A Clue for the Puzzle Lady by Parnell Hall

Author:Parnell Hall
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2011-02-02T07:00:00+00:00

31

“Orange juice?” Aaron Grant asked.

Cora Felton grimaced. “Yes, I know. It’s too early for a real drink, and if I have any more coffee I think my head will come off. Besides, I need to keep my wits about me.”

“Surely it’s not as bad as all that.”

“Oh, no? I’m sitting here with a reporter. The one thing Sherry warned me about. And here I am, talking to the media.”

“This is off the record.”

“That’s what they all say. And the next day you’re in the National Enquirer.”

“You talk as if this has happened before.”

“Only once. And it went away.”

“How was that?”

“I sat tight and the guy gave up. After all, it’s a very small story.”

“Not really. You’re a celebrity.”

“In a TV commercial. Big deal. That’s not the same as a movie star. It’s the difference between an amusing tidbit and a shocking revelation.”

“Uh huh. Wanna tell me about it?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Absolutely. You can clam up and tell me to go to hell.”

“What would you do then?”

“Go see Sherry.”

“That would not be good.”

“So here we are.”

Cora Felton took a sip of her orange juice, made a face. “God, that’s bad. Jerry, my first husband, got me on the wagon, made me drink this stuff. I’ve hated it ever since.”

“Bad associations?”

“No. I loved Jerry. It’s orange juice I can’t stand.” Cora took another sip, grimaced, and considered. “I don’t know what I can tell you. You seem to know everything already. It’s as if you’re here just for confirmation. Which is what reporters do before they print the story.”

“I’m not printing this.”

“So you say. Okay, let’s not go around again. So I can’t do crossword puzzles. Big deal. You gonna blow the whistle?”

“No, I’m gonna hear your story. As you say, I’m gonna hear it from you, or I’m gonna hear it from Sherry.”

“Sherry will not be inclined to talk to you. She’ll be inclined to talk to me. I don’t want that.”

“So you talk to me.”

“Yeah.” Cora Felton took another sip of orange juice, frowned. “Sherry always was a bright girl. Did well in high school, went to a good college. Dartmouth. Did well there too.”

“And?”

“Her junior year she met Mr. Wrong. Young, self-absorbed, played the guitar, wanted to be a rock star.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Oh. A walking disaster. The type of guy everyone can see is bad news, except the girl involved.”

“What happened?”

“They got married, Sherry dropped out of school, took a job, supported him while he launched his career.”

“Did he launch it?”

“In a manner of speaking. He managed to put a band together that performed just enough small gigs to attract a few groupies. He also used the money Sherry earned to buy enough drugs to keep up the pretense that he was in a successful band.”

“How long did that last?”

“Till she got pregnant.”

Aaron Grant blinked. “Sherry has a kid?”

“No.”

“Oh.”

“No, not like that.”

“What happened?”

“What happened was Golden Boy came back from a night of carousing stoned out of his mind and took exception to Sherry asking him where he’d been.”

“No.”

“Yes. He beat her up pretty bad.

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