Tremble in the Dark: A Gwen Farris Novel Read Online Free PDF Page B

to do, if they weren't going off to prison for their
daughter's crimes. For their part, all the Vernors had ever really done was
suggest that some nice, very eligible, young men could be contacted, if she
were so interested. True, Ethyl had, on several occasions, tried to sell that
idea pretty hard, but it always seemed to be fairly playful when she did it,
rather than a demand or ultimatum.
    That
was good, since Gwen was pretty certain she'd be an awful wife. After all, all
she knew about doing that involved some online porn and sit-coms. That wasn't
the best battle plan for a lifelong commitment.
    Also,
she thought of marriage as needing a battle plan, apparently.
    Still,
it wasn't that pressing, she didn't think. A lot of girls that had any kind of
career in mind didn't get married until they were older. Nearly twenty-five or
six even. It was important to pick correctly, since you had to know the right
people to ensure you could have an annulment. Divorce was, she'd found out some
months back, a real thing here, but you had to go to court and most weren't
granted. Not even for spousal abuse. It pretty much had to be cheating, and
even then, a lot of judges would make people live together for years before
letting the paperwork go through, in case they could work things out.
    She
walked and thought at the same time, noticing that Mrs. Vernor had actually
followed them a way down the hall, and looked like she wanted to add something.
What that would be, Gwen had no clue. Something about the party, most likely.
    She
stopped and turned, smiling. They still had to change for the practice to come,
since they'd sweat, and doing that in the dress she was wearing was to be
avoided if possible.
    "Mother?"
She used the word again, which got everyone to freeze for a moment, since it
hadn't been that common for her lately. It felt a little odd, but Ethyl smiled
and batted her eyes, which were starting to water a bit.
    "It's
only that Robert and I got a rather unusual letter last evening. It's probably
nothing, since those with money are often targeted for rather vile threats at
times, but I was wondering if you and Beth might look at it? I didn't want to
bother you with it, but Winslow suggested that we use the resources available,
and since you're both rather fine detectives..."
    Gwen
snorted, then covered her mouth.
    "Beth
is a Detective. I'm more in the side-kick category, but I'd like to look at it.
Normally such things would be run by Con-Sev, I think. Unless it was posted
locally? Then the local Constabulary would get it. In my world we have a
division like that at least. But, we are here, which has to count as it
being at least polite for us to look at, in case it's nothing. We wouldn't want
to waste those other agencies time. Not right now." The very odd thing
there was that she really meant it. People were still reeling from the rifting
of Worthington, which would have been the same as Washington D.C. being nuked.
    The
population here was smaller over all, but it had been a major city and nearly a
million people just stopped existing a few weeks ago. Dead. So fast that even
someone trying to teletransport out, which was normally considered instant,
wouldn't have made it. They weren't even tabulating the monetary cost of the
damage. The lives were enough. It was one of the most evil things to have ever
happened on their world. Worse, it had been an act of pure and real terrorism.
Doctor Debussey and her freak helpers had used the fear generated to try and
open their gate to the plane of the Elder Gods.
    Bethany
however gave her a smile that, while very subtle, seemed to indicate that Gwen
had said something wrong. It was hard to tell, because her words went in a very
different direction than that. Maybe she was just wrong about the expression?
That happened. A lot in fact, even after a year.
    "I
have to agree with that assessment. After we look at it, would you be open to
us handling the issue for you? We might need to report it