Killing Her Softly Read Online Free PDF Page A

married about four years ago.
    "We're separated" she said as if reading his mind. "The divorce will be final next month."
    "Sorry it didn't work out."
    "Yeah, me, too." She shrugged. "He was a nice man. Widower. A couple of teenage kids. I thought it was what I wanted, but it wasn't. I should have stuck to my own kind."
    "And that would be?"
    "No-good heartbreakers like you, Quinn."
     
    *     *     *
     
    "Annabelle?" Wythe Vanderley's voice vibrated with anticipation. "Hiram said you wanted to see me immediately. Dare I hope you've changed your mind about—"
    Annabelle whirled around and glared at her loathsome cousin. "For God's sake, don't say anything else."
    He stared at her, speculation in his gaze. "You've been crying. What's wrong?"
    When he approached her, she held up a restraining hand. He stopped immediately.
    "Sheriff Brody just left. He came personally to deliver some bad news. . . about—she swallowed fresh tears—"about Lulu."
    Wythe's face turned pale. "What's happened? Has she been in a car wreck? Damn, how many times have I warned her not to drive so fast."
    "It wasn't a car wreck."
    "What is it? What? Is she in the hospital? Do we need to—"
    "Lulu was murdered" Annabelle forced the words, hating the very sound of them. Saying them aloud made the unbearable truth more real.
    "Murdered?" Wythe shook his head. "No, that's not possible. Who'd want to hurt Lulu? Everybody loved her. You know that." Pale and trembling like a leaf in the wind Wythe stared at Annabelle, a dazed look in his eyes.
    "Pull yourself together. Right now. I can't have you falling apart. I need you to help me tell Uncle Louis."
    "Daddy? Oh, Lord this will kill him."
    "What I want you to do is telephone Dr. Martin and tell him what's happened. Ask him to come over to the house immediately," Annabelle said. "I have duties to attend to, but as soon as Dr. Martin arrives, the three of us will take Uncle Louis aside and tell him."
    "You know I was never jealous of her." Wythe smiled, the expression on his face pathetic. "I was fifteen when she came along and I should have hated her, but I didn't. I adored the little puss from the first moment I saw her. Even knowing Daddy loved her far more than he ever did me didn't change the way I felt about her."
    Annabelle did not want to hear this. Not now. Not ever. She had no time—and no stomach—for any of Wythe's confessions. And she felt he was on the verge of one.
    "Use the phone in here to call Dr. Martin." As Annabelle walked past her cousin on her way to the door, she paused momentarily and offered him a sympathetic glance. The caring, nurturing part of her wanted to reach out and hug him, offer him comfort. But she could not bring herself to touch Wythe, not knowing what she did about him.
    Once outside in the hallway, she hurried down the corridor, her head held high, her eyes dry. And all the while her heart was aching. Poor Lulu. No matter how wild and crazy she'd been, no matter how useless her life or how many times she'd disappointed her father, she didn't deserve to die. The murder of a Memphis socialite, the daughter of a Mississippi multimillionaire and the reigning emperor of the Vanderley empire, would be front-page news by morning. Once she told Uncle Louis about Lulu, she'd make plans to drive to Memphis first thing in the morning. She would take charge, do her duty and represent the family. She intended to make it her mission to see that Lulu's murderer was found and punished.
     
    Quinn parked his Porsche in the two-car garage alongside Kendall's BMW. She waited for him to retrieve his overnight bag from the trunk, then held the door open for him to enter through the kitchen of her South Bluff home, a downtown "zero lot line" house. As he followed her into the great room, he noted that the decorating style reflected the lady herself. Sleek, smart and modern. Nothing homey about the place. Lots of glass and mostly basic black-and-white, with a few tans and creams