Funeral for a Friend
- Автор: Фриман Брайан
- Серия: jonathan stride #10
- Год: 2020
- Язык: английский
- Год: Blackstone Publishing
- ISBN: 978-1-982663-72-8
- Жанр: Криминальные детективы
Электронная книга - «Funeral for a Friend». Краткое содержание книги:
“All right.”
“The town hall will start in about an hour. Find a place inside anywhere you can.”
“Okay.”
“Would you like a button, too?”
“No!” Andrea snapped, way too loudly. People around her stopped and looked. “No, I’m an independent.”
“That’s fine. Like I said, everybody’s welcome.”
“Thank you.”
Andrea felt herself floating as she headed for the ballroom doors, practically carried along by the surge of the crowd. Inside, she wanted to cover her ears because of all the singing, shouting, and chanting. There was hardly a square inch free on the beige carpet, which was decorated with images of fall leaves. The curving windows showed the darkness outside, and rain pounded against the glass like machine gun fire. Lightning sparked almost continuously, causing a constant rumble of thunder that buzzed through her entire body.
She squeezed forward into the room, excusing herself as she went past dozens of people. She wanted to be right near the stage. She wanted to be close enough to see Devin’s face. To stare into his eyes.
She wanted him to see her.
A microphone for the people who planned to ask questions had been mounted on a stand immediately in front of the stage. A velvet rope surrounded it, carving out a space for each person to come and introduce themselves. Not even ten feet away, up on the elevated platform, was another microphone, this one for Devin Card.
They would be face to face, but he would still be looking down at her.
Still controlling her. Still on top of her.
She needed to purge that image from her mind once and for all.
Andrea staked out her place near the microphone and resisted every attempt by others to dislodge her. She wasn’t going anywhere. She found herself watching every inch of the stage, wondering when it would all begin. When would she see him for the first time? When would he approach the microphone? There were steps on the far left that led off the stage and through the ballroom doors to the corridor. There were steps on the far right near the dark windows. Congressional staff walked back and forth, talking to each other and whispering into radios.
She imagined what they were saying.
Is she here?
Who is she?
What is she going to say?
“Ma’am?” another volunteer asked her as she held her ground near the velvet rope. He was a kid, too, hardly out of his teens. He wore a Devin Card T-shirt — again that awful, smiling face taunting her — and he held a clipboard and had a headset curled around his ear.
“Ma’am, are you planning to ask a question tonight?”
“Yes,” Andrea replied. “Yes, I have a question for the Congressman.”
31
“Wow, you surprised me,” Cat told Colleen, covering her mouth after she screamed. “What are you doing here?”
Colleen gave her a little smirk. Her clothes and hair were wet from the rain, and she had a large satchel dangling from her shoulder. Cat was still naked in front of her, and Colleen reached out and playfully shoved Cat’s wet arm. They were just a few inches apart in the bathroom doorway. “I thought we could hang out together, girlfriend. Just you and me.”
“Does Brayden know you’re here?”
“Tall, blond, and handsome? Your boy toy? Yeah, he’s on the porch. I told him this was a girls’ night. No dudes allowed. He said I could go in. Come on, you’re up for that, aren’t you? A little Cat and Colly time?”
“I guess. Sure.”
“Look at you, you are so hot.”
Cat had never felt uncomfortable being naked in front of another woman, but Colleen’s eyes traveled up and down her body in a way that felt off. “Thanks. Listen, I forgot to get fresh clothes from my bedroom. Could you get some for me? I don’t want to walk out there with Brayden outside.”
“Yeah, of course. Whatever you want.”
Colleen disappeared and returned a couple minutes later with a loose green tank top and frayed jean shorts, which Cat quickly put on. The two of them wandered into the cottage’s living room, and Cat took one end of the red leather sofa while Colleen took the other. When Cat stretched out her legs, so did Colleen. The rain was loud on the roof above them, and wind shook the house.
“Any news on Wyatt?” Colleen asked her. “Have the police found him?”
Cat shook her head. “No.”
“Well, I’m sure they’ll get the son of a bitch soon.”
“Yeah. I hope so.”
“How about we sneak out again? Ditch boy toy and take my car?”
“I shouldn’t,” Cat said. “Stride wants me practically behind bars.”
“You sure? I feel like doing something. We should go someplace.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know. Maybe find a club or something. We could dance.”
“I’d love to, but Stride would kill me. He says I need to stick around here until they find Wyatt.”
“Yeah, okay. I get it.”
Cat noticed that Colleen’s brown eyes never seemed to move or blink, and her smile was frozen on her face. The girl’s chalky skin had a glistening fringe of sweat where her blond hair met her forehead.
“Curt came by,” Cat told her. “He left right before you got here. He says you broke up with him.”
“Yeah, I did. I was over him. Life moves on.”
“He’s pretty upset. I told you he wasn’t as tough as he looks. I said you should let him down gently.”
Colleen’s smile twitched a bit, but that was her only reaction. “I know, but when you’re getting rid of a guy, you need to do it quick like you’re pulling off a bandage. Anything else just prolongs the pain.”
“Are you really sure you’re over him?”
“Very sure.”
“Are you dating somebody else?” Cat asked. “Is there another guy?”
“Another guy?” Colleen giggled. “No, there’s no other guy.”
“Curt thought there was.”
“Well, Curt’s paranoid. Look, he’s nice and all, but it was never going to be a long-term thing with him. If he didn’t get that, that’s on him.”
“Okay. You know what you want, and it’s none of my business. But listen, just so you know, Curt may try to get you back. I told him to talk to you. Go over to your place. I thought maybe there was still a chance for the two of you to make up.”
“You told Curt to go to my place?” Colleen asked with an exaggerated pleasantness in her voice. Cat could tell she wasn’t happy about it.
“Yeah. Sorry about that. I figured if you guys talked, you might change your mind. I shouldn’t have gotten in the middle of it.”
“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.” Colleen began to rub Cat’s legs with her bare feet. “You want to put on some music?”
“Sure.”
Colleen’s eyes narrowed, and she cocked her head like a fortune teller trying to read her mind. “I’m betting you’re a Chainsmokers fan.”
“I am. I’ve got all their music.”
“You like ‘This Feeling’?”
Cat laughed. “Oh, yeah. I play it over and over. I drive Stride and Serena crazy with it sometimes. Do you like it, too?”
“Love it.”
Cat didn’t have to be asked twice. She retrieved her speakers from her bedroom, and she connected her phone and booted up the Chainsmokers song, letting Kelsea Ballerini belt out the opening lyrics. She saw Brayden glance inside through the rain-soaked front windows when he heard the music. When their eyes met, Cat deliberately swung her head away, ignoring him. She wanted him to know she was mad. She wanted to be a bitch.