First Born Read Free Page A

Larry.
    “I’m not hungry.”
    Frank sighed. “They found her car at Houston’s Restaurant on Peachtree Street. The date’s car was at Grady High School. It looked like...well there was some blood, apparently.”
    Larry’s jaw dropped. “I need to call her brother.”
    “Good idea. And a Detective Simms with the Atlanta Police Department left his number. It’s still on the machine.”
    “The police called us?” Larry asked.
    “Well, you specifically.”
    “I just can’t believe it.” Larry snagged a bit of biscuit and stuffed it in his mouth.
    “What do you think she was into?” asked Frank raising his thick black eyebrows.
    “Into?”
    “Her boyfriend offs himself and then she is brutally attacked. I’m thinking drugs.”
    “No, Frank, she wasn’t on drugs,” he hissed. Lily backed him up with a snarl.
    Frank stared at her with a glint of fear in his eye. “Geez Larry, we don’t know if that thing’s had its rabies shots.”
    Larry’s look sent him scooting out the door.
    “Asshole,” Larry said. She couldn’t agree more.
    As Larry reheated breakfast, Lily gazed out the back sliding glass door pondering her current situation. Her nightmares over the last several months perhaps were not a result of past events, but some warning of what was to come.
    A bacon biscuit torn into bite-size pieces pulled her from her reverie. Larry served it with panache on their fine china. The first taste had her stomach grumbling. The biscuit overwhelmed all her senses. Her sadness was a dull ache in the background.
    As she was devising a plan of how to score more, the doorbell sounded. Larry looked at her while pulling the belt tighter on his bathrobe. Low demonic barks came from her as she charged the front door. “Easy Cujo,” he said to her.
    She knew before he flung the door open. Detective Caldwell Simms. Despite her grief, Lily had developed a schoolgirl crush on the detective. It seemed to be getting worse each day.
    Larry gasped. Oh for God’s sake Larry, he’s not that good looking.
    Simms waited on the doorstep, charcoal gray slacks fitting his muscular legs just right, blue oxford shirt showing off his eyes.
    “Mr. Jones?”
    “Yes, Sir.”
    “I’m Detective Simms. I left you a phone message. It’s about Lily Moore.”
    “This is embarrassing. Excuse my pajamas,” Larry said. His hands fluttered to the lapel of his robe. He blinked rapidly as splotches of red bloomed on his neck and spread to his face.
    “No big deal. I just have a few questions for you.”
    He shook the detective’s hand and invited him inside. Detective Simms stepped in, eyes immediately dropping down to her. “Wow. Did that bark come from him?”
    “Oh yeah. She’s a killer.”
    As they walked down the hall to the great room, Lily ran circles around Detective Simms’s legs, wagging her tail while jumping on him.
    “Oh yeah. You’re terrifying,” Simms said with a smirk.
    “I’m so sorry,” Larry said. He scowled at her while attempting to shoo her away.
    Desperation pumped through her veins. She followed Simms onto the couch and looked at him with imploring eyes.
    Up close, she noted his unshaved face and dark circles under his eyes. He smelled like musk, woods, citrus, spice...and stale coffee. You’re dreamy .
    Detective Simms took a quick glance at her before absently rubbing her long ears, which set her hind leg to tapping out Morse code on the couch. “Is that a good spot?” he laughed.
    Any spot’s good, buddy.
    Turning toward Larry, Simms pulled his small notepad out of his shirt pocket. Then, he turned back and stared at her. “I’ve never seen green eyes like this on a dog before,” he said.
    I’ve never seen eyes like yours!
    “She’s definitely unique,” Larry said. “Actually, she showed up injured on our doorstep last night. I’ve not seen her around here before.”
    Simms kept looking at her eyes. Lily stared back, willing him to understand.
    “Don’t you wish they could talk?” he