Advice of Counsel (The Samuel Collins Series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

Doritos?”
    “Do those make your breath smell bad?”
    “Yeah.”
    “I think that’s them.”
    “Yeah, you can get some.  Go ask your mom if you can come.”
    Mrs. Howard had been conspicuously silent, but the smile on her
face told me she had been planning this encounter since Mrs. Krally had planted
the notion in her head the week before.  She kept looking from Landra, to me,
and back to Landra, and she looked very pleased with the way things were going.
    We set the dinner date for 6:30 and Landra and Mrs. Howard went back across the street.  Oliver had gone home to ask if he could come to
dinner with us and the phone was ringing when I got back inside.
    “You want to take Liver to Chester’s?” Maddie asked.
    I literally cringed when she said it.  “Listen, Maddie,” I told
her.  “You’ve got to quit calling Oliver Liver .  It’s the worst nickname
I’ve ever heard.  Your just asking . . . no, I take it back . . . you’re begging some little punk to beat the shit out of him.  Why can’t you just call him
Oliver?”
    If she was insulted she hid it well.  “I never really thought
about it.  But I guess you’re probably right.”
    “I am right.  Believe me.  When I was a punk, I beat up kids
for lesser offenses all the time.”
    Maddie laughed.  I guess she thought I was kidding.  “You’ll
need a car seat,” she said.  “I have a spare one in my garage, or you can take
my car if you want.”
    I’d seen Maddie’s car.  “I’ll take the car seat.  Tell Oliver
I’ll pick him up at 6:25.”
    I looked over Mrs. Howard’s will again while I passed the time
before dinner and it snapped me back to reality about Landra Krally. I had
obviously been thinking with a different part of my anatomy.  But no matter how
attracted to her I was, and the attraction was undeniable, there was every
indication that she was trying to defraud both Mrs. Howard and the Johnses.
    The fact of the matter was, con artists are very likable
people.  That’s how they get away with what they do.  They’re generally good
looking and they’re always charming.   They assert themselves into a person’s
life, they gain their trust, and then they rob them blind.  Landra Krally
actually fit the description to a tee – she was good looking, she was charming,
she had asserted herself into my neighbors’ lives, she had gained their trust,
and each household had changed their will for the sole purpose of including her
as a beneficiary.  The facts and my instincts told me that something was up. 
By the time dinner rolled around, I had the matter back in perspective . . . or
so I thought.
    My doorbell rang at 6:20 and there was Landra Krally standing
on my front porch with those white teeth and big brown eyes, and this time her
hair was down, which made her look even more beautiful if that was possible. 
She had changed clothes, thank God , so at least I didn’t have to stare
at her stomach, but even in faded old jeans, she exuded this . . . something. 
I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.  It wasn’t sex.  It was . . . She was so wholesome . 
She looked so healthy and vibrant.  Hell, even her skin was perfect.  She was
like the perfect piece of fruit.  That was it !  Landra Krally was the
forbidden apple.  And damned if I wasn’t Adam.
    “You want to all go together?” Landra asked.
    “Sure.  I need to get Oliver’s car seat.  Let me get my keys,”
I told her.  “You want to come in?”
    “Yeah, let me see what you’ve done with the place,” she said
smiling.
    She followed me inside and walked around my house, making
herself at home.  I watched her go from room to room, and I tried to remind
myself that she was probably scoping out my stuff so she could rip me off later,
but it was hard to imagine. She seemed so nice.  I didn’t want to believe what
I had convinced myself of just two minutes earlier.
    “It looks really good!” she said enthusiastically, after she
had checked out