Killing the Secret Read Free Page A

girls became small time celebrities. Little kids asked for their autographs and old people patted their backs and told them how proud they were. Team parents basked in the glory of having daughters who were local heroines.
    Tina thought that the eight were really not that extraordinary. This included Loretta, Abbey, Heather, Beth, Jamie, Terri, Mariah Rose, and even herself.
    Loretta, a bottle blonde, was a blooming bitch at seventeen. Sharp tongued and conceited, her only positive attributes were her tall lean body and free throw shooting.
    Abbey was the peacekeeper. She was always trying to mediate the arguments. Her bobbed brunette curls topped a five-foot-three-inch frame that moved around the court so fast that six footers fell over her.
    Heather was redheaded and gorgeous. She was homecoming queen, class president, and any other title that was worth having. Not to mention her uncanny ability to get spectators at the ball games so hyped up that the opposing teams felt they were up against a few hundred people.
    Beth was the kind and gentle one. Her hair was white-blonde and her skin pale. She never was allowed to play defense because she didn’t have enough fight in her, but she could hit long shots.
    Jamie was the one with the fight. She was almost six feet tall, lean, and muscular. The only child of the team coach, she’d been raised to be tough and aggressive. They called Terri the thief, because she could slip her hand between the ball and the opposition on a dribble and leave the player angry and frustrated behind her.
    Tina saw herself as the weak link on the team. She was good at defense, but a poor shot, so if she ever needed to shoot the ball it generally didn’t end well.
    Mariah Rose joined the team senior year when her father, Sean, moved back to his deceased parents’ house in Diffee. Mariah was shy, or snobbish, depending on who was doing the judging. Sean told Tina his daughter was still in grieving over her mother’s sudden death from a heart attack a year prior to her brother Michael drowning. The grief didn’t keep her from tossing the ball in the net. She was the second best scorer after Jamie.
    Tina’s mind returned to the present when an approaching car spotlighted her location.
     

Chapter Five
    The gravel crackled beneath Bud’s tires as he drove into the parking area. His car lights shone on the only vehicle in sight. As he walked toward Tina, he watched her get out of the car and lean against the door.
    “Hello,” he said.
    “Hi,” she replied, her anger dissolving. “You sure sounded bossy on the phone.”
    “I’m sorry, but I had to say something to see you again.”
    “It’s okay,” Tina said. “What did you want to tell me?”
    “I wanted to tell you good-bye.” Bud grabbed her hand.
    “Where are you going?”
    “I’m not going anywhere. You, however, are on your way to heaven or hell, depending on how forgiving your God is.” His left hand took a fistful of blouse at her throat.
    “Oh, God…No!”
    He felt the rage of her small fists against his back, then a boney knee shot up between his legs. Planting his feet solidly on the ground, he showed no reaction to her struggles. He grabbed her arm with his right hand and stuck the needle into her forearm, releasing the curare. She fell to the ground. He watched as her body writhed. Fingernails dug into the dirt for only seconds before her body turned blue from the loss of oxygen.
    Bud turned and walked away. “Two down and five to go.”
     

Chapter Six
    Lexie, Tye, and Delia watched from the office window as Johnson and Ronald walked up the sidewalk. Lexie glanced at faces staring from the front of Dixie’s restaurant, across the street.
    “Goodness, why does he have him handcuffed?” Delia nervously twisted an escaped strand of long grey hair from her bun.
    “He doesn’t need to,” Tye scowled. “He’s an asshole!”
    “That’s enough.” Lexie’s glare focused on Tye. “Johnson sees Ronald as a