Read Online Tressed to Kill by Lila Dare - Free Book Online

although the only wildlife I saw was a pair of redwing blackbirds. The area was also deserted, which I hadn’t anticipated. I guess I’d thought there’d be a housing tract within a stone’s throw or surveyors taking measurements or a gas station on the corner. But there was nothing except an occasional car speeding past on SR 42 and a dark blue Cadillac Escalade parked on the side of the road. Richardson stood beside the driver’s door, a brawny figure with a bull neck and a white Stetson hat. A leather sports coat added to his bulk, and cowboy boots made of some exotic hide encased his feet. The hint of jowl at his jaw line and the mesh of lines around his eyes put him in his mid-fifties. I got out and we shook hands. A large school ring glinted on his finger, and his grip nearly crushed my hand. The swamp smells of mud and rotten eggs filtered my way as the wind kicked up.
“A pleasure to meet you, Grace,” he said, the Texas twang as bright as his smile. “I can call you Grace, right?”
“Sure, Del,” I agreed. This “let’s be buddies” approach told me he was fairly desperate to find some allies in St. Elizabeth. Maybe I could make use of that.
He handed me an inch-thick manila envelope. “I think you’ll find all the stats and data you need in there,” he said. “Environmental impact statements, reports on the boost to local economies when a Morestuf goes up in the community, et cetera, et cetera. But numbers only tell part of the story, right?”
I nodded. He strode toward the middle of the field, and I followed, walking on tiptoe to keep the heels of my pumps from sinking into the sandy soil. The humidity had increased, and moisture quickly slicked my skin. Great drops of perspiration beaded Richardson’s forehead, and he swiped at them with the back of his hand.
“People are the real story. You saw that mobile home park we passed on the way out here, darlin’?” He flung his hand in the direction of town. “Well, when this Morestuf gets built, those people will have jobs, good jobs, with benefits. And they’ll be able to walk to work. What do you think about that?”
I thought it sounded good, in theory. “But what about the business owners in St. Elizabeth proper?” I asked. “What will happen to their livelihoods?”
“They’ll adapt, Grace, they’ll adapt. That’s how business works. The tourists will still buy the pricey clothes and local paintings in the downtown area because it’s so ‘charming and Southern.’ Real people like you and me, we’ll have options when the Morestuf opens. Options that better fit our budgets.”
He was good . . . I had to give him that. Linking us together as if my income weren’t a light-year away from his. He probably got his boots at Neiman Marcus and bought Christmas gifts at Tiffany’s. My shoes came from Payless, and I made my Christmas presents by hand, more often than not.
“It sounds good, Del,” I said, putting all the open-eyed innocence I could into my voice, “but I know Constance DuBois was dead set against it, and her opinion carried a lot of weight in St. Elizabeth.”
“She came ’round to our side before she died, God rest her soul,” he said. “She was a reasonable woman—a businesswoman—and those facts convinced her.” He nodded at the envelope in my hand.
I gaped at his bold-faced lie. “So, you were able to talk her around after the town hall meeting? I thought I saw you escorting her to her car. That was very gentlemanly of you.” If he could lie, so could I.
A tide of red seeped from his neck, over his jaw, and flushed his cheeks. “Cut the crap,” he said, all trace of friendliness gone from his voice. “I didn’t lay eyes on her after I left the building. If you’re implying—”
“I heard you threaten her,” I said, my voice cold. “And I heard her say she’d make damned sure you didn’t get to build your store.” A mosquito whined in my ear, and I shook my head. The sun was drifting down the horizon, and the lengthening shadows had brought out the little