Desire After Dark. Amanda Ashley
Чтение книги онлайн.
Читать онлайн книгу Desire After Dark - Amanda Ashley страница 4
Название: Desire After Dark
Автор: Amanda Ashley
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Короткие любовные романы
isbn: 9781420111682
isbn:
If the story hadn’t been so lurid, if it hadn’t been reported by the police, she might have suspected it was just another one of the high school pranks that were so prevalent in Pear Blossom Creek in the weeks before Halloween. But the body found near Hellfire Hollow last year had been made out of newspaper, a couple rolls of duct tape, and a wig one of the kids had stolen from the Curl and Dye.
Vicki sat back in her chair. This was no high school prank. Two women had been murdered in two days. What on earth was going on?
Last seen at Ozzie’s Diner, the paper said. She could have added that the last time she had seen the two women, they had been in the company of a tall, dark man who was a stranger in town.
She dressed hurriedly after a quick breakfast and went to Mass, where she lit a candle for Sharlene’s soul and then, after a moment’s reflection, she lit a candle for the other woman who had been killed.
Vicki stayed close to home the rest of the day. Feeling like she needed to connect with her family, she called her sister. Karen lived in St. Louis with her husband, Richard, and their four kids. Richard was an accountant for an insurance company. Most of their conversation was about Karen’s kids and how fast they were growing. Richie was six, Lucy was five, Carolyn was three and a half, and the baby, Lori, was already five months old.
After about twenty minutes, Karen said, “Listen, I’ve got to go, the baby’s crying. But you’ve got to come for a visit real soon, okay? Here’s Mom.”
Vicki spent the next hour chatting with her mother. As usual, most of the conversation was about Vicki’s lack of a prospective husband.
“If you’d get out of that small town, maybe you’d find someone,” Mona said.
Thinking of the recent murders, Vicki wondered if that wasn’t a good idea, especially since the murderer seemed to have a fondness for redheads.
“I’ve got to go, Mom.”
“You might give that nice Arnie Hall another chance.”
“Mom, we’ve been through all that before.”
“All right, dear. Tell Gus hello for me.”
“I will. Talk to you soon, Mom. I love you.”
“I love you, too, dear. Bye now.”
Vicki was in the midst of doing her laundry later that afternoon when Bobbie Sue called.
“Hey, Vicki, any chance you could work for me tomorrow night? Steve’s fixin’ to take me to the Toby Keith concert over in Pine Grove.”
“I don’t know, Bobbie Sue…”
“Sakes alive, Vicki, it’s Toby Keith! How often does he come here? How often does anyone come here? Please, Vicki?”
“But it’s my night off. I was thinking of going to a movie.”
“If you do this for me, I’ll be your best friend.”
Vickie had to laugh at that. It was something they had said since they were children whenever they wanted something really bad. “You’re already my best friend.”
“Vicki Cavendish, I’m down on my knees here.”
Vicki sighed. She was off on Monday nights, but how could she refuse? Bobbie Sue was obsessed with Toby Keith. She had all his CDs and she played them constantly. “Oh, all right, but you owe me big time.”
“Anything,” Bobbie Sue promised. “All you have to do is ask.”
The murders were all anyone talked about on Monday morning. At the bank, at the post office, when she went to drop off her clothes at the cleaners, it was the main topic of conversation. The police were asking the townspeople to come forward if they had seen or heard anything suspicious, no matter how insignificant it might seem, and to let them know if they had seen any strangers loitering around town.
She had seen a stranger, Vicki thought as she drove to work later that evening, although she wasn’t sure that sitting in Ozzie’s Diner could be construed as loitering.
She felt a shiver of unease when that same stranger entered the diner a couple of hours later and again sat at the booth in the far corner. She hesitated before moving toward him, wondering if he had killed Sharlene and the Lewis woman. She glanced around the diner, noting that there were no single women, redheaded or otherwise, sitting at any of the tables tonight.
He smiled as she approached the booth. “Good evening.”
He had a very sexy smile.
“Is there any point in my taking your order?” she asked, pulling her pad from the pocket of her apron.
His smile widened, revealing even white teeth that looked like they belonged in a toothpaste commercial. “Perhaps not.”
“Why do you come in here every night?” she asked, slipping her pad back into her apron pocket. “You never eat anything.”
His gaze moved over her in a way that made her blush from the top of her head to the soles of her feet. “Perhaps it is your company that draws me.”
She crossed her arms over her breasts, her expression skeptical. It didn’t happen often, but every now and then a stranger tried to pick her up. “Uh-huh.”
“You do not believe me?”
“Listen, we’re really busy tonight. Do you want anything or not?”
His gaze moved over her again, lingering on the hollow of her throat. It made her uncomfortable in a way she couldn’t quite comprehend. If he told her she looked good enough to eat, she was going to slug him. “Well?”
He glanced quickly around the room, then shook his head. “No, I want nothing but to spend some time with you.”
“Excuse me, but I’m working here.”
She was about to turn away when his voice, deliciously soft and sinfully seductive, stayed her.
“Come out with me, Victoria. I will not hurt you, I promise.”
She stared at him, thinking what an odd thing that was for a man to say to a woman. “I can’t, sorry.”
“Perhaps you will change your mind.”
The thought of going out with him made her mouth go dry. “I don’t think so.”
She moved away from the table as quickly as she could without running. When she risked a glance at the booth a short time later, he was gone. Again, he had left her a generous tip.
She was too busy the rest of the night to spend much time thinking about the stranger, but later that night, when she was at home soaking in a hot bubble bath, his image rose up in her mind—dark blue eyes, long black hair, a fine blade of a nose, a strong jaw, sensual lips, cheekbones that were high and prominent, skin that looked a trifle pale. But then, maybe he didn’t spend much time in the sun. Lots of people avoided it these days, what with all СКАЧАТЬ