Read Online Vanessa Gray Bartal - Lacy Steele 07 - Icy Grip of Murder by Vanessa Gray Bartal - Free Book Online Page A

ring hovering over her finger. Suddenly
everything felt too real. Lacy’s forehead broke out in a cold sweat. Jason may
have been sweating too, but it was hard for her to tell under the hat.
    “What is going on in here?”
    They had been so intent on the
rings that they hadn’t heard Michael enter the store. “I leave you alone for
ten minutes and you’re getting engaged?”
    “We were just looking,” Lacy said,
tearing her hand away and tucking it under her armpit. Jason dropped the ring
as if it were suddenly molten. Louse pounced on it and rearranged it back in
the tray. Lacy noted that his hands were also shaking now.
    “Cockroach,” he said when the tray
was put away.
    “Louse,” Michael said. “You don’t
seem surprised to see me. I wonder who could have told you I was coming?”
    “I heard the cops picked you up. It
was a no-brainer that you’d be by sometime.”
    “Was it? Because I wouldn’t be here
if I didn’t need information.”
    “About what?” Louse asked, trying
and failing to play dumb. Of all the insects, he so far seemed the smartest.
    “Where’s Jenny?”
    “Let’s go in my office and discuss
this like rational people,” Louse said. They followed him to a small, dark
paneled office, abundant with pictures of leaping horses and fox chases. On the
wall behind his desk was a picture of Winston Churchill and a quote: “Never,
never, never give up.”
    Just when Lacy was beginning to
think she had found one of Michael’s friends to relate to, he began setting
objects on his desk. First came a penny, then a pair of shears, followed by
several knives. She and Jason shared a look. What was he doing?
    Michael got straight to the point.
“Where’s Jenny?”
    “You think I know?” Louse said. He
picked up one of the knives and held it aloft. “Never needs sharpened.”
    “I think you all know,” Michael
said.
    “No way. I got out of that group a
long time ago. I’m trying to run a business here,” Louse said. He picked up a
piece of paper and used the knife to slice it cleanly in two. “Perfectly
honed.”
    “All right, theoretically let’s
pretend that you have some insight into Jenny’s thought process. I get that she
framed me because she was mad about our impending breakup. Why do you think she
faked her death in the first place? And why do you think she’s stayed hidden
all these years?”
    “From what I remember of Jenny, the
only thing she liked better than power was money. She would have done it for
money and nothing else.” He picked up the penny and showed it to them. The
gesture was reminiscent of a magician. Lacy wondered if he was going to pull
the penny out of one of their ears soon.
    “What money?” Michael asked.
    Louse shrugged. “How should I know?
I haven’t seen her in years.” He picked up the shears and began cutting the
penny into a spiral. “Solid forged German steel. Nothing like it in the world.”
He finished cutting the penny and dropped it into Jason’s hand.
    “If you do, tell her I’m looking
forward to seeing her. Is Larva still where we left him?” Michael asked.
    “Still in the cocoon,” Louse said. Turning
his attention to Lacy and Jason, he said, “Free knife set with every ring
purchase.” He held up the knives and the kitchen shears, allowing the light to
gleam off the blades.
    Jason turned questioningly to Lacy.
“Those are some nice knives. It cut a penny into a spiral.” He showed her the
penny.
    “No,” Lacy said, shaking her head.
    “Solid German steel,” he added.
    “Do you really want to get engaged
over a knife set?” she asked. He blinked at her in surprise, as if he had
temporarily forgotten their pretend pending
engagement.
    “I’ll throw in a paring knife,”
Louse added.
    “No,” they answered together,
avoiding eye contact. They followed Michael outside, using him as a buffer
between them.
    “Did you figure out who the tail
was?” Jason asked as they left the store.
    “No. By the time I got