The Killing Kind Read Online Free PDF

you. ”
    Randi turned pale. She felt the seriousness of Shellie’s concern. Randi was aware of walking that fine line between dabbling in things she could control and others that could turn ugly at any given moment. It seemed to hit her right then that she was living a high-risk lifestyle, same as Heather, and her behavior could ultimately have consequences.
    The sisters didn’t say much after that. What else was left? Shellie was the big sister; she was the one who looked out for Randi.
    The worrywart.
    Randi got up, hugged Shellie, and then turned to leave. She didn’t have to say it, but she did, anyway: “I love you, Shell.”
    “Randi, I’m serious. I love you, too.”
    “Will you take me to my friend’s house, Shell?” Randi asked. She had been living with a guy since breaking up with the father of her youngest child.
    “Yes, Randi.”
    As they walked out the door together, they made plans to meet up for Randi’s birthday in a few days.
    Shellie pulled up to the house. Randi stared out the car window, almost as if questioning whether to get out of the car.
    Before opening the door, she turned to Shellie. “I love you, Shell.”
    “I love you, too, Randi.”
    Randi was somber. As though Shellie’s words back at the house had impacted her way of thinking.
    Randi got out. Walked into the house.
    Shellie drove away.

CHAPTER 10
    T hey had met back on October 29 to celebrate Shellie’s birthday. But now it was November 2, just a few days after Heather’s body had been found, and that conversation Randi and Shellie had about Randi’s lifestyle rang in their ears. Randi had always stopped by to see Shellie on her birthday and bring her a little something.
    “Let’s go out and eat! My treat,” Randi had said on that October 29 night when she stopped by to wish her big sister a happy birthday. Their birthdays were so close, it was always a celebration.
    “No, Randi, you don’t have that kind of money. Let’s just hang out and talk.”
    “Nothing big,” Randi said. “Just some tacos. I really want one.”
    “I’ll tell you what,” Shellie said, “I’ll bring you some tacos on your birthday.”
    Shellie promised she’d drive to where Randi had been living with a guy named Tim, her current boyfriend. Shellie told Randi that in just two days, November 2, she’d arrive with a box full of Randi’s favorite tacos, ready and prepared to celebrate Randi turning thirty. A milestone.
    “I like that idea,” Randi had said.
    Randi had a glamorous, Vogue -like, supermodel smile that nearly everyone she came into contact with noticed immediately. It juxtaposed seamlessly against her deep, penetrating light blue eyes and porcelain skin. She was one of those women who always took the time to wear the perfect amount of eyeliner and makeup, accentuating her faultless facial features. Randi was not merely beautiful; she was gorgeous, turning heads wherever she went.
    As kids, Randi and Shellie, one year and a few days apart, were like twins. Whatever one did, the other was right behind. It had been that way all their lives. They looked out for each other. They knew that men would come and go, even their girlfriends, but they would always be there for each other. No one could take that bond of being sisters away.
    “Randi and I both grew up in Gastonia, North Carolina,” Shellie told me. “We had good lives. We were raised for the majority of our lives by our grandmother. We lived a very religious life.”
    They attended the local Pentecostal Church of God every Wednesday and Sunday with their grandparents. There were never any drugs or alcohol around the home, Shellie recalled. It was as straight a life as one could lead: prayer, family dinners, more prayer, cookouts, TV, lemonade, Bible talk, and laughs.
    “There was never anything that we could complain about, growing up,” Shellie added. “We had good schooling. Good home.”
    It was the kind of life one imagines in the small-town south. Gastonia, the