Bitch Factor Read Free

this will be the quickest ten thousand bucks I ever made.”
    “Ten thousand?”
    “He’s out on a hundred thousand dollars bail, right? At ten percent, you’re getting my preferred customer discount.”
    “On second thought, I hope he gives you a merry damn chase.”
    Dixie got to her feet. “Tell you what. If I find this guy tonight, I’ll keep him tucked away nice and tight until midnight on January third. That way you can worry all through the holidays and feel grateful as hell when he walks in before the judge drops his gavel.”
    Glancing at the darkening sky beyond Belle’s window, Dixie headed for the door. If she wasn’t home when Amy arrived, the evening would start with Dixie’s feeble apology,and she hated that. She hoped to enjoy a pleasant evening with no arguments.
    “You’d really do it, wouldn’t you?” Belle said. “Keep Dann hidden away and let me sweat.”
    “Just want you to feel you’re getting your money’s worth.” She closed Dann’s file and slipped the Christmas photo into her pocket.
    “Flanni?”
    Dixie raised an eyebrow at the familiar nickname.
    “If I’m wrong, if Dann really is guilty, he won’t be easy to bring in. He’s already facing a manslaughter charge. Adding one more felony to his record won’t seem too high a risk to a desperate man. He could be dangerous.”
    “Don’t let Amy hear that. She already worries too much.” Dixie snapped a rubber band around the folder.
    “Dixie, this case—”
    “I’ll let you know later tonight whether you’ll need to find another skip tracer.” Dixie grinned and rained a few Hershey’s Hugs in the middle of Belle’s desk. “Meanwhile, sweeten up, Ric. It’s almost Christmas.”
    But as she pushed through the mahogany doors, thinking of those two dark-eyed girls with a dead sister, Dixie’s own holiday spirit fell like loose gravestones.

 

    Chapter Two
     

    Eight months earlier, Sunday, May 3
     
    Courtney Keyes looked at the room full of reeking flowers and darkly clad grown-ups standing around in hushed groups and thought a cuss word. She didn’t want to go into that room.
    Courtney had never said a cuss word out loud, not even the D-word, because Mama had about the best ears in the world. (“If I ever hear you girls talking filth, I’ll wash your mouths out with Tide”) But Courtney thought cuss words plenty of times, especially the F-word, because she liked the sound of it.
    This time, though, she wasn’t even specific. She tightened her lips and thought: Cuss word! Cuss word! Cuss word!
    Ellie tugged at Courtney’s hand to get attention. “I want to see Betsy.”
    “Okay, shhh. You can see Betsy in a minute.”
    There were no other kids in the room, which meant she and Ellie would STAND OUT. Everyone would know who they were and either whisper to each other as they walked by or cluck like their neighbor Mrs. Witherspoon. (” I swear, those girls were so close, it must be awful for them, like cutting off an arm. Thank the good Lord the little ones still have each other.”)
    “I want to see Betsy NOW.”
    “Okay, Ellie. Just be quiet for another minute.”
    One way Courtney was like Betsy was that neither liked to STAND OUT. Being the oldest, though, Betsy naturally took the lead, and sometimes she got too damn bossy, especially when Mama left her IN CHARGE. Courtney ignored her, which made Betsy really mad. But mostly Betsy had a magical way of making things happen without causing a fuss. Now Courtney was the oldest and wished she had paid more attention to her sister’s magic.
    She slid her gaze toward the object she’d been avoiding, the long box on the table crowded with flowers at the back of the room. The COFFIN.
    Having never seen a coffin before, except on TV, she expected it to be black. Instead, it was a pearly grayish-white, a puke color, but not as bad as black.
    Betsy would hate being here today, being the center of attention, with everybody standing around whispering and walking by