take a sec to introduce myself. Listen, can I pull you away for a minute?”
    “Um, sure,” Britney said.
    “Mind if we step outside? I’m dying for a cigarette.”
    As they walked toward the large double doors at the other end of the room, Detective Russell blew bubbles. Her gum was sour apple green.
    Britney was surprised that the detective was so cavalier about smoking on the job. “Are you allowed to do that?” she asked.
    The detective frowned. “Why wouldn’t I be? We’re going outside, aren’t we?”
    With the windchill, the temperature outside was hitting thirty below, so the two of them stood in the small foyer between the parking lot and the hall. The only thing between them and the elements were some plate glass windows, but these were enough to keep them from shivering.
    “You want one?” asked the detective as she pulled a pack of Camel Lights from her purse.
    “I’m okay,” said Britney.
    “If you want one, it’s not a problem. It’s not like I’m going to tell on you or anything.”
    “I don’t smoke,” said Britney. She was nervous, afraid that whatever the detective had to say was going to be more bad news. Why else would they have had to leave the room to talk?
    “Well, first, let me see the ring!” Detective Russell’s voice, as she said this, swung gleefully.
    Tilting her hand back and forth to catch the light and make it twinkle in the diamond, Britney said, “It’s only half a carat, but it’s got a white gold band. Regular gold is so tacky.”
    “It’s beautiful! Is it inscribed?”
    “No.” Britney’s face fell. She wondered if the fact that the ring wasn’t inscribed cheapened it in some way.
    “It’s a real tragedy the way this happened, isn’t it?”
    Looking the detective in the eye, Britney saw compassion, but she also saw something else: her eyes had a sharp clarity to them.
    “Uh-huh.”
    “Back when I was in college, I dated a UW football star. He never gave me a ring like that. You should cherish it.”
    Britney nodded.
    Abruptly changing the subject, the detective said, “I know this is an awkward time, but I need to go over some things with you. Right now we’re treating this as an accident, so I’m just covering my bases, but—”
    Something burst inside Britney. It felt like her veins had turned into waterfalls, the blood rushing, tumbling down toward her stomach. “Have you talked to Digger?” She spoke quickly, the words