Carolyn Wheat [Cass Jameson Where Nobody Dies (v5.0) (epub)

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.Finally, she got it zipped and stood expectantly, like a dog waiting to be walked.Looking at them together, I was struck forcibly by the contrast.Linda, tiny and trim, dressed meticulously, wearing clothes that fitted perfectly and choosing colors that flattered her dark beauty.Yet the pink of Dawn’s ski jacket was all wrong for her honey skin, and she had grown so much in the last year that an inch of wrist showed white against the frayed cuff.I shrugged; it was none of my business, but I found myself hoping that, once in Washington, Linda would give Dawn’s wardrobe even a quarter of the attention she lavished on her own.It must have been my tiredness that put me off guard.I’d actually expected to be able to leave the courthouse and get some lunch without interruption.I should have known Brad wasn’t finished.He walked up to Linda, towering over her.She stood unmoving, looking up at him with a challenge in her eyes, daring him to start something.“Okay, Linda,” he said quietly enough, but with an air of menace.“That was round one.You won it on a technicality.” He glared at me, then turned his attention back to his ex-wife.“But round two”—he stabbed the air with a thick finger—“that one’s gonna be mine.Just wait and see.”“What’s that supposed to mean?” Linda’s voice managed a weary indifference, but her eyes narrowed with suspicion.“You gave me no choice in there.” He pointed at the closed courtroom.“You put me on the spot.I couldn’t say no to Dawnie.” His face clouded.“It was a dirty trick,” he added, like a kid who’d been cheated at marbles.I was inclined to agree with him and opened my mouth to say so, when Linda cut in, her voice artificially sweet.“All’s fair in love and war, Brad,” she said.Brad’s hands clenched into fists, and he moved one step closer to his tiny antagonist.I stepped back instinctively, but Linda never moved an inch.“Besides,” she added with a toss of her head, “it was for Dawn.”“Don’t give me that!” Brad exploded.“You don’t care about her.You never did.You only wanted her in the first place because you knew how much it would hurt me.And now”—his voice cracked—“you’re taking her away.” He turned his head sharply but not before I saw his eyes fill.I turned toward Dawn.She was as rigid as her mother, but her fingers, still shaking, played uncontrollably with the zipper of her jacket.She was biting her lips, her teeth making little bloody indentations.Linda waited coolly for Brad to compose himself, then said softly, “You’d better get used to it.Dawn’s coming to Washington and that’s that.There’s nothing you can do about it.”“Oh, yeah?” Brad was in control again, his grief transmuted into belligerence.“I can come back into this court tomorrow if I want to and get another judge to modify the order.”I wasn’t surprised at Brad’s mastery of the jargon.He and Linda had been coming to Family Court regularly since their divorce, each trying to one-up the other on matters of custody, support, and visitation.“You might have to make a lot of trips in from Washington to come to court,” Brad taunted.“How will your new boss like that?”Linda laughed.It was a silver laugh that held no humor.“Is that all you can find to threaten me with?” she asked.“If you think Art’s going to fire me—”“Art?” The name came out like a slap.I’d grown so used to Linda referring to her boss by his first name that I no longer noticed it, but to Brad it had only one meaning.“You’re having an affair with him.” His face was a mixture of shock and deliberate blankness.I knew him well enough by now to know he was masking a deep hurt.“Jealous, Brad?” Linda’s silver laugh sounded a little tarnished the second time around.Her smile was the same one she used when someone complimented her on a new outfit.“You think I care who you—” Brad’s rough voice stopped just short of the word, after a hasty glance at his daughter.“Just be careful in front of Dawn,” he warned, his fist slamming into his open palm.“I don’t want her exposed to your filth, Linda.Understand?” The sound reverberated through the hallway.It was, I knew, simply Brad’s equivalent to Dawn’s playing with her zipper.Unfortunately, the court officer who’d been watching this exchange didn’t see it that way.Stepping quickly between Linda and Brad, he laid a hand on Brad’s clenched arm and said, “Calm down, buddy.I don’t want no trouble.”It was the worst thing that could have happened.Brad, whose rage had been checked by Dawn’s presence, turned on the officer, eyes blazing.“Get your fucking hand off me,” he snarled, twisting out of the officer’s grip.It may not have been meant as an aggressive move, but Brad had a good eight inches on the court officer, who fell back against a wall.He shouted for help, ripped his handcuffs off his belt, and lunged at Brad.Brad set his feet apart and spread out his arms, ready for a wrestling match.His breath was coming fast, and he seemed almost glad that things had moved to a physical level.He dared the officer to come at him.I looked around; six officers were about to weigh in on the side of law and order.“Listen, Brad,” I began, hoping to avert disaster.But Linda had other ideas.Turning to one of the officers, she murmured, “Just don’t let him hit me.He’s always trying to hit me [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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