Read Online THE SOUND OF MURDER by Cindy Brown - Free Book Online

baths.”
    “Really?”
    “People have drowned in the bathtub, you know,” I said, more sharply than intended.
    “I know.” Jeremy’s eyes softened and I realized that he had seen a lot of things I didn’t want to imagine.
    “It’s a long story.”
    Jeremy eyes, still soft, met mine. “We have all afternoon.”
    So I told him. About long ago when we lived in Spokane, Washington. About one winter when I was eleven and didn’t want to take my little brother Cody with me when I went ice-skating with my girlfriends. About ignoring him after my mother insisted he go with us to the park. About the crack of the ice and the sight of Cody’s yellow hair floating beneath the surface of the pond.
    “He died?”
    “No. He lives in Phoenix now too. In a group home.”
    “Oh.” Jeremy was probably familiar enough with bodily functions to understand that the icy cold pond water had kept my brother alive. And that the lack of oxygen had damaged Cody’s brain.
    “It’s a nice place.” I said it partly to get the conversation back on a happier note, and partly because the group home was a nice place, a bungalow that housed several guys with cognitive disabilities and was staffed with some really good people, especially Matt, Candy’s boyfriend. Matt had a calm presence, a great sense of humor, and a real love for the guys, like a wise older cousin.
    Jeremy put down his beer. “Ivy, I’m so sorry.”
    “About Cody?” I said, too quickly, too harshly. I did not want pity for me or my brother.
    “That the accident happened.” He put an arm around me.
    “Thanks.” Maybe he could understand.
    I leaned my head on his shoulder and watched the sun fracture into skittering diamonds on the surface of Lake Pleasant. Jeremy shifted next to me, and I turned my head to see those golden eyes watching me. He bent his head toward mine and…
    A stinky spray of water hit us smack in the kissers.
    “What the hell!”
    Jeremy jumped up. A gray-speckled dog shook itself in front of us, dirty water flying everywhere. I ducked my head into my knees to get my face out of range of the doggy-smelling shower.
    The dog, some sort of wiry-haired hound mix, stopped shaking and stared at us, panting, his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth.
    “Good dog,” I said. “Go away now, so I can kiss Jeremy.”
    Jeremy laughed and turned to me, so he didn’t see the dog run between his legs until he wound up ass-over-teakettle on the pebbly sand. “Hey!” He stood up, reaching a cautious hand toward the mutt. “What’d you do that for?”
    I swear the dog looked like he wanted to reply. Instead, he bumped Jeremy with his nose, wet sandy whiskers trembling.
    Putting my empty beer bottle down, I scanned the shoreline. “Where’s his owner?” I didn’t see anything except a small aluminum boat sitting at the edge of the lake, maybe a quarter mile away.
    “No collar,” said Jeremy. “Maybe he’s a stray.”
    The dog whimpered and bumped him again. “Are you hungry, boy?” Jeremy stood up and stepped toward the cooler when the dog nipped his ankle. “Hey!”
    The dog ran a few feet toward the boat, then stopped and looked back at us. When we didn’t move, he ran back. It looked like he was going for my ankle this time, but I jumped up before he could get me.
    “Ha!” I said. “I’m smarter than you, dog.”
    The dog tilted his head, looked back at the boat, and then at me again. I reassessed his intelligence. He seemed pretty smart, like those animal heroes in the movies.
    “Want to take a walk?” I said to Jeremy, gesturing toward the boat.
    “Nah.” He brushed the sand off his shorts. “But I’ll race you!” He took off like a shot. The dog caught up and then passed him, zooming up ahead. I, no runner, took off at a decent trot, and enjoyed the view from behind, if you know what I mean. Jeremy turned around once, jogging backward to make sure I was following. I could see him smile. I waved and kept trotting, hoping he