A Shot to Die For Read Online Free PDF

“No. You’re afraid they won’t come back.”
    It took him a while to answer. “Yes,” he whispered.
    “What does Hayat say?”
    “She and I have not” —he paused— “come to an agreement. She still has family there.”
    “Who might persuade him to stay permanently.”
    He pressed his lips together.
    Suddenly I felt relieved that Rachel was still a teenager. “What about this girlfriend’s parents?”
    “We do not know them.”
    “Well, why don’t you—”
    A horn beeped, and a shiny white SUV pulled up to the curb. The driver was a woman with long, blond hair. Two tow-headed kids peeked out of the back. Rachel opened the passenger door, jumped out, and went to the back of the car. The woman got out, too, and raised the hatch. She was wearing a lime green tank top and white shorts, which revealed a lot of smooth, tanned skin. Together they extracted Rachel’s bike and set it on the ground. They were about the same height, and from the back, with the woman’s straight blond hair and Rachel’s blond curls, they could have been mother and daughter, even sisters. My dark hair pressed down on my head like a weight.
    Rachel wheeled the bike halfway up the driveway, then turned to wave. The woman smiled, waved back, then climbed back into her car. As she drove away, the two little kids waved frantically through the window. Rachel waited until they were out of sight, then walked her bike into the garage. “Hi, Mom.”
    “Hi, sweetie.” I gave her a hug. “Who was that?”
    Was I imagining it, or did I see a guilty expression cross her face? “Julia. And her kids.”
    It took a moment to connect the dots. Julia Hauldren was the woman Barry had been dating last winter. Six months ago. This had to be an all-time record for him. “Why did she bring you home?”
    Rachel shrugged. “It was on her way. She lives a couple of blocks away.”
    I remembered. Susan had told me she lived nearby. But that prompted more questions. Had she spent the night at Barry’s along with Rachel? Or had she come to his place that morning? I couldn’t see Barry tolerating two little rugrats running around his condo—neither child looked older than eight. Then again, beautiful women can make men do all sorts of strange things. And Julia was clearly beautiful.
    Rachel waved to Fouad and went inside. I turned around, but he was bent over the columbine, removing the extraneous plants. I squatted down to help, hoping to finish our conversation, but he went silent. I knew better than to force him to talk. I started pulling up chickweed, thinking about Fouad’s son and Barry’s girlfriend and how difficult it was to embrace change. Within seconds a layer of dirt had collected under my fingernails. I should put on gloves.
    I was on my way to the garage when the phone trilled. A moment later Rachel called through the window. “Mom, phone for you. Detective Milanovich.”

Chapter Five
    I picked up the phone in the kitchen. “Hello, Detective.”
    “Ms. Foreman? That your daughter who answered the phone?”
    “Yes.”
    “Sounds like a nice kid.”
    “She is.” What did he want?
    He cleared his throat. “Got a couple of questions for you.”
    “Okay.”
    “You know anyone by the name of Flynn?”
    “Flynn? No. I don’t think so. Why?”
    He was quiet.
    “Was that Daria’s last name?”
    “Yep.”
    “Daria Flynn.” I repeated it softly. “I don’t recognize it. How did you identify her?”
    “Her mother called the Lake Geneva Police after she saw the news. They lived together. The daughter didn’t come home that night. Didn’t call either.…” His voice trailed off.
    I closed my eyes, unable to imagine the pain of learning that your child has been killed.
    “Ms. Foreman, I know you said you didn’t know her. But I keep wondering—didn’t you say you were making a film up there?”
    “Yes. I told you about the video for the Lodge.”
    “You ever go to any fancy restaurants during your breaks?”
    “Fancy