Lavender Lies Read Online Free Page A

won’t welcome any help.” She patted my arm. “I hope I didn’t hurt you, China. Sometimes I don’t know my own strength.”
    McQuaid’s case, huh? I didn’t like the sound of that. To comfort myself, I reached for another cookie.
    “There’s a bright side to this,” Ruby observed thoughtfully, adding a white bow to her lavender heart. “With Coleman dead, the Council can stop arguing about the annexation proposal, at least for now. They can get busy and hire a chief of police.”
    “Don’t count on it,” Sheila said. “Anyway,” she added glumly, “I’m not sure I want the job.”
    “Oh, yeah?” The Whiz was curious. “How come? Is the university upping the ante?” Central Texas State was not happy when they heard that their female chief of security was on the Council’s short list. I wouldn’t be surprised if they offered her a nice raise.
    “Not yet,” Sheila said. She made a face. “It’s Blackie. He doesn’t think I ought to take it.”
    Ruby scowled. “Well, you can inform Sheriff Blackwell that he has no right to tell you what to do. You’re not married to him. And even if you were, he still wouldn’t have any right.”
    Sheila was quiet for a moment. “If I take that job,” she said at last, “we probably won’t be married.”
    “That,” I said sympathetically, “would be too bad.”
    Blackie Blackwell is a third-generation lawman who inherited his father’s job as sheriff of Adams County. He and McQuaid were friends at Sam Houston State and have graduated to become fishing and poker buddies, so I see quite a bit of him. McQuaid says Blackie is the best lawman he knows, and has asked him to be best man at our wedding.
    “He doesn’t like the idea of having two law enforcement officers in one family,” Sheila said.
    Ruby hooted. “What does he think you are now? The campus mascot? For Peter’s sake, Sheila, you’ve been a cop your whole adult life!”
    “He says my university job is mostly administrative, and I have to agree with him.” Sheila’s eyes were dark. “It’s been a while since I’ve done any real police work.”
    “I perceive a certain professional conflict of interest,” the Whiz remarked, “not to mention an undesirable degree of geographical proximity and political entanglement. Sheriff Blackwell is the elected county sheriff. Chief Blackwell would be the chief of police in the largest town in his county.” She pushed her lips in and out. “If you step on the wrong toes, Sheila, Blackie might not be reelected. If you pull the right strings, he could be a winner. Either way, he may feel that you are capable of exercising a potentially dangerous control over his career.”
    Ruby frowned. I stared. Howard Cosell dropped his jowled muzzle onto Sheila’s foot and gave a ponderous sigh. There was a long silence. Sheila was the first to speak.
    “Omigod,” she said. “I hadn’t thought of it that way.”
    I shook my head. “Justine is being very legalistic, not to mention pompous and bombastic. I’m sure you and Blackie can work it out.”
    “I don’t mean to be disheartening,” the Whiz said apologetically. “I felt it might be useful for us to analyze the relationship from a political, rather than a personal, point of view. Romance often blinds us to the disturbing and even ugly realities of our everyday lives.”
    “I can’t wait for you to fall in love, Justine,” Ruby said fiercely.
    “Love is all well and good,” the Whiz replied in a defensive tone, “but marriage exists in political, economic, familial, and social environments. Take our China, for example.” She waved her hand in my direction. “She and McQuaid must deal with the impact of the recent unfortunate events on their relationship. It is likely that not all of the expenses are covered by insurance, and that there are serious financial implications. Indeed, in the many divorce cases I have handled over the years, I have learned that what appears to be a purely personal