Broken Vows Mystery 03-In Sickness and in Death Read Free Page B

while a man held a microphone up to their faces.
    Erica pointed her beer at the television. “Women are animals. No wonder men think we’re just a receptacle. And when the receptacle shows too much sign of use, they move on.”
    My lips parted, but no words came to mind. Tomorrow. I’d tackle her tomorrow.
    I heard Ray come through the kitchen door and turned to greet him. A mop-headed boy stood next to him, barely waist-high compared to Ray but chin-high compared to me. The sleeves on his red ski jacket were an inch above his wrist bones and his baggy jeans had a hole in each knee. He had on some pretty expensive high-tops, though.
    “Darlin’, this is Danny.” Ray looked at him, reached over and swept the dark hair off the kid’s face. I got a glimpse of angry brown eyes before the hair flopped back into place. “Danny, this is Jolene.”
    “Hi, Danny. Nice to meet you.”
    The kid muttered an unintelligible reply.
    Erica bumped into my back. “Who’s the kid, Ray?”
    “This is Danny. He’s going to be staying with us for a while.”
    “No shit.”
    My elbow slammed into her belly roll.
    “I mean, that’s great.”
    While Ray hung up their coats in the living room closet, Erica trailed me to the stove. “What’s up with the kid? Does Ray want to adopt him? He looks like the Shaggy Dog.”
    “He’s our new foster child. It’s only temporary, until his father gets out of jail.”
    “His dad’s in jail?”
    I had no doubt that both Danny and Ray had heard her shriek. “We’ll talk about it later, when we’re alone, okay?”
    “Okay, but you better count the silver.”
    When we sat down to dinner, Ray’s glower confirmed that he’d heard everything, and Erica was in trouble. Or maybe I was.
    I tried to make amends. “I hope you like lasagna, Danny.”
    “It’s okay.”
    It must have been more than okay, because he shoveled it into his mouth in seconds flat. Ray smiled at me and served the kid a second helping.
    Danny didn’t touch the salad I put on his plate. I decided not to press the issue.
    Ray made most of the dinner conversation, explaining that he’d delivered Danny’s school transcripts and made an appointment with the principal of Wachobe Middle School to register Danny the next morning. Danny would start school the Monday following Thanksgiving.
    After dinner, while Erica and Danny watched SpongeBob on the television in the living room, I whispered to Ray in the kitchen.
    “Where are his clothes?”
    “His father didn’t provide an address at the time of arrest. I don’t know where their stuff is.”
    I couldn’t believe my ears. “Then how did you get the kid?”
    “His father told me he needed to be picked up from school.”
    “Didn’t the school have an address for them?”
    “Yes, but it was his father’s ex-girlfriend’s place. All she said was that they moved out six months ago.”
    “What about Social Services?”
    “Danny’s been on their radar before, but they’re happy to have us shoulder the burden for now.”
    “Even though shots have been fired in our home?” This fact had contributed to the judge’s decision to return Noelle to her birthmother four months ago. Or maybe it had been the man’s blood spattered all over our walls, looking kinda Jackson Pollack, but not in a good way.
    Ray frowned. “That wasn’t our fault. Let’s just say Danny is not the type of kid to be in high demand.”
    I didn’t have the energy to explore this revelation. “Where’s he going to sleep?”
    “On the couch for tonight.”
    “Then where?” I started to load the dishwasher.
    “We do have a spare bedroom.”
    A plate slipped out of my hand and shattered on the floor. “Are you talking about Noelle’s nursery?” Tears filled my eyes. It was my last link to her. Sometimes I even thought I could smell the No More Tears from her hair.
    Ray got the broom and swept up the shards. “I know it’s hard, Darlin’, but it’s time to move on. You said yesterday you