Identity Read Online Free Page B

house so. I say yes.”
    “So, what did he say then?”
    “No more. He walk for a long time, then drive the car away.”
    “Then the woman moved in?”
    Rosaries carefully sipped her tea and nodded. “ Oui . Young girl with the flame hair.”
    “A redhead. Her name is Shay.”
    “Ah, you know this woman.” Rosaries nodded sagely.
    “Well, not exactly. I met her once. Let’s just say I’m curious about her.”
    “ Curiositétué les chat ,” Rosaries responded.
    “ Mémé !” Liza retorted. “There’s nothing wrong with some healthy curiosity.”
    Rosaries laughed. And, aware of and accepting Liza’s predilection toward women, she never missed an opportunity to tease her about it. “Especially if la femme is beautiful. This one is very beautiful.”
    Liza’s sense of humor took over. “I don’t know, Mémé . She is a redhead and you know what they say about redheads.”
    Rosaries looked confused. “No, what is it someone says?”
    “Well, it’s common knowledge,” she began slowly, “only two things are necessary to keep a redhead happy. One is to let her think she is having her own way, and the other is…to let her have it.”
    It took a moment for Rosaries to comprehend the joke, but once she understood, she chuckled into her teacup and shook an index finger at her granddaughter.

CHAPTER SIX
     
     
    At last. Shay studied the long sheaf of paper in her hand and marveled at how heavy the thick pages felt. She looked at the note from George Madison, her lawyer back in DC. Sign these , he had written, and you’ll be rid of me finally .
    “And rid of his fees,” Shay said aloud to the empty dining room. She looked out the French doors, once again marveling at how bright southern Alabama was. And the sun kissed the earth all year long here, not just for the four months or so she’d enjoyed in DC. Although widely separated from friends and professional acquaintances, Shay decided she liked living here. The sunlight and quiet sultriness of the surrounding bayous spoke to her somehow. She was grateful to have had the funds to escape to this new and different world.
    The fight to bring Pepper to justice had cost a good portion of the inheritance left to her upon the death of her father four years ago, but overall, it had been worth it. Pepper, sentenced to five years for assault with intent to commit bodily harm, would not bother her for some time. Buying this house under an alias and through an international broker had been just one more step toward her escape.
    Her thoughts flew back to the first time she’d seen Pepper. Club Techno 12-34 had been smoky that night, but even so, Pepper’s neon blue eyes had captured Shay in a tractor beam of amused desire. Pepper moved toward her, the approach slow and meandering as she stopped to converse with friends along the way. She’d glanced at Shay now and again while smiling and laughing with her friends, as if making sure her target remained stationary. Shay hadn’t moved, although her heart beat heavy in her chest as she imagined Pepper’s hands on her.
    Gaining Shay’s side, Pepper had laughed a low, smoky chuckle of victory. She had known the effect she had on women. During the trial her more secretive predatory habits came to light, and Shay had been shocked anew that she was only one of the many who had fallen prey to Pepper’s special charm.
    An abrupt memory of struggling for comfort in a locked, cramped closet flashed into her mind. The vision shifted and she saw Pepper lowering her muscular, naked body onto yet another blond woman she had picked up over on Dupont Circle. They were usually palely blond and always small in stature. It was as though Pepper needed women smaller than she was to reinforce her power over them. Shay had watched them through the slatted door, God help her, unable to stop, noting how the pastel blond of both their heads blended so well. Pepper had turned to look at her many times during the lovemaking session, those