Read Online The Fashion Hound Murders by Elaine Viets - Free Book Online

another cup of coffee.
    Fortified with caffeine, she went to wake up Amelia. They’d have to leave for school soon. Amelia was awake, but still in bed.
    “Are we still going to get my cat this afternoon?” Amelia asked.
    “Of course.”
    Amelia leapt out of bed without protest. She was ready for school in record time.
    “Did you have nightmares and stuff last night after watching that poor lady die?” Amelia asked on the way to Barrington.
    “How do you know about Edna?”
    “I heard you talking to Grandma when you came home. You were crying. You never cry.”
    “I was just tired,” Josie said.
    “Yeah, right,” Amelia said.
    “Is Harry going to chew you out?” Amelia asked.
    “He already did this morning,” Josie said.
    “I’m sorry,” Amelia said.
    Josie shrugged. “He’s a jerk. He’s not even sorry that poor woman died.”
    I’m having a real conversation with my daughter, Josie thought. Unlike her mother, she’s going to be a thoughtful, sensitive person. She pulled into the circular drive of the Barrington School for Boys and Girls. The Georgian-style redbrick buildings with their crisp white trim and dignified fan lights told the parents they were special. It wasn’t necessary. Most of them already believed that.
    “There’s Emma!” Amelia reached for her backpack, slammed the door, and ran out of the car to greet her friend.
    Josie waved to Emma’s mother, then inched down the Barrington drive. Students drifted in front of the moving cars with the confidence of the well protected. They had no fear of being hurt. The world always did what they wanted.
    I wish my daughter had their self-assurance, she thought. I wish we had their charmed lives. But she knew there were no charmed lives. Even rich kids and their parents were short of money, and they worried in their way as much as Josie and Amelia.
    Josie’s phone rang as she was leaving the Barrington driveway. It was Alyce. Josie pulled into the parking lot alongside the school to talk to her friend.
    “How are you?” Alyce asked. “And what happened last night?”
    Josie told her, while Alyce made sympathetic sounds. “Do you want to come here for coffee?”
    “No, thanks. I want to get some supplies for Amelia. We’re going to pick out a cat at the Humane Society tonight.”
    “That will be a good distraction for both of you. Tell me you aren’t going to Pets 4 Luv.”
    “I’m going to their competitor, the Puppy-Kitty Superstore.”
    “Good,” Alyce said. “Call me if you need to talk. You had a very upsetting evening.”
    Josie stopped at the giant warehouse store and bought a cat box, litter, dry food, and cat toys, including toy mice and a bag of colorful yarn balls. She also bought a long-handled device with red feathers on the end. The saleswoman assured her cats went crazy over it.
    Jane was waiting for Josie when she came home loaded with her packages. Her mother seemed tired and pricklier than usual this morning.
    “How are you?” Jane asked.
    “Fine, Mom. I bought some cat supplies. We’re going to pick out a cat tonight.”
    “Are you really going through with that?” Jane didn’t bother to hide her disapproval.
    “Yes, Mom. It will be good for Amelia.”
    “A cat is not a vitamin pill, Josie. What if the animal has fleas?”
    “The Humane Society checks the cats,” Josie said. “The cat will be flea free. They’ll clean out the ear mites and worm it, too.”
    Jane wrinkled her nose. “Thank you for that lovely image.”

Chapter 7
    “And Amelia Marcus.”
    Five more students came running out of the Barrington School for Boys and Girls. Sleek SUVs, Mercedes, and BMWs awaited them, along with Josie’s humble gray Honda. Her car was the alley cat in this well-bred automotive herd. Barrington teachers drove cars like Josie’s—small, old, and anonymous.
    Barrington students did not walk out of school. They had to wait for their rides to arrive and their names to be called. Most of their parents had