Read Online Red Ochre Falls by Kristen Gibson - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kristen Gibson
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wind.
“Mattie?” Garrett
looked at me so intently I felt a shock wave. “Can I ask you something
personal?” I kept quiet and said yes with my eyes.
Just as he opened
his mouth to ask, Sledge and Manny burst through the back door.
“Got another dusty
one,” Manny called out casually as if he’d said, ‘Honey, I’m home’ while he and
Sledge rolled the latest body, um, customer inside. I didn’t run this time.
But, I did avoid looking directly at the black bag for the first few moments.
“Easy guys.”
Garrett pushed open the door to the holding room while maintaining my gaze. “If
they’re right, and it’s the same stuff found on the last one, we’ll be talking
to Cal about more than just Chloe tomorrow.”
Sledge and Manny
went inside and Garrett’s voice softened. “We’ll pick our conversation up where
we left off soon. Okay?” He smiled warmly. I smiled back and let him get to
work.
When I got upstairs
and locked the door, mom greeted me with chocolate chip cookies and milk. The
warm vanilla and gooey chocolate welcomed me to sit and unload my worries. I
let mom have it, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Well, most of it. I left out
the part where I felt mixed emotions about Garrett, and volunteered us both to
look into a possible murder. No need to worry her unless something more
happened with either situation, right? Maybe nothing would.
Mom expressed her
sympathy over Chloe’s death then reassured me we’d be fine, that the car and
our finances would hold up. Despite the fact I didn’t get the job I’d
interviewed for recently. The office left a voice message and said they’d keep
my resume on file a while longer—I wasn’t going to hold my breath.
Picking up some kind of work remained a priority. Garrett offered to take care
of the car repairs, and to help look into Chloe’s death. I didn’t want to be in
his debt any more than I already was.
“You two girls all
caught up?” Aunt Eileen surprised us in the kitchen. My aunt’s autumn print
dress and cropped red hair reminded me of my third grade English teacher. The
look suited her.
“Yes, thanks.
Everything okay with the arrangements?” Mom looked at me and brushed a bit of
hair behind my ear the way she had since I was a kid. Something was up. She
looked back at my aunt.
“I’m taking your
mom on a little trip,” Eileen said.
“Is everything
okay, mom?” An impromptu trip worried me.
“I’m fine, honey.
But grandpa’s hit a rough patch and we thought a visit might cheer him up.” Mom
sounded concerned about grandpa. “Eileen will do most of the driving, I’ll
annoy her with advice and help out if needed. We’d be gone a few days. I hate
to burden you with extra work, but I need you to answer the phones and cover
any office requests while we’re gone. I wouldn’t ask unless it was important.”
She looked worried, and it was the last thing she needed to feel right now.
“It’s no problem.
Just get me up to speed and I’ll handle it. Aunt Eileen, please make sure she
gets some rest, too.” Mom and my aunt hugged me at the same time.
We visited a while
longer. They went to the bedroom to pack mom’s things while I polished off
another cookie and packed the rest in two containers, one for me, one for their
trip. I took one final swig of milk then washed the glass and put it on the
drying rack. As mom and Aunt Eileen got ready for bed, I grabbed a pillow and
blanket from the bedroom closet and put them on the couch in the living room. I
rinsed up, said goodnight, and crashed.
CHAPTER 7
I woke up to mom and Aunt Eileen singing in the kitchen. They used to
break out singing a lot when they cooked with grandma. I’d almost forgotten how
much I missed hearing them harmonize. We ate oatmeal and chatted some more
about the trip. After breakfast, I walked a couple bags downstairs and loaded
them into Aunt Eileen’s burgundy sedan. We exchanged hugs and they left.
I
“Mattie?” Garrett
looked at me so intently I felt a shock wave. “Can I ask you something
personal?” I kept quiet and said yes with my eyes.
Just as he opened
his mouth to ask, Sledge and Manny burst through the back door.
“Got another dusty
one,” Manny called out casually as if he’d said, ‘Honey, I’m home’ while he and
Sledge rolled the latest body, um, customer inside. I didn’t run this time.
But, I did avoid looking directly at the black bag for the first few moments.
“Easy guys.”
Garrett pushed open the door to the holding room while maintaining my gaze. “If
they’re right, and it’s the same stuff found on the last one, we’ll be talking
to Cal about more than just Chloe tomorrow.”
Sledge and Manny
went inside and Garrett’s voice softened. “We’ll pick our conversation up where
we left off soon. Okay?” He smiled warmly. I smiled back and let him get to
work.
When I got upstairs
and locked the door, mom greeted me with chocolate chip cookies and milk. The
warm vanilla and gooey chocolate welcomed me to sit and unload my worries. I
let mom have it, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Well, most of it. I left out
the part where I felt mixed emotions about Garrett, and volunteered us both to
look into a possible murder. No need to worry her unless something more
happened with either situation, right? Maybe nothing would.
Mom expressed her
sympathy over Chloe’s death then reassured me we’d be fine, that the car and
our finances would hold up. Despite the fact I didn’t get the job I’d
interviewed for recently. The office left a voice message and said they’d keep
my resume on file a while longer—I wasn’t going to hold my breath.
Picking up some kind of work remained a priority. Garrett offered to take care
of the car repairs, and to help look into Chloe’s death. I didn’t want to be in
his debt any more than I already was.
“You two girls all
caught up?” Aunt Eileen surprised us in the kitchen. My aunt’s autumn print
dress and cropped red hair reminded me of my third grade English teacher. The
look suited her.
“Yes, thanks.
Everything okay with the arrangements?” Mom looked at me and brushed a bit of
hair behind my ear the way she had since I was a kid. Something was up. She
looked back at my aunt.
“I’m taking your
mom on a little trip,” Eileen said.
“Is everything
okay, mom?” An impromptu trip worried me.
“I’m fine, honey.
But grandpa’s hit a rough patch and we thought a visit might cheer him up.” Mom
sounded concerned about grandpa. “Eileen will do most of the driving, I’ll
annoy her with advice and help out if needed. We’d be gone a few days. I hate
to burden you with extra work, but I need you to answer the phones and cover
any office requests while we’re gone. I wouldn’t ask unless it was important.”
She looked worried, and it was the last thing she needed to feel right now.
“It’s no problem.
Just get me up to speed and I’ll handle it. Aunt Eileen, please make sure she
gets some rest, too.” Mom and my aunt hugged me at the same time.
We visited a while
longer. They went to the bedroom to pack mom’s things while I polished off
another cookie and packed the rest in two containers, one for me, one for their
trip. I took one final swig of milk then washed the glass and put it on the
drying rack. As mom and Aunt Eileen got ready for bed, I grabbed a pillow and
blanket from the bedroom closet and put them on the couch in the living room. I
rinsed up, said goodnight, and crashed.
CHAPTER 7
I woke up to mom and Aunt Eileen singing in the kitchen. They used to
break out singing a lot when they cooked with grandma. I’d almost forgotten how
much I missed hearing them harmonize. We ate oatmeal and chatted some more
about the trip. After breakfast, I walked a couple bags downstairs and loaded
them into Aunt Eileen’s burgundy sedan. We exchanged hugs and they left.
I
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