Southern Charm Read Online Free PDF

get a name like Hull involved, there's no easy way clear."
    "What's Hull want with this anyway?" Sandra asked.
    "I don't know," Max said. "I just thought I was done with them the last time."
    Drummond snickered. "They do own the building. They probably own half the town. You should expect to come in contact with them once in a while."
    "Shut up. I'm sick of hearing your little cracks all the time. It's been a tough enough day without having to hear a dead stand-up comic — and not even a good one at that."
    "Easy now. I'm just trying to calm things, and maybe help you all get a little perspective."
    "How do you think you're doing?" Max yelled, his face tight and red, his breathing heavy.
    Drummond rose toward the ceiling with a placating grin. "Okay, now, there's no need to raise your voice. I'll just go see if I can find Corkille. I'll come back tomorrow morning when you've blown off some steam." And then he was gone.
    Max looked at Sandra, the shock on her face matching his. "I can't believe he just backed down like that," Max said.
    "Maybe he meant what he said. He was just trying to calm you down and since it isn't working, he left."
    "Maybe." Max let out a long sigh. "Take the rest of the day off. I'll see you back home for dinner."
    "You sure? There's plenty I can do."
    "I just want to be alone."
    Sandra leaned in to kiss Max but when he didn't turn to face her, she pecked his cheek and said, "I'll see you later. And don't forget, I love you."
    "I love you, too," Max whispered as she walked out the door.
    After a few minutes, he poured another shot of whiskey, held it to his lips, and inhaled its rich aroma. Then he tossed the fire liquid into the back of his throat, forced it down and let out a loud, "Ahhhh." Though he never grew fond of whiskey's sharp taste, after seeing Curtis, he welcomed the drink's numbing effect.
    Max closed his eyes and fell asleep.

    * * * *

    An hour later, he awoke, his heart pounding as he adjusted to his surroundings. He hated falling asleep by accident. He found the whole experience disorienting, at best.
    "That's the problem with this case," he said to the empty office. And though he received no response other than silence, he knew he was right. The whole case, in the few hours they had worked on it, disoriented him. Not a single aspect of it seemed solid. Nothing but questions. Who are the Corkilles? What's with the painting that nobody knows about but everybody knows about? Why would Howard Corkille disappear? What did Melinda fear? And on and on.
    And now the Hull family was involved.
    Disorienting.
    Max sat at his desk and tried to pick out a single detail he could count as fact. "Curtis wasn't the intended target," he said and wrote it on a piece of paper. A few seconds of thought, and he crossed out the sentence. Though it was probably true, he couldn't say it for a fact.
    He crumpled the paper and tossed it across the room. Tomorrow, he thought. He closed up the office and headed home.

    * * * *

    When Max entered the kitchen and saw their little table decked out with tablecloth, candlelight, wine, wineglasses, and two combo meals from Wendy's, all of the day's pressures erupted into laughter. He flopped into his chair, laughing himself silent, while Sandra looked on from the hall doorway. After a few deep breaths and a few lapses into more laughter, Max wiped his eyes, walked to his wife, and gave her a firm, loving kiss.
    "You're wonderful," he said.
    "I know. It's not my fault, though. I was just born this way." He kissed her again, and they sat down to dinner.
    They ate in comfortable silence for awhile. Then Max burped and said, "Tomorrow, I'm quitting the Corkille case."
    "Okay."
    Max hesitated. "You're not going to try to dissuade me? Tell me I have to stay on for the money or the business or whatever?"
    "I think the name Hull changes this enough."
    "I'd be lying if I said I didn't agree, but I've stood up to them before."
    Sandra sipped her wine with a calm hand, but there