All She Ever Wanted Read Online Free PDF Page B

by her friendship with Emily and ripped apart by Emily's tragic death. Their entire relationship from beginning to end was irrevocably tied to Emily. And here they were again. They'd come full circle. "I picked up a book last night after I heard the author on television. The story line sounded familiar."
    "What's it about?"
    "It's there if you want to take a look." She tipped her head toward her nightstand.
    Cole walked across the room, opened the book, and began to read the jacket copy. She doubted it would take long for his sharp brain to compute the facts. It didn't. His shoulders stiffened, and there was anger in his eyes when he looked at her. "What the hell is this? Fabulous Four ... sorority house ... pledge falls from the roof ... Ellie Parks?" His voice rose with each muttered word. "Is this about—Emily?" He looked at her as if she should know the answer, as if she were responsible somehow. He shook the book at her when she didn't immediately reply. "Is this about my sister?"
    "It looks that way."
    "I don't understand."
    "I don't either. I've only just started it, but the book is about four friends in college who call themselves the Fabulous Four. The characters' names are different, but they all start with the same letters as our names. The book suggests that the main character, Ellie," she said, deliberately using the character's name, "did not die in an accidental fall from the roof of her sorority house. Instead, the author believes that she was ..." Natalie drew in a deep breath, not sure she could say it.
    "That she was what?"
    "Murdered." The word shot out of her mouth like a bullet.
    It hit him straight in the heart. Cole put a hand to his chest. "That's impossible. The police conducted a thorough investigation. I saw the report. My father made sure every question was asked."
    "I know. It was an accident, a terrible accident. The book is trying to make it into something else."
    "Who did it?" he asked abruptly. "If it's a murder mystery, there must be a murderer. Who killed my sister?"
    "It's fiction, Cole. It's part truth, part fantasy. It's Emily's story, but it's not. It's pieces put together in a puzzle that doesn't make sense."
    "So tell me the name of the fictitious killer."
    "I don't know yet. I haven't finished it."
    "And you weren't curious enough to look ahead?"
    Actually, she was terrified to look ahead, because she didn't like the way things were lining up.
    "Who are the suspects?" he asked.
    "Madison, Laura, and me. The author seems to think one of us killed our best friend, but he's wrong. You know that, and I know that."
    "Do I? Do I know that?"
    "Of course you do," she said, truly shocked at his words. "We were friends, all of us. We loved Emily, and she loved us."
    A tense silence stretched between them for long, painful seconds. She knew Cole blamed her for letting Emily down, for not watching out for her the way she'd promised, but surely he couldn't believe that she would have ever intentionally hurt Emily.
    Finally, Cole looked back at the book in his hands. He flipped it over to stare at the author's photo. "Who is this guy?"
    "I have no idea. He must have talked to someone who knew us."
    He threw the book down on the coffee table with such force that she jumped. "I'm not going to let this happen."
    "What are you going to do?"
    "Find Garrett Malone for starters. I have plenty of investigators on the newspaper payroll. I'm sure we can ferret out one best-selling author."
    "You won't need an investigator." She picked up the Tribune and leafed through the pages until she got to the entertainment section. "You might want to read your own newspaper once in a while." She handed it to him. "Apparently, there was also a review in last Sunday's paper. Don't you oversee what's printed?"
    "I don't spend time reading the book reviews," he snapped, taking the paper from her hand. "Garrett Malone will be signing copies of his novel, Fallen Angel, at the Page One Bookstore, Saturday, noon to two," he