Maddie Cochere - Two Sisters and a Journalist 01 - Murder Under Construction Read Online Free

the stage parted, and the dead girl strutted out. She was fully clothed in black leather and carried a long black whip. The other girls appeared fearful and scattered into the audience. She struck several of the men with her whip as she pranced the outer edges of the stage. It became eerily quiet in the room. She stopped in front of me. The black of her eyes matched her hair, and her stare bored into me. I couldn’t turn away. I knew she wanted me to come onstage. The next thing I knew, I was naked and twirling around the stripper pole. I was horrified my fat was hanging out for everyone to see. The patrons began booing. I tried to dip and writhe, but lost my hold on the pole and fell to the floor with a splat sound. The boos became a roar. The dead girl cracked her whip. The room became silent again. She leaned down and whispered to me, “Paula. My name is Paula.”
    My eyes flew open. I wasn’t naked, and I wasn’t in a strip club, but I was sweating profusely. I threw the bedding back and sat on the edge of the bed. That was not a good dream. That was a porno flick, and it was unsettling. And why was I so hot?
    I slipped my feet into fuzzy orange slippers and grabbed my robe. I went downstairs to the kitchen and checked the thermostat. Eighty degrees. The air conditioning wasn’t working.
    The clock on the stove blinked twelve o’clock. The power had gone out during the night. I had no idea what time it was, but it didn’t matter. It was Sunday, and I hadn’t made any plans.
    I slipped the robe on over the long t-shirt I wore to bed before walking out the front door into even more heat with an abundance of humidity. It was going to be another scorcher today. I didn’t mind the heat, but I did mind the humidity, and it seemed much worse with the extra weight I was carrying.
    My newspaper wasn’t on the porch. I spotted it near the end of the driveway and shuffled my way down to it.
    “Did you have a good time last night?”
    I put my hand up to shield my eyes from the sun and squinted across to Pepper’s house. Buck was working outside piling fresh mulch into flower beds. He was standing in one of the beds with his hands on his hips and a grin plastered across his face.
    I continued shuffling and made my way across the cul-de-sac.
    “Yes. As a matter of fact, I had a wonderful time last night. I spent it with a box of ribs and a couple of beers.”
    “What happened to your date?”
    “He wasn’t my date. He wants to go out, but I keep saying no. He’s a co-worker. He’s nice enough, but he’s kind of odd.”
    “I liked the last guy. Edward. What was wrong with him?”
    Just thinking about Edward made me cringe. “For starters, he was too loud no matter where we went, and the constant phone calls from his ex-wife made me want to kill him and her both.”
    Keith came out the front door with a gym bag in hand. Kelly followed with a small suitcase, and Pepper brought up the rear.
    “Where are you guys going?” I asked.
    Keith screwed his face into a pout and said, “Mom’s making us spend two whole days with Grandmama so she can get ready for the cookout.”
    “I don’t want to go,” Kelly grumbled. “Why can’t I stay here and help you?”
    “Because I don’t want your brother to have to deal with your grandmama by himself. You go and help him.”
    “But she smells,” Keith said mimicking Kelly’s tone.
    “She smells because she chain smokes,” Pepper said. “Play outside as much as possible and be nice to her.”
    “Let your grandmama be a lesson to you,” I said. “If you don’t want to grow up to smell like she does, don’t smoke.”
    “She’s a toothless wonder,” Keith said.
    “All right. That’s enough,” Buck admonished. “Your grandmama loves you, and you kids will have a good time if you let yourselves. Go on. Get in the car.”
    Buck looked over and winked at me. He was first to use the phrase about Mama, and it was his fault the kids used it now. She rarely wore her