Stabbing Stephanie Read Online Free PDF Page A

I’ll walk over and meet you. Then I’ll take you out for a nice Welcome-to-Shady-Hills lunch.”
    â€œFine.” Stephanie sounded bored.
    â€œThen I’ll take you to the house to get settled. One thing, though, Stephanie. As it happens, I’m planning a vacation. I’m leaving on the eighteenth and will be away over Thanksgiving. You’re still welcome to stay with us, of course; I just wanted you to know.”
    â€œWell, see you tomorrow, then,” Stephanie said, as if she hadn’t heard a word Jane just said, and hung up.
    Jane stared at the phone. “What a strange woman.”
    â€œCompany coming?” Daniel asked.
    â€œMm,” Jane replied grumpily. “My cousin Stephanie. Kenneth’s cousin, actually.”
    â€œI remember her,” he said, his eyes widening. “Sharpish features, very black hair. Kind of . . . sour?”
    â€œThat’s her. She’s moving here, has some new job with a publishing company that’s moving to town.”
    â€œA publishing company here in Shady Hills?”
    â€œThat’s what she said. I can’t have the details till tomorrow, though.”
    She found the thought of walking to the station, meeting Stephanie, and taking her to lunch—not to mention having her as a houseguest—utterly depressing. She glanced at the spot where the vision of Kenneth had been. He was gone. Now there was only the window, and through it Jane saw Ivor on Center Street at the far end of the green, strolling along in front of the tiny Tudor-style shops.
    â€œCan’t think about any of that now,” she said with forced cheerfulness. “I’ve got shopping to do, and I’ve got to make that decision about my vacation or I’ll be stuck here with her for the holiday.” She gave him a troubled look. “How can I leave Nick and Florence alone with her?”
    â€œI’m sure they’ll get along just fine,” he replied, like a parent to a child. Then he patted the travel brochures protruding from the side pocket of her bag and gave her a confidential wink. “Think fast.”
    â€œDon’t you worry,” she assured him, whipping out the brochures, and studying them as she made her way down the little hall that led to the suite’s back door and out into the parking lot behind the building.

    She parked twelve rows away from the supermarket, even though she’d seen an empty spot in the second row, near the store’s entrance. One of the early chapters of Dr. Stillkin’s Melt to Svelte stressed the importance of getting “incidental exercise”—making a point of executing little everyday tasks the hard way to add calorie-burning activity to one’s day: taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walking down the hall to a colleague’s office instead of phoning, parking as far away as possible from one’s destination.
    The morning’s insistent wind had disappeared, but the air was colder nevertheless, and by the time she reached the store her face stung and her eyes ran. Entering the bright, cheerful warmth of the store, she grabbed a cart, whipped out the list she’d made of Stillkin foods she needed, and made straight for the cereal aisle. Dr. Stillkin recommended adding raw bran to virtually everything one ate, and Jane intended to stock up.
    After placing six jars of bran in her cart, she checked her list and headed toward the back of the store. Next on the list were skinless chicken breasts. Dr. Stillkin allowed only chicken and veal on his diet, and since Jane didn’t care much for veal, she would buy several packages of chicken breasts. She wouldn’t need many, because Dr. Stillkin allowed only four ounces of either chicken or veal a day.
    At the back of the store she made her way along the poultry case. Roasters . . . thighs . . . wings . . . breasts . . . legs . . .
    Encountering turkey, she realized she’d gone too far.