A Teeny Bit of Trouble Read Online Free

questioning look.
    Where to begin? I studied the Ansel Adams print on the wall behind him, black-and-white trees. Ebony vases sat on a bookshelf, next to carved ivory elephants. These were Coop’s signature colors. His brain was the same way. He wanted facts, no gray areas.
    A knob moved in his throat. “Why are you wearing a scuba outfit?”
    I didn’t want Emerson to overhear us, so I pulled him onto the porch and gave a quick summary. Barb’s phone call, the masked guy, the strangling, the chase, my lost phone, and my discovery of Emerson.
    “She says Barb’s suitcase is missing,” I added. “So is her car. But how could she drive? When I ran off, she was on the floor and she wasn’t moving. Maybe Bill Clinton went back to her house and got rid of her body.”
    “Did you see him go back?” Coop asked.
    I shook my head.
    “Did he have time to chase you, dispose of her body, and clean her house?”
    I shrugged. “I lost track of time. But I know what I saw. He choked the life out of her.”
    “For how long? A minute?”
    “I didn’t time that, either. But it happened fast. Maybe ten or fifteen seconds? Barb’s face was red as a strawberry. And her eyes…” I broke off and shuddered. “My phone startled him. He let go. She fell. And she didn’t move.”
    “She probably wasn’t dead.”
    “She looked like it.” I stared hard into Coop’s eyes, wishing I could see behind them, where everything had a right side and a wrong side. A place where textbooks had been memorized, all those words pushing back his scary emotions.
    “It takes longer than ten seconds to strangle someone, Teeny. See, during those fifteen seconds, Barb’s carotid arteries were compressed. Her brain wasn’t getting oxygen. So she passed out.”
    “When people get strangled on TV, they die immediately,” I said.
    “It takes longer in real life. Three or four minutes of nonstop strangulation. A little faster with a ligature. And, it depends on how strong the guy was and how much pressure he put on her carotids. After the guy ran away, Barb probably regained consciousness.”
    I didn’t want a lecture on strangulation. I rubbed my forehead again. The dull ache had finally vanished, but I still felt dizzy. “I just know that man went back and killed her.”
    “You don’t know what he did.”
    “I can’t believe that Barb got up, cleaned the broken lamp, and left her house. Left her child. Why would she do that?”
    His hand circled my wrist. His lips parted, like he wanted to say something, then he clamped them shut.
    I shook him off. “I wouldn’t have gone to her house if you’d told me the truth. But you said you had to work late. I believed you.”
    “I did have to work. I stayed at the office until eight thirty.”
    “But I called. The answering service said nobody was there.”
    “There’s no operator in our building. We use a service in Mount Pleasant. I was with my boss and two other lawyers. On my way home, I stopped by Barb’s house.”
    “Yeah, she showed me your photograph.”
    “What?” He looked puzzled.
    “She took a picture of you with her cell phone.” I crossed my arms. “So what happened after that? Did you set up a DNA test? Talk about the future?”
    “She didn’t want to discuss the test. She tried to seduce me.”
    My pulse thrummed in my ears. “Is that why you didn’t answer your phone?”
    “God, no. I turned it off earlier. She kept calling. I couldn’t get any work done.” He dragged the pink bottle from his pocket, unscrewed the cap, and took a swig. “As for the seduction, I rejected her. I told her I loved you. She said she’d gotten rid of you once and she’d do it again. She threatened to abandon the little girl. To force me to raise her.”
    “Barb told a different story. She said you still loved her.”
    “She was trying to shake you up. She lied.”
    “So did you. Why didn’t you tell me about Emerson? She’s the same little girl who showed up on your porch