Best Girl Read Online Free PDF

were so wired at the end of a gig they needed something to get off on. I only smoked weed. They were into the hard stuff.”
    â€œFreddy too?”
    â€œCourse.”
    â€œThen what?”
    â€œAfter a while we all passed out. Not too glamorous.”
    â€œWhen did Freddy leave?”
    â€œDon’t remember.”
    â€œDid you and Stu leave together?”
    She took a breath. “Some little groupie found us and started telling him how great he was. He lapped it up. I took off, mad.”
    â€œSo he could’ve followed Freddy home.”
    â€œLook, he was too wasted to kill anyone. He could hardly walk.”
    I sat back in the chair. If that was true, Stu wasn’t my guy. I was disappointed and relieved at the same time.
    â€œDid you know my mother?”
    She blinked at my change of direction. “Yeah. She was cool. She changed when she had you. Got serious. Looked out for you.”
    â€œAnd you really think she killed Freddy?”
    Brooke shrugged. “He hurt her. People do strange things when they’re hurt.”
    I thought about that. “Maybe he hurt someone else. Was there anyone else mad enough to kill him?”
    She pursed her lips. “Well, come to think of it—there was this girl. She sang with the band that opened for them. Toured together. What was her name? Jill. It was a long time ago. Let me think. Jill Hanes. She was intense. She had a thing for Freddy. Threw herself at him. He never refused. But he didn’t stay with any girl for long. All hell broke loose when he broke it off.”
    â€œYou know where she is now?”
    â€œI heard she’s living in public housing. St. Jamestown, I think. You know, the one that’s always on the news.”
    There was a light tap at the door, then it opened partway. A cute dark-haired dude stuck his head in.
    â€œHey, Mom, they’re asking for you.”
    Brooke’s cheeks flushed. “I’ll be right there.”
    The door closed. I pasted a smile on my face to cover up my surprise.
    â€œI didn’t know you had kids,” I said sweetly.
    â€œJust one. Lexy. He helps me run the place.”
    She stood up, in a hurry to go. “Oh, if you’re going looking for Jill, watch yourself there. Not the safest place.”

CHAPTER SIX
    I hustled to get my late-morning client finished before lunch. I was fast, not slack, so her hair still looked cool. I had an hour and a half to go before my next client. Time enough to find Jill Hanes. St. Jamestown was on the subway line I took to get home. I never got off there. For obvious reasons.
    I took off the white skirt and blouse that was my hairdresser’s uniform. I didn’t want to stand out in that part of town. If I blended in, maybe the locals wouldn’t bother me. I pulled on a T-shirt and jeans and the scruffy old jean jacket I’d brought from home.
    It was a ten-minute subway ride from the salon. I’d found Jill’s address in the white pages online. Just not the apartment number.
    Even from a distance the place creeped me out. It was a forest of high-rises, a dozen cement slabs pushing up into the sky. I passed three of the ugly blocks before finding Jill’s. There were two guys I didn’t like the look of hanging out on the other side of the street. They stood there smoking, trying to look all tough. They squinted at me like they were inspectors and I was meat. I ignored them and hurried into the building.
    There were some names scribbled on a piece of paper taped to the wall just inside; some had apartment numbers. Maybe Jill’s was there, maybe not. A big old guy was standing with his back against the wall, so I couldn’t read the names. He wore a heavy jacket and dirty gray tuque like it was still winter.
    â€œFive bucks if you want in,” he said. Booze on his breath.
    He was big but he was old. And hammered. If I pushed him, he would fall down. “Hey,” I said, “what’s