Dutch Me Deadly Read Online Free Page B

“I’m Mike. Her other half.”
    “Emily,” I said, returning their smiles. Mike’s graduation picture showed a bespectacled teen with Bugs Bunny teeth, a buzz cut, a bad complexion, and a blank space where his activities should be listed. “Are you sure that’s your photo?” I studied it more closely. “It looks nothing like you.”
    “Never underestimate the cosmetic benefits of good orthodontics and dermatological treatments. But let me tell you, high school isn’t easy on guys who look like trolls and are introverts to boot. It was the worst four years of my life.”
    “You did not look like a troll,” Mary Lou teased. “Trolls walk upright. You walked with your head down in a constant slouch, like a human question mark.”
    “I was trying to make myself invisible. It worked, didn’t it? The only female who ever noticed me was you.”
    “That’s because I knew there was a prince hiding somewhere behind your Mr. Slouchy impersonation.”
    He laughed, squeezing her shoulder affectionately. “You and my mother.”
    “And Sister Margaret Mary. Remember how she’d clap her hands on your shoulders and tell you to stand up straight when you went to the library?”
    He winced. “More ignominy.”
    Mike McManus certainly had improved with age. He was now a lean six-footer with great posture, a golden tan, and silver hair that could earn him millions in shampoo endorsements. His eyes were intelligent, his gaze direct, and his body language that of a man whose confidence level was off the charts. High school might have been the worst four years of his life, but he looked as if every year after that had been nothing short of spectacular.
    “So the two of you, and Pete, and everyone else who arrived late last night are graduates of the same high school class?” I asked them.
    “St. Francis Xavier High School in Bangor, Maine,” Mary Lou announced. “I thought we should pull out all the stops for our fiftieth reunion, so I cooked this up. Our granddaughter planned a destination wedding, so I thought, why not a destination class reunion? The planning committee all agreed, so here we are.”
    “Mary Lou was always something of a visionary,” Mike said proudly.
    “Of course, not everyone could join us. Some classmates are rehabbing from hip or knee replacement, and others had family obligations pending, but we signed up a good cross-section of our graduating class.”
    “If our flight hadn’t been delayed by weather at Logan, we might have made the welcome reception last night,” Mike lamented, “but by the time we arrived, we were all too tired for socializing.”
    “You didn’t miss anything,” I assured him. “Since your group wasn’t there, the rest of us scarfed down an early-bird meal and packed it in for the night.” I gave them the abridged version of who we were and where we came from. “I was back in my room by seven.”
    The sidewalk had emptied as guests reached the windmill and spread out over the grounds to take their photos. I checked my watch. “If we want photos, we’d better do it now before Charlotte starts herding us back to the bus.”
    “How does a woman with such a foul disposition get hired as a tour director?” Mary Lou asked as we hurried to catch up with the other guests.
    “By lying on her personality test,” joked Mike. “She probably claimed she had one.”
    “She reminds me of Paula Peavey.” Mary Lou lowered her voice. “Remember what a sourpuss she was all through school? She’d as soon bite your head off as look at you.”
    “She’s standing right over there,” said Mike. “Why don’t you ask her if she’s changed?”
    “I’m not going anywhere near her. She was just too hateful for words.”
    “Why was she so hateful?” I asked as I paused to snap a quick shot.
    “I don’t know why.” Mary Lou lowered her voice another decibel. “She just was. Her favorite pastime was making people cry, which she did on a daily basis. I’ll never forgive