Deaths of Jocasta Read Online Free PDF Page B

several feet higher.
    “Careful,” she cautioned. “You’ll hurt yourself that way.”
    “Naw, not me,” I retorted. And jumped up to another branch. I missed. There were too many branches for me to go more than a few feet. Unfortunately, the branch that stopped me did so by catching a tender part of my anatomy.
    “Shit,” I said, cursing the branch between my legs.
    “That’s what you get for showing off,” was Joanne’s sympathy.
    “Thanks, Joanne,” I groaned as we were now face-to-face. “I haven’t had any breakfast yet and I’ve just lost my virginity. Nice of you to be so sympathetic.”
    “What do you want?” she replied sardonically. “Me to kiss it and make it better?”
    I looked at her. She had on dark sunglasses, her eyes unreadable behind the opaque lenses. I couldn’t tell if she was actually flirting or just toying with me. I assumed the latter. I grimaced in reply.
    “Cat got your tongue?” she prompted.
    “No. A magnolia tree’s got my maidenhead,” I retorted, still sore between the legs. Then I decided what the hell, maybe she was flirting with me. “But I could probably use some first aid later.” I tried to look into her eyes, but the sunglasses prevented it.
    Joanne has a quiet intensity that most people, myself included, found riveting. She is tall, her dark hair shot through with gray, and, when you could see them, cool gray eyes that never stopped observing and comprehending the world around her. She is older than I am, somewhere in her late thirties. At times I found myself very attracted to her, but I could never imagine falling in love with her, because I was always much more concerned with impressing her.
    “Go save your cat, then,” she replied.
    Definitely toying with me, I decided. Alex was probably sitting in the gazebo listening to the whole thing.
    It was time to dislodge myself from the unwelcome bark. I put one foot on a limb and started to heave myself up. The wayward branch rudely yanked me back, having entangled itself in one of the many disreputable patches of my cut-offs. I reached around behind me, trying to become disentangled as gracefully as possible.
    “Ants?” Joanne inquired, watching my contortions.
    “Tree branch in pants,” I answered. “Shit,” I muttered under my breath, my shorts entwined with the magnolia.
    Joanne was leaning on a branch, a smile playing about her lips. “I had no idea that I would be so well entertained,” she said, openly smiling now.
    Enough was enough. I stopped fumbling. It was probably just a few expendable fringes that were caught. I planted both feet and pushed up again, intending to tear myself free. Instead, I was greeted with an ominous ripping sound.
    “Shit, piss, and corruption,” I muttered. P.C. had a lot to answer for. I don’t like making a fool of myself, nobody does, but having Joanne witness it made my misadventures excruciating.
    “Hold still,” Joanne said, still smiling, enjoying her role as onlooker and now rescuer.
    She reached around behind me, attempting to find the offending bark. I felt her hand graze the top of my thigh.
    “You do know where to get caught, don’t you,” she commented.
    “Thanks, Joanne, you don’t know how much I appreciate your being here,” I answered.
    “Pardon me,” she said, as she slid her other hand between my legs.
    “Cat-rescuer rescued by intrepid police sergeant,” I made up possible headlines to distract myself. I was aware of the light brush of her hands against my thigh.
    “There. Got it,” she said.
    I glanced back at her. Her glasses had slipped down, revealing her eyes. We looked at each other. What passed, in that brief second, was an acknowledgment that we were playing at the edges of desire, unsure of which way to fall. If it had been a warm summer night instead of a bright, open day, perhaps she wouldn’t have moved away from me, pushing her glasses back up. And I wouldn’t have turned from her, straightened, and climbed away.
    I