Charli Cross 0.5-Dark Journey by Stone Mary & Berdel Donna

Author:Stone, Mary & Berdel, Donna [Stone, Mary & Berdel, Donna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Suspense, American Suspense, Police Procedural, Crime Thriller, Murder Investigation, Savannah, Georgia, Prequel, Novella
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Her announcement of the day’s activities at family dinner that night didn’t go over very well. Her dad had asked what she’d been up to that day, and Charli had told the truth. Starting with Leopold’s and ending at the police station.

Charli finished her story and forked a bite of macaroni and cheese, making sure as she scooped that none of her noodles touched her broccoli. It wasn’t until she finished chewing and swallowing the bite that she noticed her mom and dad had stopped eating and were staring at her.

She patted her mouth with her napkin and folded the paper to cover the cheesy smear before replacing the square in her lap. “What?”

“Charlotte Cross…did you just tell us you basically stalked Deena Garrett all over town, snapped a photo of her, and then went to the police station to show the picture to a detective?”

Charli smoothed the napkin while considering her dad’s question. “It wasn’t all over town, more like a few blocks. And I’d prefer to categorize it less as stalking, and more as following with keen interest.”

“Following…with keen interest.”

Jason Cross cast a wide-eyed glance at his wife before dropping his face into his hands. A low, prolonged groan vibrated from beneath his palms.

Her mother patted her dad on the shoulder before focusing on Charli. “I think what your father is trying to say, honey, is…what prompted you to do such a thing?”

As always, Carrie Cross’s smile was warm, coaxing. It was one of many things Charli loved most about her mom, ranking right up there with her mom’s ability to remain calm, even under stressful circumstances, and her willingness to listen before jumping to conclusions.

She loved her dad too, but they had less in common. He tended to worry too much about what other people might think and had a flair for the dramatic.

Plus, he was a huge extrovert. Enough said.

Charli launched into a more detailed version of her story, including the big smiles that were so at odds with Mrs. Garrett’s sobbing yesterday, the bounce in her step, the lingerie bag, and ending with the PDA outside of the River Moss Inn before she and her paramour disappeared inside.

When she finished, her mother was tapping her finger against her lips like she did when she was trying to piece something together, while the worry lines around her dad’s eyes deepened.

“I agree that Deena’s behavior sounds concerning, which is exactly why you need to steer clear of this. Let the police do their job. Don’t you have any other interests? Like tennis or making those friendship bracelets out of yarn, or I don’t know, going to Bible study?”

Here we go again.

Charli opened her mouth to remind her dad she was agnostic, but her mom’s quick jerk of her head had her changing course. “Dad, I’m nineteen, not nine, which is probably the last time I ever made a friendship bracelet. And I’m terrible at tennis.”

“Maybe now, but think of how much better you could be if you practiced.

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