The Fallen Angels Book Club Read Online Free PDF

Straight to the point of pain . My heart raced. “The ones who need to know do. Why? Is there a reason you’re asking?”
    Lincoln seemed to come to life. “I wondered if you checked the felon box on your job application.” His expression told me that he expected I had lied.
    So that was it; he liked pulling wings off butterflies. He wanted me to squirm.
    â€œDetectives, is there a reason why you’re here? I admitted I changed my name. I don’t know any more about Rory’s death now than I did when you were last here.”
    â€œMrs. Lynley—”
    â€œMorgan,” I insisted.
    Faber gave me a condescending smile. “Okay, Ms. Morgan, we followed up on that book tip you gave us, linking it to the mode of Norris’ death. It was right on. Then we took things a little further, did a little research on the other members of the book club. You know what we discovered? A club of ex-felons.”
    At that I had to sit. They followed suit.
    My thoughts raced. “I know there’s a temptation to conclude that we’re plotting the downfall of the Western world, but all that we have in common—well, not all, I guess—is that we love books.”
    â€œThat so?” Faber’s lips were pursed just shy of a smirk. “Yet I would imagine all of you must live in fear of having your prison backgrounds exposed. A blackmailer would think he hit the lotto.”
    Lincoln leaned over and picked a foil-wrapped chocolate out of the glass candy dish on the table. I tried to remember how long the candy had been there. One of the prison staff had given me a small box as a good luck gift. Could people die from eating candy three years past the “best by” date? He popped it in without noticing the thin whitish coating and grabbed for another.
    I stared at the chocolates. “We don’t pry into each others’ pasts. That’s one of our rules. We only get together to share our opinions about books.”
    Lincoln gave me a hard look. “We visited Mr. Norris’ apartment. We found canceled checks and bank statements that raise the possibility he might have been a blackmailer.” Lincoln chewed. “Was he blackmailing you?”
    â€œRory, a blackmailer?” I couldn’t stop my voice from trembling. “No. No. I’m not being blackmailed.”
    â€œYou didn’t know Norris was a blackmailer?” Faber asked.
    â€œNo,” I answered weakly. “I only knew him through the book club.”
    â€œYeah, so you said.” Faber flipped back a couple of pages in his notebook. “Mrs. Lynley—excuse me, Ms. Morgan—would you be surprised to know your husband’s name was in an address book we found in Mr. Norris’ apartment?”
    The air fled my lungs as if I’d been punched. On top of that I thought my hearing must be impaired. “I’m sorry. Did you say Bill’s name was in Rory’s address book?”
    â€œThat’s right. How did they know each other?” Faber asked.
    â€œBill and Rory knew each other?” The words left my lips but sounded far away.
    Faber leaned over to my side of the table. “Do you know where your husband is?”
    â€œEx -husband. I haven’t seen him since my trial.”
    Only a half-lie .
    To my relief, Lincoln pushed the candy dish away. “You haven’t had any contact with William Lynley since your conviction?”
    I chose my words carefully. “We haven’t spoken since I was sentenced.”
    Let’s try to maintain some integrity here .
    I couldn’t tell if they believed me. They asked a few more questions about the club and then left with the promise to get back to me if they thought of anything else. Based on my last law enforcement encounter, I had a feeling their next step would be to obtain a search warrant.
    I tossed the salad down the disposal and went out on the deck with my wine. I’d lost my appetite.