Read Online Random Acts of Murder: A Holly Anna Paladin Mystery, Book 1 (Holly Anna Paladin Mysteries) by Christy Barritt - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Christy Barritt
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horrible.
I plopped down and stared at my friend, knowing her emotions mirrored mine. We’d known each other long enough to not have to say anything sometimes.
I raised my palms in shock. “I know, right?”
Jamie fanned her face before nodding in agreement. “Absolutely. He’s totally hot.”
My mouth sagged open. “Jamie! That’s not what I was talking about!”
She shrugged dramatically. “What? He wasn’t what I expected. Seriously, the way you described him, I thought he was a Neanderthal whose knuckles drug the ground and who spoke in grunts.”
I hated to describe myself as stupefied again, but . . . “Did you hear a word he said? Do you realize what’s going on?”
The smile disappeared from her face as she nodded. “Yeah, unfortunately, I did.”
I stared into space, my thoughts churning. Jamie moved over to sit beside me and patted my knee.
“Look, you’re one of the best secret keepers I know. Someone who can keep the fact that she has cancer from her family definitely knows how to stay quiet. I’ll trust your judgment if you think you need to keep your mouth shut on this, too. I just don’t want you to get into bigger trouble later.”
“Thanks, Jamie. I appreciate that.”
“That’s what friends are for.”
CHAPTER 10
“How are you, Katrina?” I leaned toward my former client, a weird range of emotions circling inside of me. There was some guilt, compassion, anxiety, and concern, all rolled into one super storm.
I’d stopped by to visit her, partly because Chase had asked and partly because I was genuinely concerned about her well-being. I had to admit that being in this house after what had happened last time I was here left me unbalanced. Every time I closed my eyes, I felt the surge of worry I’d felt when I’d broken in. I felt the satisfaction of cleaning and trying to help a sister out. I felt the horror of finding the dead body.
But right now wasn’t about me. It was about Katrina. I had to stay focused.
She wiped her eyes. “I guess I’m okay, Ms. Paladin. I don’t know. I don’t know nothing anymore.”
Her voice held an odd mix of urban hip and Appalachian. She was one of the people in this area who had moved up to find jobs after everything dried up in the mountains of Kentucky and West Virginia. Sometimes, it felt like this neighborhood was a subculture in and of itself.
I leaned toward her and squeezed her hand. The woman was young, and she looked young—too young to have four children. She’d worked as a strip per to pay bills at one point, only giving it up so she could keep her kids. But working in a grocery store didn’t pay nearly as well as baring her skin.
“Were you close to your cousin?”
She shook her head, running a blue-tipped fingernail under her eyes. “He was only staying with me for the week. His mom kicked him out. Said he’d been up to no good and she’d had enough of him. She would’ve changed her mind. She always does.”
I handed her a tissue. “Tell me about your cousin. Dewayne.”
She wiped under her eye s again with the tissue I’d given her. “Underneath everything, he was a good guy. He just got mixed up with the wrong crowd. You know how that can be.”
“What do you mean by wrong crowd ?” I asked.
She shrugged. “Just kids who weren’t trying to stay on the straight and narrow. Not bad kids, necessarily. Just kids who seemed to like trouble.”
“It wasn’t a gang, was it?”
H er eyes widened, and she hung her head toward the floor a moment. “I feared he might be involved in one. He’d been gone a lot lately, you know? I asked him what he was up to, and he’d always give me the same answer. ‘Same old, same old.’ He was working at the fast food place down the street, but he was bringing in some big money. He’d bought a new phone, a new watch, expensive sunglasses.”
“And you have no idea where he got the money for it?”
“No idea. He wouldn’t tell me.” She
I plopped down and stared at my friend, knowing her emotions mirrored mine. We’d known each other long enough to not have to say anything sometimes.
I raised my palms in shock. “I know, right?”
Jamie fanned her face before nodding in agreement. “Absolutely. He’s totally hot.”
My mouth sagged open. “Jamie! That’s not what I was talking about!”
She shrugged dramatically. “What? He wasn’t what I expected. Seriously, the way you described him, I thought he was a Neanderthal whose knuckles drug the ground and who spoke in grunts.”
I hated to describe myself as stupefied again, but . . . “Did you hear a word he said? Do you realize what’s going on?”
The smile disappeared from her face as she nodded. “Yeah, unfortunately, I did.”
I stared into space, my thoughts churning. Jamie moved over to sit beside me and patted my knee.
“Look, you’re one of the best secret keepers I know. Someone who can keep the fact that she has cancer from her family definitely knows how to stay quiet. I’ll trust your judgment if you think you need to keep your mouth shut on this, too. I just don’t want you to get into bigger trouble later.”
“Thanks, Jamie. I appreciate that.”
“That’s what friends are for.”
CHAPTER 10
“How are you, Katrina?” I leaned toward my former client, a weird range of emotions circling inside of me. There was some guilt, compassion, anxiety, and concern, all rolled into one super storm.
I’d stopped by to visit her, partly because Chase had asked and partly because I was genuinely concerned about her well-being. I had to admit that being in this house after what had happened last time I was here left me unbalanced. Every time I closed my eyes, I felt the surge of worry I’d felt when I’d broken in. I felt the satisfaction of cleaning and trying to help a sister out. I felt the horror of finding the dead body.
But right now wasn’t about me. It was about Katrina. I had to stay focused.
She wiped her eyes. “I guess I’m okay, Ms. Paladin. I don’t know. I don’t know nothing anymore.”
Her voice held an odd mix of urban hip and Appalachian. She was one of the people in this area who had moved up to find jobs after everything dried up in the mountains of Kentucky and West Virginia. Sometimes, it felt like this neighborhood was a subculture in and of itself.
I leaned toward her and squeezed her hand. The woman was young, and she looked young—too young to have four children. She’d worked as a strip per to pay bills at one point, only giving it up so she could keep her kids. But working in a grocery store didn’t pay nearly as well as baring her skin.
“Were you close to your cousin?”
She shook her head, running a blue-tipped fingernail under her eyes. “He was only staying with me for the week. His mom kicked him out. Said he’d been up to no good and she’d had enough of him. She would’ve changed her mind. She always does.”
I handed her a tissue. “Tell me about your cousin. Dewayne.”
She wiped under her eye s again with the tissue I’d given her. “Underneath everything, he was a good guy. He just got mixed up with the wrong crowd. You know how that can be.”
“What do you mean by wrong crowd ?” I asked.
She shrugged. “Just kids who weren’t trying to stay on the straight and narrow. Not bad kids, necessarily. Just kids who seemed to like trouble.”
“It wasn’t a gang, was it?”
H er eyes widened, and she hung her head toward the floor a moment. “I feared he might be involved in one. He’d been gone a lot lately, you know? I asked him what he was up to, and he’d always give me the same answer. ‘Same old, same old.’ He was working at the fast food place down the street, but he was bringing in some big money. He’d bought a new phone, a new watch, expensive sunglasses.”
“And you have no idea where he got the money for it?”
“No idea. He wouldn’t tell me.” She
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