A Nose for Death Read Online Free PDF Page A

The last person Joan had wanted to see was one of the first to appear out of the shadows, and after all these years, Marlena still couldn’t hide her contempt. Unlike Candy, she still had the taut body of an athlete, which she was proudly displaying in a fitted cocktail shift.
    â€œWell, look who’s here.”
    The greeting sounded like a challenge, but rather than grab the bait, Joan decided to take the high road. “Marlena, you look fantastic.” She knew by looking at her old nemesis that the fastest way to her heart would be through her ego. Nobody looked that good without arduous effort.
    Marlena was stunned for a moment, but Candy filled in the dead air: “Doesn’t she? She works out constantly. She and Ray both.”
    â€œRay?” Although the name sounded familiar, Joan couldn’t make the connection.
    â€œYou remember Ray,” chimed Candy. Joan was still drawing a blank. “Drummer for Rank?”
    It suddenly fell into place. Ray Stanfield had been a sweet guy who had played with the “hot” local band. In the seventies Rank had made a name for itself from Kamloops to Vancouver. He’d been a year ahead of them but his girlfriend, Sarah Markle, was in their grade. News of their lavish wedding had reached Joan through Vi. The high school sweethearts barely waited until graduation. Within eighteen months they’d had the first of several children.
    â€œWhat happened to Sarah?” It was out of Joan’s mouth before she could catch it. No wonder she preferred the social solitude of the lab, where nobody could witness her ineptness. A pall fell over the conversation.
    â€œWhat about you, Joan? Are you married?” Marlena asked.
    God, Joan wished that Mort were there. “Oh, you bet!” No need to mention the breakup. “Over ten years. But Mort couldn’t make it. An emergency at work.” She saw Marlena glance down at her naked ring finger. Damn! She’d meant to put it back on before she left the city to disguise her transient marital situation.
    â€œKids?” asked Marlena.
    â€œNo. Career first. You know how it is.” She was sweating under Marlena’s interrogation. Marriage and kids were still a primary measurement of a woman’s worth down the gravel roads of rural British Columbia. Did she have “inadequate” burned on her forehead?
    â€œWhat do you do?” Candy asked warmly. “I bet it’s something interesting. You were always sooo smart.”
    After all the years Joan had spent loathing her, she decided she liked Marlena’s old sidekick. “I’m a chemist. I develop flavours and scents for the food industry.” She smiled.
    Marlena snorted like a small, muscular bull. “Is there such a thing? I’ve never heard of it.”
    Joan had seldom been confronted with this kind of abrupt cruelty as an adult. Despite how plain stupid it was, she’d forgotten how deep it cut. Had she always been this vulnerable? And why did Marlena, as an adult woman, still have to do this?
    Candy started to ramble about her job at the Co-op, her softball trophies, her four grown kids, and her baby grandson. It was all a fog to Joan as she stared, wounded, at Marlena.
    At that moment firm hands landed on Joan’s shoulders. A male voice, familiar after so many years, growled into her ear. “And who’s the fairest in the land?”
    Joan spun around and stood speechless as she absorbed the vision of Gabe. She’d been rescued. But, God, how he had changed. As a teenager he’d been a string bean with the soft body of a “thinker.” Still lanky, he now towered over her with the posture and physique of an outdoorsman. The only hint of his horrible teenage acne were the faint scars that added to his rugged appearance.
    â€œGabe!” She felt tears spring to her eyes and threw herself into his protective embrace, then pulled back to look at him again. “So are