A Second Date with Death (Sky High Pies Cozy Mysteries Book 39) by Mary Maxwell

Author:Mary Maxwell [Maxwell, Mary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2020-11-20T20:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 24

The voice that answered the phone at Suzanne Hollister’s house that evening was thick with disdain and impatience.

“What took you so long, moron?”

It was Tate, Suzanne’s 17-year-old son and one of the most popular teenagers in town. After years as a pudgy kid with bad skin, Tate had transformed into a tall, lean athlete who was admired by classmates as well as the football, basketball and baseball coaches at Crescent Creek High.

“Hello, Tate,” I said. “This is Kate Reed. I was looking for your mother.”

There was no reply for a few seconds. I pictured Suzanne’s son trying to think of something snarky to say in response to my comment. But then he decided to abandon the pursuit and behave like the well-adjusted kid that I’d known for years.

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” he said. “I thought you were somebody else.”

“Don’t worry about it, Tate. I get that a lot.”

“Huh?”

“People who are expecting someone else when they answer the phone,” I explained. “It’s been happening to me since birth.”

“Okay, whatever,” he muttered in a flat, listless tone.

I waited for a moment. When he didn’t say anything more, I asked if his mother was available.

“She’s probably around somewhere,” he replied.

Another brief silence followed. Then I asked if he could possibly tell Suzanne that I was on the phone.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said again. “Please hold.”

I waited while Tate yelled for his mother. Then I heard Suzanne tell him to pipe down so he wouldn’t wake his two brothers. And then I listened to Tate grumble about having to use the family’s landline because his cell phone privileges had been revoked.

“Katie?” Suzanne sounded flustered and out of breath when she came on the line. “I am so sorry about Tate. He just told me how he answered the phone.”

“That’s no problem,” I said. “I grew up with a younger brother, remember?”

“But we taught him to be more polite than that,” she said. “I guess that he was expecting a call from one of his friends.”

“I get it,” I said. “No apology necessary.”

“Thanks for being so understanding,” she replied. “Tate is a work in progress. I hope that by the time he finishes high school he can make it through one week without being grounded or putting all of his allowance in the swear jar.”

“Sounds like a typical teenager,” I said.

She sighed wistfully. “That’s true, but his younger brothers are learning all of his bad habits. I don’t know if Mick and I can survive two more teenagers.”

“You’ll do great,” I said. “You’re both strong and resilient.”

Suzanne laughed. “And heavily medicated, so that’s a plus.” She paused for a moment. “I’m just kidding! We love our boys more than anything. But you didn’t call to hear me blather on about parenthood. What’s going on, Katie?”

“I spoke with Lloyd Payne earlier today,” I said. “He told me that you saw Vince Bowden with a gun in front of Robbie Shergold’s house on Saturday night.”

“What was that?” Suzanne asked, sounding surprised. “Lloyd said that I saw what?”

I repeated the claim made by Lloyd Payne.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.