Kiss Them Goodbye Read Online Free PDF Page B

flashlight from side to side.
    The crows puzzled her. They tended to settle by now rather than go on the wing with such determination.Boa grew stiff in her arms. The dog moaned, then set up a thin whine.
    Vivian’s spine prickled. Yelping, taking her by surprise, Boa shot from her grasp and took off between two trees and into the undergrowth.
    “Boa? Sweetie? C’mon back.” Shoot, Boa never got it that any animal she decided to chase off was likely to be bigger than she was, and mean. She followed the dog and shone the flashlight where Boa seemed to have disappeared. The tangle of overgrown shrubs formed an impenetrable barrier, unless you happened to be a five-pound dog.
    A side road toward the north turned off a few yards ahead. It was designed for a grounds crew to access some of the more remote areas. Vivian ran toward it. She might be able to head Boa off from there.
    Where was it? Oh, c’mon, where was it? She began to sweat, and feel sick. It was small, not much more than a track that allowed for a single vehicle, but where was it? Ranging back and forth, she searched but couldn’t find where the track veered off.
    Boa’s eerie wailing continued to reach her and she took some comfort in that. Then Vivian stood still and gauged where the track should be, and was, of course. She was too upset to be sensible.
    “Boa,” she called, but without any energy.
    She found it, the place where she could see the track pass through the verge. And it was exactly where she’d thought it was, only there was no break between shrubs anymore. Her stomach clenched and she looked toward the house, considered going for company if not for help. And she’d look stupid and everyone would think she was overreacting. She shone the flashlight carefully along the area. Three big laurel bushes in tubs stood, closely side-by-side, and hid the little road completely.
    Gil must be experimenting with some different looks.
    Vivian squeezed between two tubs. Layers of pewter-colored clouds darkened the purple sky and no hint of the dead sun remained. She swung her flashlight. Critters skittered away from the light. She saw the sleek, white body of a nutria, its long rat tail fat as it slithered out of sight. She hated this. In many ways she was a city girl, not a country girl. If an alligator showed up she really would lose it.
    Boa’s complaints had grown quieter but they were still steady, and not too far away, Vivian decided. She would not leave her dog alone out here. “Boa? Come here, girl.” The dog didn’t rush to her and there was no choice but to go on. What could be so scary about walking through grounds she was growing to know well?
    A glint. A flicker of light passed over a smooth surface, and Vivian aimed her light in that direction.
    She stopped walking and peered ahead. The top of a car, pale and glossy and only yards away.
    Boa, bursting from the bushes, barking wildly and rushing at her, raised Vivian’s spirits. She’d grab the dog and run for it.
    Before she could reach Boa, the dog dashed away again, her barks changing to a wail.
    “Is there anyone there?” Vivian called tentatively. “Hello, who’s there?”
    Large raindrops beat hard on the top of her head and her face. Clouds extinguished a struggling moon and a breeze picked up.
    She didn’t take foolish risks, but how could she be in danger here? For all she knew, there’d been an abandoned car here all along. She certainly hadn’t been all through the tangled grounds.
    Sometimes snakes infested old cars.
    That stopped her. She couldn’t stand snakes.
    Snakes could kill Boa so easily.
    Vivian discovered all that stood between her and thevehicle were two more tubs of laurel, one of which had fallen against the other. Boa ran out and away again as if she were trying to lead Vivian. She hesitated. The laurels were intended to hide something—the car.
    “Okay, I’m coming, Boa.” Rain became steady and harder. She’d likely be soaked in a few minutes.