Reclaim My Life Read Online Free Page A

“So what about Joyce?”
    “She told us about the special, which was deep-fried catfish fillets with cheese grits, green beans, and sliced tomatoes. Cathleen and I got the special, Kris ordered the barbeque chicken plate—I believe that came with slaw and fries—and Sunny ordered hamburger steak with mashed potatoes smothered in a mushroom-and-onion gravy.” She paused, then added, “Cathleen and I chose wisely. The catfish was amazing.”
    He jotted down details of the meals. At least the women weren’t obsessive dieters on their night out. On second thought, he’d never seen Elizabeth fixate on dieting. She seemed comfortable with her curves. In fact, there didn’t seem to be a vain bone in her body, which was one more thing to like about her.
    Focus, pal
. “What did you talk about during dinner?”
    “Gasoline prices and whether we were better off to visit the nearest mall in Valdosta or pay shipping prices and order online.” At his nod, she continued. “I said I preferred mail-order because even if it didn’t save money, it saved time. Sunny and Kris agreed that I failed to grasp the female ritual of going shopping. Cathleen contended that frequent online shoppers were often rewarded with a free-shipping offer, in which case she sided with me. And your eyes are glazing over.”
    He grinned. “Are not. I’m fascinated, really.” Unfortunately he’d heard nothing that helped his murder investigation. “What else did you discuss? Seriously, it could be important.”
    “All right. Let me see.” She chewed her bottom lip and frowned. “We discussed our … this is a bit embarrassing—”
    “Sorry, but I need to know.”
    Elizabeth removed her glasses, rubbed her eyes, then slid the glasses back on. “We debated at what age a woman should give up on having children. You see, only Sunny is married, and she’s the youngest of us at twenty-nine. The rest of us are on the downhill side of thirty-five, and you know what they say about the ol’ biological clock.”
    He resisted asking her if she wanted kids. He’d be forty in a few weeks and felt time running out on his own opportunity to settle down and raise a family. Such talk wouldn’t further his interrogation of Elizabeth, however. “Do you know if Cathleen Hodges was involved in a relationship?”
    “She said she wasn’t. Neither is Kris or I, which is why the topic came up. Even if we met Mr. Right this year, we figured we’d be forty before the courtship, wedding, and pregnancy ran their course. And none of us has found Mr. Right, which became our next topic of conversation: Men.”
    He looked up from his notebook to see if she was smiling. She wasn’t. He’d love to know the story behind her frown but couldn’t afford to be sidetracked now. “Go on.”
    “Kris and I agreed that after ridding ourselves of losers, we weren’t going to try marriage again—”
    “You were married?” The question slipped out before he thought better of it.
    “No, Kris was. I had a dangerously close call but broke the engagement.” She didn’t seem to mind the question but volunteered no more.
    “What about Cathleen Hodges?”
    “No, she’d never married. She told us her animals were children enough for her.”
    “Did Cathleen mention dating anyone after moving here? Or any old boyfriends who might’ve come calling?”
    “Not Friday night, but wait a minute.” Elizabeth grabbed the sides of her head with both hands. “Oh, God, this could be important! She once said she’d been in an abusive relationship a couple of years back. She’d had to take out a restraining order on the guy but still didn’t feel safe. Finally, she’d moved halfway across the country to get away from him. But she didn’t mention his name, and she said she hadn’t heard from him since she relocated.”
    Wil wrote down the information. He would run a check on her veterinary license and track her back to her former location. “She say where she was