Portrait of a Dead Guy Read Online Free PDF Page A

Lincoln MKT still sat in the parking lot. So did a black Ford Raptor pickup. Someone with a stepdad in the auto industry had recently received a shiny new truck. The man with the penchant for black pickups had dropped the portfolio case on a chair in the viewing room and disappeared. I blew a sigh of relief and used the solitude to get accustomed to my first literal still life.
    “Hey Dustin,” I whispered. “I’m sorry about your passing. At least the way you went. No one deserves to have their life taken from them like that.”
    Footsteps approached the doorway, and I realized the family probably hadn’t spent time with Dustin yet. I grabbed my sketchbook and slid to a back corner chair, where a grouping of floral arrangements kept my presence unobtrusive. Luke, Wanda, and JB strolled in with Cooper.
    “Oh my,” said Wanda, walking directly to the coffin. She closed her eyes in prayer for a moment. “You did a good job, Cooper.”
    “I got a new girl,” said Cooper, “she’s pretty good. Keeps forgetting her keys, though, and leaving them in the kitchen.”
    “Hard to train new staff,” said JB gruffly. He and Luke hung back and stood at right angles to the casket. “The coffin turned out real nice. I didn’t think we needed top of the line, but a lot of people are going to see it, I suspect.”
    From behind a palm frond, I watched Cooper nod. “You should have a good turnout for the visitation and the funeral. I’ve been taking calls all day.”
    “Heard from Virginia yet, JB?” Luke asked.
    “Surprisingly, no,” said JB. “Any normal woman would have scooted up here as soon as she heard her son was dead.” He ran a hand through his thinning hair. “As if I could take any more embarrassment over this fiasco. Now I’ll have my crazy ex-wife up here stirring up trouble. She’s probably postponing the visit on purpose.”
    “What purpose?” Switching his stance to face JB, Luke placed himself in line with me. I hunkered over the sketchbook, pretending to draw, and prayed the Bransons would be too preoccupied to notice me. I didn’t want to lose the commission over something as dumb as being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Shawna would love that.
    “Who knows with Virginia?” JB uttered a disgusted grunt. “Probably trying to figure out how to get some money out of this. You know she tried to sue me for child support after she abandoned her own kid?”
    “She didn’t abandon Dustin,” Wanda said.
    “I don’t know what else you call leaving a kid to run around like a cat in heat.” JB turned his back on the coffin.
    “Not like you were a saint at the time,” Luke said. “I wonder if Daddy Branson hadn’t told you to straighten up or lose the family business, you might still be carousing with Virginia. Were you ever going to do the same with Dustin? Call him on the floor before delivering the empire?”
    “Luke,” Wanda said, hurrying to JB’s side. “Don’t talk to JB like that.”
    “It’s the truth, Mom.” He crossed his arms and stole a glance at Cooper. “Sorry, Cooper. Don’t mean to air the Branson dirty laundry in front of you.”
    Cooper gave a noncommittal cough and shuffled to the casket, putting some space between him and the family.
    “I’d say I’ve had enough time in here,” said JB. “Come on, Wanda.”
    “We should go over the service if you’re ready,” said Cooper. He patted the casket and faced the Bransons. “We can go to the conference room or my office.”
    “Let’s get it done,” said JB. “I want to get to the office and check a few things.”
    “Can’t you get Ronny to do that for you?” Wanda tucked her arm inside JB’s, slowing his pace to exit the room. “We’re expecting more people today.”
    Cooper trudged after them, looking like he barely survived World War III. Which for Cooper meant a couple extra lines furrowing his brow.
    “Did you get all that?”
    I looked up from the little dog I doodled in my notebook. Luke