All The Difference by Rouda Kaira

Author:Rouda, Kaira [Rouda, Kaira]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Suspense
Publisher: Real You Publishing Group
Published: 2012-06-05T06:00:00+00:00

Tuesday, August 30

Dixon loved the corner patio table and expected it to be held for him on perfect summer days. At least until noon. The shade of the linden tree made sunglasses unnecessary, but Dixon donned them for effect as he smiled at his luncheon companion du jour and swirled the pinot grigio in his glass.

“You should’ve come to the funeral, Dixon. It was well done, ah, I mean elegant. Nice eulogies. All the fixings,” Laura said.

“Funerals aren’t for me, Sugar. I’m too close to death as it is, you know,” Dixon answered, snorting and sniffing and squinting his eyes.

“Right, I’d hardly call sixty-something knocking on death’s door.”

“That’s what Michael Anderson thought, too, Sugar, and he wasn’t even forty. Hey, why did Ellen Anderson quit work right away, after the big boom? It seems like she’d need an outlet even more, you know,” Dixon said.

He and Laura Mercer were enjoying what had become a monthly luncheon date outside on the patio at Lindey’s. It was hot, eighty-five degrees at least, but the breeze kept the shaded terrace ten degrees cooler. Dixon was convinced Michael Anderson’s death was a homicide while everyone else in the universe thought it was an unfortunate explosion.

“Dix, you’re not suspicious of little Ellen Anderson, are you? You know the detectives would’ve found something if there was any foul flambé to be found—heck, the insurance guys would’ve found it,” Laura said. “I know the cops grilled Angie, the Andersons’ cleaning lady, and even Ellen Anderson. You said it yourself at the scene: Michael simply chose to cook out, something went wrong and boom. End of story.”

“If you weren’t so beautiful, you’d be easy to hate, you cold little sizzler,” Dixon said, chortling. Still, he was bothered by Michael Anderson’s demise. As he looked up, he saw his favorite reporter making her way over to his table. Maddie had worked at the paper almost as long as Dixon, and the two shared scoop and enjoyed the same wry, sarcastic sense of humor.

“Hi, Dixon. Dining with Columbus’s newest broadcast star, I see?” Maddie said grabbing a free chair at their table and sitting down. “The newsroom certainly is quiet during the summer and now I know where everyone hangs out. I need to come here to stir up a story, I suppose. But Dixon, mixing with the broadcast folks, really? Don’t worry, Sunshine, I won’t be at your table too long. Or do you prefer ‘Sugar’?” Maddie asked Laura, using both nicknames.

“Very funny, Maddie. I suppose if you’re writing about it, nobody’ll see it, so it won’t much matter, will it?” Laura answered. “Remember the camera has a much broader reach than the pen.”

“It makes you look broader, too, from what I hear,” Maddie snapped, turning back to Dixon. “How’ve you been?”

“I know I am one of the only things you two have in common, but let’s be civil, shall we? Am I the only soul in the city who still believes Michael Anderson was a victim?” Dixon said, sipping his glass of wine and then swirling it, for effect.

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