The Guest List Read Online Free Page B

I’ll have to find a place to live. That shouldn’t take but a few days at the most. For now, a rental will do. I told you about John and his little girl. Three bedrooms are important. A couple of bathrooms, too. Little girls like to take bubble baths.”
    Steve pushed his hard hat farther back on his head. “Tell me about it,” he said, grinning. “I have four girls.”
    Donovan rolled his eyes. “As soon as I rent a house, I’ll head home, find a realtor for my house there, pack my stuff, and come back here. So … yeah, I think we’re looking at a week on the outside.”
    Steve nodded.
    “Were you serious about my own crew because if you were, I have four guys besides John I’d like to bring down.”
    “The more the merrier. If we ever get caught up, maybe you can build my house on Edisto.”
    “Sounds good to me.” Donovan glanced down and checked his watch. Five o’clock. “Okay then, if there’s nothing else, I’m outta here. I’ll check in with you when I get back to Jersey. Thanks for the offer, Steve. It came in at just the right time.”
    “Hey, Steve!” a voice bellowed from the site trailer. “There’s a phone call for Donovan Mitchell.”
    “Go get it, buddy,” Steve said, slapping Donovan on the back.
    Donovan seemed surprised. “I can’t even imagine whowould be calling me here,” he said, then loped toward the site trailer. “Mitchell here,” he barked into the phone.
    “Donovan. It’s Carol.”
    He turned around to face the open door. “Carol, what’s wrong? You sound funny. Are you okay?”
    “I’m fine, Donovan. But—Listen, there’s no way to tell you this except to blurt it right out.”
    “Jesus, you aren’t going to tell me my house burned down, are you?”
    “I’m afraid it’s worse than that. I just heard it on the news when I was going to the cleaners. Harriet and John are dead.”
    He held the phone in front of him and stared at the handset, then put it back to his ear. “Have you been drinking, Carol?”
    “Donovan, listen to me. As soon as I heard, I drove over to John’s house. The police were swarming the place. Evidently Mallory and Abby had been playing at a friend’s house, and when they got home, Mallory went upstairs to find her mother but couldn’t wake her up. She ran crying to your neighbor, Mrs. Lascaris, and she checked it out, then called the police. They found John downstairs, sitting at his desk. He was dead, too. I’m calling from Mrs. Lascaris’s house now.”
    Donovan sat down in the closest chair. “Jesus Christ. How? How’d they die? What happened? Was it carbon monoxide poisoning?”
    “Nobody seems to know yet, or if they do, they aren’t saying. I think you need to get back here just as soon as you can. I’ll pick you up at the airport if you call me and give me your flight information.”
    “Yeah. Okay. Sure,” he said automatically. “I’ll head back to the hotel right now. I’ll call you from there about the flight.” He paused. “Carol—The girls—Are they okay?”
    “They’re right here with Mrs. Lascaris and me. They have no idea what’s going on, but they’re confused and scared.”
    “Yeah, me too,” he said. “Take them to my house, Carol. I’m the closest relative those girls have, so the authoritiesshouldn’t give you any trouble about taking charge. If you need to, mention my hefty donations to the Police Benevolent Association. John would—” His voice broke. “John would want me to take his kids.” He paused, took a deep breath, and stood up. “I’ll call the police myself from the hotel. I don’t believe this. John dead. What do you think, Carol?”
    “I don’t know what to think. We’ll have to wait to see what the police and coroner have to say. I’m so sorry, Donovan. I know John was like a brother to you.”
    “John was more than that. He was my best friend. Look, I have to get out of here, Carol. I’ll call you with the flight info.”
    Sweat dripped down Donovan’s face.