Read Online A Shiver of Wonder by Daniel Kelley - Free Book Online

Genevieve’s constant tweaks to her recipes were well worth her
time.
    “I’d so kiss you again,” she said as she
strode up, “but I’m afraid you’d start to like it. And then what?
I’d gain a lover, but be out of a job.”
    “I do like it, I do,” David insisted,
gazing into her sparkling eyes. “But how would I ever keep
you?”
    “Oh, you’d keep me, David,” she simpered.
“You’re a keeper, didn’t you know that? And oh! One more
thing!”
    “Mmm?” Lydia had angled forward as though
she were about to deliver a confidence.
    “Banana-carrot Clementine cake with
pomegranate sauce,” she said in a hushed voice.
    “Ugh. Fruit and date spice cake with cream
cheese frosting.”
    “That doesn’t sound so bad. I win!” She
patted his cheek twice, and then was gone.
    David pushed open the door to Larch Avenue
with liveliness in his step, and a smile on his face.

Chapter Twelve
    At five o’clock, after a couple of hours
spent working and a forty-five minute stroll with Johnson, David
was ready for a quick shower before the two of them walked to
Genevieve’s house for dinner. The streets of Shady Grove were busy,
as they should have been on a weekend afternoon as summer’s
approach began to seem more like a reality than a dream. They had
begun by meandering down to Easton Avenue, but had quickly veered
north, the encroaching desolation of the town’s southernmost street
proving an ill match for David’s ebullient mood.
    He had only taken three steps into the
Rainbow Arms’ lobby before that mood was punctured and
deflated.
    “Mr. Wilcott. I’ve been wondering how long I
would have to wait for you.” Detective Ormsby had returned. He’d
been studying the names on the building’s mailboxes, but pivoted as
David entered.
    “Detective.” David nodded to him. “What can
I help you with?”
    “Oh, quite a lot. Quite a lot.” Ormsby
smiled, but the effect was more chilling than comforting. David
understood that this was undoubtedly his intent.
    “Why are you here? Why do you live here?” he
began.
    David noted that he hadn’t pulled out his
notebook or automatic pencil. “How exactly could my answers to
those questions be relevant to your investigation?” he asked.
    An eyebrow rose. A breath was taken.
Detective Ormsby waited, patiently. David breathed carefully as
well, attempting to keep his pulse, as well as his anger, in
check.
    A woman stepped into the lobby from the
common area, took one glance at the two men staring each other
down, and hurried outside. David recognized her: Patty Fisher, from
2E. But he hadn’t acknowledged her. He intuited that Ormsby was
searching for weaknesses, looking to strike at any Achilles’ heel
David happened to reveal.
    Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe
out. This is ridiculous! he thought as they passed the
30-second mark. What kind of policeman utilizes these sorts of
playground tactics?
    Ormsby cleared his throat. “Do you have an
answer for me?” he asked, his steely voice tight, “or are you still
trying to think of one?”
    “I live here because I do!” David burst out,
unable to tamp down his ire. “I have to live somewhere, I wanted to
live in Shady Grove because of my Grandpa. Why would I need to
think up a different answer?”
    “I’m not sure. Why would you?” was thrown
right back. And then, “Why this building? Why the Rainbow
Arms?”
    “Why does it matter?”
    Ormsby took a step forward. He practically
towered over David at this distance. “Because it does. I told you
on Thursday, no piece of information is useless in a murder
investigation. For example, I’ve discovered that you and Janice
Templeton are friends, a fact you must have conveniently forgotten
to mention to me on Thursday.”
    “You didn’t ask me on Thursday!” David
wanted more than anything to back up and reclaim his personal
space, but didn’t dare.
    Ormsby cocked his head. “I don’t know,
Wilcott. I tell you that a man’s been murdered, I