Never Preach Past Noon by Edie Claire

Author:Edie Claire
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2011-01-22T16:00:00+00:00

***

Shortly after dinner Maura departed to visit her mother at the assisted living complex, and before the door had completely closed behind her, Leigh's phone rang. She dove after it anxiously. Warren must be home. Perhaps he would invite her down?

"Hello, Warren?" she said hopefully.

"No, dear," came a voice as flat as death. "Just your mother."

A ten-ton weight settled on Leigh's insides. "Oh. Hi, Mom."

"You'll have to come back to Bess's."

Leigh's voice was thin. "What? Why?"

A long exaggerated sigh flowed over the telephone wire. "I should think you'd be a little bit more concerned about protecting yourself."

Leigh waited for an explanation, but none came.

"You have talked with your lawyer, haven't you?" Frances asked accusingly.

Leigh held the phone away from her head. She was tempted to hang up and claim a disconnection, but her mother was wise to that one. She counted to five instead. "Mom," she said finally, trying her best to come up with a soothing tone. "I haven't been accused of anything. I just found the body. He was already dead—he'd been dead for days. This is not like what happened before. Okay?"

Frances sighed again. It was one of her best—the particularly long, woeful sigh that mourned her fate at having a daughter bent on self-annihilation. "You need your lawyer," she insisted.

Leigh counted to seven. "Mom, Katharine Bower was my lawyer. She's not anymore. It's not like I keep a defense attorney on retainer."

Frances didn't miss a beat. "That might not—"

Leigh pulled the phone away from her head and sat on it. After a count of ten and two deep cleansing breaths, she tuned back in.

"—And he said he was going to question you too, so I told him if it would be more convenient for him, you would be happy to come over here—"

"Mom!" Leigh interrupted. "What are you talking about?"

"The detective, dear. He should be here any minute, so you'd better start off now. What are you wearing? You should put on something nice. What about that blue pantsuit that I bought you for—"

Leigh didn't hear any more. She mumbled a goodbye, hung up, grabbed her wallet and keys, and headed out the door.

In jeans.

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