The Icing on the Corpse by Mary Jane Maffini

Author:Mary Jane Maffini
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dundurn

Seventeen

I woke up in a good mood, which doesn't happen often. In honour of the occasion, I made three resolutions. First, not to let the wedding preparations annoy me; second, to keep a cool head about the Elaine situation, and third, to relax a bit until it was time to resume the hunt for the elusive bridesmaid's dress. I shared a pleasant breakfast with Mrs. Parnell's cat and felt quite mellow by the time I had finished my toast and she had polished off her tuna.

I checked the thermometer on my balcony and was surprised to see the temperature had shot up to plus three. Five minutes later, I realized it was probably as a result of heat generated by the headline in the City section of the Ottawa Citizen. It's always a mistake to read the paper before leaving the house.

This time P. J. answered his cellphone on the first ring. “Took you long enough, Tiger.”

“You little creep, what kind of friend are you?”

“Hey, what's your problem? I'm doing my job. Same as you. Nothing to do with friendship.”

“What friendship? Your nasty headline today. Ice Queen puts chill on hotheaded defence lawyer. What kind of crap is that?”

“Hey, I just file the stories, I don't write the headlines, although I did think that one was cool.”

“Enough with the jokes. You think this is funny for Elaine?”

“Here's another tip for you. You might not think it's funny, but Elaine will be having the time of her life. You know she hired Berelson. Then she had him call a press conference to announce she'd fired you. And you're wondering what kind of friend I am.”

“What a shitty sight to start the day.”

“Of course it was. Don't take it personally; it's what I do, as the scorpion said to the frog. So tell me, froggie, ready to go skating on Sunday? Two little guys will be heartbroken if you don't.”

Why do I always have to be the bad guy? “I wouldn't disappoint the kids. But you better watch your back.”

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.