Of Marks and Murder by Jen Welsh

Author:Jen Welsh
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: New Degree Press
Published: 2022-05-04T15:44:05+00:00

Chapter 16

The car, their capsule-sized party bus, pulled up to the curb, and all four of them piled in.

Olivia, still laughing at Paige’s impression of Brian kicking the stable door, crawled into the middle between Jara and Paige. She settled into the soft seat and let her legs fall naturally into theirs.

“Crow’s Nest Way?” The driver confirmed.

“That’s the one,” Haisley responded. “We’ll show these ladies a good time.” She whooped, and the women cheered.

“All right, then,” the driver said, turning up the volume of the music.

The car swept north, and Olivia let herself be enveloped in the beat of the music and the bass bumping beneath her feet.

Paige asked, “What do you think your aunt is looking for in a winner?”

Insecurity rose from beneath the surface of her skin. She squeezed her hands between her thighs. “To be honest, I barely know her.” If she could put some distance between herself and Margaret, maybe Paige and the others would see that there was no fast pass to the victory circle. Her connection with Margaret was nothing more than two people who knew each other once, a long time ago, and not for very long. For Olivia to win, she would have to work just as hard as anyone else.

“What do you mean?” Paige asked.

Olivia couldn’t read the tone of her voice. “Margaret married my mother’s older brother, but my mom and Tim were never close. We saw them at a holiday or two, but after my brother died—” Olivia stopped. She didn’t want to turn the mood sour. “I don’t know her well, is all I’m trying to say.” She didn’t know if it was the alcohol or the topic, but something inside her shifted, saddened. She was acutely aware that everyone in the car with her was a stranger; she knew so little about them.

“Well,” Jara tapped her chin, “I think she’s probably looking for skills, creativity, a good work ethic… Maybe a little fierceness.”

Olivia exhaled, grateful to Jara for answering Paige’s question. She made eye contact with Jara and mouthed, “Thank you.”

Jara smiled back.

“Yeah, that tracks,” Paige said.

Dark buildings rose higher and higher as they drove. The driver weaved around something in the road, a shredded tire or a dead possum. The car swerved down an alley between tall buildings and stopped next to a dumpster.

“Here we are,” the driver said.

Olivia’s mouth went dry as she stepped out into the darkness.

“Where are we, H?” Jara asked. “This some horror movie shit.”

“Follow me, ladies,” Haisley responded. “We’re going to Bar 17. No one knows about this place except for a few people. It just opened at the start of this year. And the inside is much nicer than it looks from the outside.”

Olivia stumbled forward down the dark alley. A cat cried somewhere nearby. Olivia moved with the others toward the flickering light above a door in the wall. She steadied herself and recommitted to the plan.

Be cool.

Olivia followed the women inside. Behind the reception station, lights danced off the disco balls and mirrors along the wall of Bar 17.

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.