Jo-Ann Lamon Reccoppa - Jersey Girl 01 - New Math Is Murder Read Online Free Page B

thinking about another gin and tonic. If we’re through, you’re welcome to join me.”
    “I just want to go home and fall into bed,” Haver said.
    “Too bad you’re so tired,” I said. “Dick is over at my parents’ house having dinner. If you’re still hungry, I’ll bet there’s plenty left. Either way, he’d love to see you.”
    “I’ll pass on the food, but I haven’t talked to Dick in a while. Your boss hasn’t seen him since college.”
    “Meredith Mancini is much older than she looks,” I said.
    “You know I meant Ken Rhodes. The three of us served time at Rowan University. It’s a miracle we made it through.”
    I hadn’t realized my brother knew Ken Rhodes. Dick was five years older than me, so we hadn’t paid much attention to each other’s friends growing up. Except for Ron Haver, I’d never known any of his college buddies. His friendship with Rhodes could present a problem. I could just imagine all the dorky kid-sister stories Dick had shared with Rhodes.
    “So we’re all done here?” I asked. “No more questions?”
    “None I can think of right now. I hate to ask you this, but do you have a number where I can reach Neil? I’ll be working tomorrow, and I need him to help coach the team in the morning. The assistant coach is more interested in his own kid’s batting average than if we actually win a game.”
    “Stanley Da Silva? He still teaches over at the high school, doesn’t he?” I asked.
    “Algebra I. Why?”
    “I just thought he might be too upset to coach is all.”
    “It’s baseball season, Colleen. Get a grip on reality.”
    I led Ron Haver to the door. In all the excitement, I almost forgot how huge Little League was in the shore communities. “Give me your notepad, and I’ll write down Neil’s cell number. Don’t hope for too much. Neil’s not much interested in family-type things anymore. He’s barely spoken to the kids since he moved out.”
    I waited a few minutes for Haver’s car to pull away from the curb before stepping out onto the porch for a breath of air. The block seemed unusually quiet. There were no rowdy teens just coming home from the mall, no barking dogs—not even seniors dragging their recycling bins out to the curb for the Saturday morning pickup. The temperature had dropped, and stars blanketed the clear sky. It could have been a perfect romantic evening, except my husband was in the arms of a woman ten years younger and twenty pounds lighter than me.
    Rather than give in to depression, I decided my best course of action was to get that drink and find a good movie to watch.
    I stepped inside and turned to close the door. That was when I spotted an unmarked county sedan parked directly across the street from my house.

5
    Monday morning, I made my way through the maze at the newspaper office and stuck my head over Meredith Mancini’s cubicle wall. My features editor immediately looked up from her keyboard.
    “Are you busy?” I asked.
    “No, I’m not busy. Don’t you ever answer your cell phone? I’ve been trying to reach you. I finally called your house and left a message with your son.”
    At twenty-five, Meredith radiated a deceptive innocence. Her short, sassy haircut and huge brown eyes masked her wicked habit of verbalizing whatever happened to pop into her head at the moment.
    “I never answer my cell phone when I’m driving,” I told her. “You’ll just have to forgive me for being so elusive. I’ve had a tough month.”
    “Because of Whitley, or the thing with Neil?”
    “I don’t want to talk about it.”
    “Do you at least have a good lawyer?” she asked.
    “Lucinda Maynard,” I told her.
    Bev Thompson had dragged me into Lucinda’s office the day after Neil walked out on me. As the veteran of three divorces, she had the lawyer’s home number on speed dial. Lucinda saw us at once and allowed Bev to sit in and take notes. The way my mind was working at the time, I knew I’d probably only absorb about half