Suspicion by Janice Macdonald

Author:Janice Macdonald
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2003-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

AFTER SHE’D MADE herself look like an idiot by dropping off tourist brochures for Scott—like he couldn’t just pick them up himself if he wanted to—Ava stopped in at the Beehive to meet Ingrid for lunch. They were sitting at the counter on the red-and-chrome swivel stools and she was picking at a salad—she really wanted comfort food, say, an ortega chili-cheeseburger, but she was trying to be good—and tuning in and out of Ingrid’s rant about their father. Mostly out, because it wasn’t anything she hadn’t heard before and also because she really wanted to talk about Scott.

“Dad just drives me nuts,” Ingrid was saying. “I’m doing what you said, trying to patch things up. And I just asked him if he still thought about Mom very often. That’s it. I mean, it took an effort to even pick up the phone to call him—”

“Which you wouldn’t have done except for the key,” Ava said. “Not that I’m defending him or anything.”

“You’re always defending him.” Ingrid sipped her iced tea through a straw. “Anyway, he goes on and on about how he doesn’t have time to sit around feeling sorry for himself and maybe he’d appreciate a little help up at the camp. Why can’t he hire someone? It’s not like he can’t afford it, but no, he’s so damn stubborn. He’d rather make us feel guilty.”

“About the diaries,” Ava said. “He called this morning. He said he’d leave the key on the rack in the kitchen.” She drank some water. Her heart had started racing again. She took a paper napkin from the dispenser, set the glass in the middle of it. “Listen, Ingrid, can we not talk about this right now? I feel as though it’s all I ever think about.”

“Well, you’re the only person I can let off steam to. Everyone else thinks Dad’s this saint. He’s all smiles and aw-shucks until something doesn’t go his way, and then… By the way, I noticed Dad’s cleaned the kitchen. And he’s not wearing his wedding ring.”

“Hey,” the guy on the stool to Ava’s left said, leaning close. “We gotta stop meeting like this.”

Ava turned slightly and he grinned as if he knew her. Yellow aviator glasses pushed up on his forehead, gold chains, a muscle top, hairy shoulders and rubber flip-flops. A dude.

“Excuse me?”

“You and me. About forty-five minutes ago. You were down there to see Scott.”

“Oh, right.” She’d been vaguely aware of two other people in the office. Mostly she’d seen only Scott. “Hi,” she said.

He stuck out his hand. “Vinnie Scaramelli. So are you and Scott like…” He waggled his eyebrows. “I mean, not to get personal or anything, but he’s kinda already got a wife and…”

Ingrid, on the stool to her right, had stopped midrant to listen.

Ava drank some tea and addressed her sister. “Anyway, you were saying?”

The dude leaned across Ava to speak to Ingrid. “So you girls both live here, huh?”

“Yes.” Ava said, thinking about Scott having a wife.

The dude leaned closer. “So, like, you know all the hot spots?”

“Sorry, I don’t.

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