Crime & Counterpoint Read Online Free PDF

she enjoyed sitting with a good book in warmer seasons.
    The first thing Shelley noticed was that a number of items were strewn from the entryway to the sofa. Book bag, purse, shoes, keys… Surprise, surprise. Ashleigh was home.
    As if on cue, blonde and petite Ashleigh Greene emerged from her room to the right of the kitchen. “Hey, Shell. How come you’re home so early?” she asked in her perky voice, kneeling down to sift through all the paraphernalia on the floor.
    “I quit,” she replied, with a nervous but dull edge to her tone.
    Ashleigh looked up sharply. “What happened?”
    Pensive and listless, Shelley didn’t answer as she sludged over to the counter and set her keys down. “You headed out?”
    “Mm hm. Wanna come? Erik’ll be there. And you can meet Carrie.”
    “Ugh. No thanks.”
    “So what? Did your dad find out or something? Or was it James? I thought you said it was easy money. A place nobody would recognize you.”
    “Governor Larson’s youngest son was there.”
    “Ew, Kevin?” Ashleigh scrunched her face. “Oh my God, he’s like a walking STD.” She shuddered. “So what did he do? Hit on you?”
    Shelley groaned. “Ugh, never mind. I don’t wanna talk about it.”
    “By the way, have you seen my old pink iPod?” Ashleigh didn’t wait for an answer. “There’s this song on it that Carrie wants for the reception, and I told her I’d bring it – Oh wait!” She held up the discovered device and dropped it in her purse along with her keys and iPhone. Standing up, she shook her glossy bangs out of her face and looked at Shelley. “So did you say you were coming?” She eyed her roommate’s chic attire. “Super cute dress.”
    “No, Ash.”
    Ashleigh tilted her head and pouted, stroking Shelley’s long tresses like she was a pretty dog. “What’s really wrong? The job? I’m sure your dad could get you another –”
    “That’s not the point!”
    “Shel-ley,” Ashleigh whined. “I want you to have fun with us like you used to. You know, Melissa’s coming in early. We should all do something. Maybe go up to the cabin in the Catskills.”
    Shelley dropped her elbows onto the counter and grimaced, burying her face in her hands. Thus, her “I don’t know” came out muffled and rather pathetic.
    “Oh please, don’t tell me you’re reconsidering the wedding. If you don’t go, it’ll be way worse than if you did.” Shelley said nothing, and so Ashleigh sighed, but a text came and she chippered right away. “Oh awesome, Tanner’s going to be there.” Even as she typed out a reply, she explained, “He’s this super-hot Harvard Law student, and he’s totally into me.” She bit her lip and let out a minor squeal as she hit send. “Okay. How do I look?” She stuck out her chest, purse dangling from her elbow, waiting for inspection.
    Shelley peeked through her fingers and gave her a once-over and straightened up to fix Ashleigh’s tight shirt. “Perfect. Now be careful. Don’t sleep with him. And try to come home before three. Okay?”
    Ashleigh beamed naughtily – a Chihuahua on espresso. “I can promise two out of three.”
    Shelley groaned. Ashleigh gave her an affectionate peck on the cheek and then whirled out the door like a cheerleader tornado, leaving the apartment to choke on her perky aftermath.
    As soon as she was alone, Shelley dumped herself onto the couch by the wall of windows. She shifted her frame until she was reclining on the tan microfiber couch, staring blankly at her empty environs, the depressing silence screaming in her ears.
    Steeped in emptiness, Shelley drifted off into an exhausted slumber. A man in a leather jacket with feral blue eyes seeped into her waking dreams, and for a vague, incoherent moment she thought she knew exactly who he was.

6
    Voices kept drifting in and out of focus, but he’d grasped enough to know the men were speaking some Slavic or Eastern European dialect. No telling what they were up to. But a peek around