Dead In Red (32 page)

I swallowed. “Sure. Is the car acting
up?”

She shook her head. “I’d just feel better if
I didn’t park it in the lot for a while. There’s been some
trouble.”

Richard looked up. “Oh?”

“
The protesters,” she said
offhandedly, and got up to refill her glass, but even across the
room I could feel her anxiety rise.

“
I thought things were better,”
Richard said. He turned his attention to me. “Eat.”

“
I thought so, too,” she said, “but
they’re hanging in there. Today they started chanting like monks.
It’s unnerving,” she said, not facing him.

The two of them had started out volunteering
together at the hospital’s clinic, but since mid-summer Brenda had
worked several days a week at a women’s health center where the
occasional abortion was performed. That didn’t set well with some
of the area’s religious zealots. For Brenda to even mention it
meant she was concerned.

Though there hadn’t been a major incident in
Buffalo in the years since Dr. Barnett Slepian was murdered,
Amherst still seemed to be the focus of the pro-life movement in
this part of the state.

“
We’ve talked about this before. It’s
time you quit,” Richard said.

“
What I do is important.”

He let out a long breath, and I wished I
wasn’t sitting in the middle of a discussion I’d heard too many
times.

“
Yes, it is,” Richard agreed. “But you
don’t need the money, or the aggravation—especially
now.”

She looked away. “It’s only until they find
someone to replace me.”

“
Do you promise?” he asked.

“
Yes.”

They both looked at me expectantly. “Sure,
I’ll take you to work. You’ll be safe with me.”

“
Thanks,” Brenda said, sat down again,
and took another slice of pizza. I wasn’t even half way through my
first piece. “Eat up,” she said, “it’s getting cold.” The food
could never get as cold as the frost generated by that
conversation.

I thought about the slip of paper in my
pocket and felt colder still.

* * *

About the Author

A native of Rochester, NY, L.L. Bartlett honed
her characterization and plotting skills as a frequent writer for
romance magazines and was a finalist in the St. Martin’s/Malice
Domestic contest.

In addition to the Jeff Resnick Mysteries,
Bartlett also writes the New York Times Bestselling and
Agatha-nominated Booktown Mystery series under the name of Lorna
Barrett. Bookplate Special, the third book in the series, was
nominated for an Agatha Award for best novel of 2009.

Bartlett’s first Victoria Square Mystery, A
Crafty Killing, will debut in February of 2011.

Visit her website at:
http://www.LLBartlett.com

(You can also find her on Facebook, Goodreads,
Myspace, and Twitter.)

The Jeff Resnick
Mysteries

Murder on the Mind

Dead In Red

Cheated By Death

Bound By Suggestion (2011)

Short Stories

Bah! Humbug

Cold Case

Abused: A Daughter’s Story

Writing as Lorraine
Bartlett

LorraineBartlett.com

The Victoria Square
Mysteries

A Crafty Killing (2/2011)

The Walled Flower (Fall, 2011)

Short
Stories
:

An Unconditional Love

Prisoner of Love

We’re So Sorry Uncle Albert

Writing as Lorna Barrett

LornaBarrett.com

The Booktown Mysteries

Murder Is Binding (2008)

Bookmarked For Death (2009)

Bookplate Special (2009)

Chapter & Hearse (2010)

Sentenced To Death (2011)

Murder On The Half Shelf (2012)