Read Online Death Loved A Woman (Happy Holloway Mystery Book 2) by Audrey Claire - Free Book Online Page A

I’m a writer, so I didn’t get to perform either. Plus, I had wanted to question her about her son. Coming face to face, it felt inappropriate. Let’s look for someone else to impress with our natural charm.”
    He grinned. “Lead the way.”
    Annie first made a beeline for the appetizers. She couldn’t resist a crab ball or two. Omen at her side, piled a small serving of caviar onto her plate.
    “Try this,” he said.
    She noticed he didn’t add any to his own plate. The little black balls touched one of the crab puffs, and her appetite died. She gazed around the room. “Oh, look, isn’t he a congressman?”
    Omen swung away to look the direction she pointed. A waiter passed nearby, and Annie deposited her plate onto his tray. Her appetite sprang to life again, and she fixed herself a new plate sans the fish eggs. By the time Omen turned back to her, she wandered the room, looking for someone who knew Wesley.
    Annie came across two young women in their twenties or so, and she smiled as she drew near. Both women were slender, with long bare legs revealed in short, stylish dresses. Their hair was piled atop their heads, uncovering delicate shoulders and long, graceful necks. Annie was glad to find, despite their beauty and possible wealth, they seemed approachable.
    “Hi, I’m Annie Holloway.” She held onto her plate with both hands.
    “Connie.”
    “Jamie.”
    “I love that bag, Connie,” Annie gushed. “I feel like I’ve seen it at Antoine’s.”
    Connie’s face brightened, and she hugged the purse. “Yes, I got it for a steal.”
    Annie had no idea if Antoine’s was anything. She threw out the word that sounded kind of exotic. Connie named a figure that had Annie’s head swirling. If the price she named was a steal, then she must mean walking out of the shop without paying.
    Jamie rolled her eyes. “I wish I was in Paris instead of here. I always hate coming home. I will never let anyone know I’m from anywhere as provincial as North Carolina.”
    “I tell people I’m from New York when I travel.” Connie laughed. “It’s more fun that way.”
    Both girls giggled, and Annie hated to tell them they each spoke with a distinct southern twang, common to North and South Carolina. She happened to love the south and would proudly speak of her origins if someday she chose to travel away from home again.
    “So did either of you know Wesley?” Annie asked, for wont of any other way to lead into the conversation that interested her most.
    Both women pouted, but Connie spoke. “Our families have known each other forever. Jamie’s dad is Mr. Witman’s lawyer, actually.”
    “No kidding?”
    “Yeah, we’re not on their level exactly, but Dad does okay, and at least Mr. Witman invites us to these things.”
    “What kind of man was Wesley?”
    The girls seemed not to notice Annie’s great interest in Wesley, so she decided to keep questioning them.
    Again, Connie acted as the mouthpiece for both. “He was kind of a wimp.”
    Jamie snorted and smacked her friend’s arm. “Keep your voice down, stupid. If we don’t get invited back, it’s your fault.”
    Connie gazed around the room and ducked her head closer to Annie’s. “He was, though. Wesley didn’t have to make one decision for himself. Mommie and Daddy decided everything, especially Mommie . We were all surprised when he started dating Barbara Jean.”
    “Maybe it was his way of taking charge of his life as a man,” Annie suggested.
    They blinked at her, and Jamie laughed.
    “A man?” Connie shook her head. “Barbara Jean led him around by his nose. All she needed to do was put a ring in it.”
    “No, she was trying to get that on her finger,” Jamie said.
    They cracked up.
    “You think Barbara Jean didn’t love him?”
    “Who would?” Connie appeared genuinely curious. “Sometimes Wesley got bold and stood up to Flynn, but we all knew it was just show. He knew Barbara Jean loves Flynn. All Wesley ever did was throw around