SEE HIM DIE Read Online Free

Something from this morning’s classifieds suddenly bobbed to the surface of her whirling thoughts. There was one new listing for a position as a bank teller. It was worth a shot. What did she have to lose?
     
    Two hours later Julie knew precisely what she had to lose. Every ounce of self-respect she had left.
    Even with an MBA focused in accounting, she couldn’t get a job as a bank teller. How sad was that? She was willing to work, overqualified or not, and no one wanted her.
    Disgusted with herself as well as her no-good husband, she parked in front of the one place where she knew her spirits would be boosted. Her best friend in the world since childhood, Marie Morrison, owned and operated, Midtown Marie’s, the sports bar that served everything from hot wings and beer to hot dogs and soft drinks. In the five years since she’d taken over the establishment, it had become one of Mobile’s favored spots for singles as well as the attached—mostly for those forty and under. Some form of sports television played on the numerous sets displayed throughout the crowded joint and sports memorabilia from local teams dominated the decor.
    Julie sat in the old Buick for a few minutes before getting out. The urge to cry swept over her so forcefully, so brutally she scarcely suppressed the need. How could she be twenty-nine, well educated and have nothing?
    Absolutely nothing.
    She’d fallen in love with Austin Barton practically overnight. They’d met at a business exposition where Barton Brothers Industries, a shipping company, was recruiting MBA graduates. She’d actually gone out to dinner with his brother Randall first. Somehow, when she met Austin everything changed. She’d been swept off her feet... blown away. For a while she’d had everything. The fairytale life every little girl dreamed of. A home that looked like a castle, a Prince Charming for a husband—everything her heart desired.
    Now that Julie thought about it, she realized that things had started to go wrong between them a year ago. Like his not coming home some nights. Work, he’d told her. She’d believed him. Their life together was perfect, why would he lie? Then, for the last six months they lived together he’d barely come home at all. They hadn’t had sex since Christmas. She’d spent far more time alone than with him. She’d started to get curious about what kept him at work such long hours so she’d followed him from time to time.
    Big mistake. She’d discovered his rendezvous with other women. She’d overheard their titillating conversations when he thought she wasn’t home. As if all that weren’t bad enough, she’d found even more horrifying proof he wasn’t the man she’d thought him to be on his computer.
    Julie shuddered when she thought of the list she’d found just days before the big confrontation that had heralded the end of their relationship. She’d intended to peruse his email and browser history. A file on his desktop had been left open so she’d had a look. Twelve names, all prominent figures in state or local politics. The list itself shouldn’t have made her uneasy in any way for that matter, except she’d watched the news. The first two were recently deceased, one in a car accident, the other a slip and fall in his shower. Both were big players in the fight to stamp out organized crime along the Gulf Coast. Still, she’d had no real evidence that their deaths were connected to her husband. Then the third man named on this list had died in a fall down the stairs of his home. Maybe she wouldn’t have gotten suspicious even then except that same night she’d overheard a telephone conversation. Her husband had assured the caller that the third issue had been resolved. He went on to say he felt confident the ‘rest’ would fall into line.
    Instinct had told her the conversation and the list were connected. As soon as she had an opportunity, she had downloaded the file to a jump drive. The pages of what appeared