Today's Reading
CHAPTER TWO
Saturday, January 20
Three months before the murders
The phone slipped down Shay's neck as she turned to get a better look.
The security guard stepped out first, holding the door open for an attractive thirtysomething pair. Shay tensed. The man had the build of an NBA player and a brownish-blond man-bun that jarred beautifully with his expensive suit. The woman, Hollywood gorgeous and alarmingly drunk, gripped his arm as they joined Shay on the sidewalk.
"Did you hear me? Are you there?"
Shay wedged her phone back between her ear and shoulder, having forgotten Lexie was still on the line. In the background, Lexie's two-year-old screamed bloody murder.
"No, I didn't," Shay said into the phone, lowering her voice. "Actually, can you hang on a sec?"
The music swelled from the restaurant, making it difficult for Shay to eavesdrop on the couple. She drifted closer and chanced another look. The man caught her staring and smirked.
"Mhm," Shay said enthusiastically into the phone. "Uh-huh. Interesting."
"What's interesting?" Lexie answered suspiciously.
"Honestly, don't worry about it," Shay said to her, wondering if the man was still watching.
"I don't know what's going on over there," Lexie replied, "but I'm putting you on speaker."
"Brilliant," Shay said, and then laughed as if Lexie had said something funny.
A black car with an Uber sign in the windshield appeared at the curb, and Shay took a few steps back as the couple approached it. The drunk woman nearly tripped as she grabbed a fistful of the man's bottom.
"It was good to see you," Shay heard him say as he gently removed her hand and helped the woman into the backseat. "I'm going to head back inside."
The woman popped her head out, eyes wide. "Aren't you coming?"
"Can't. Sorry."
"But, then why did—"
"Get some sleep, OK?" He smiled, and then without waiting for a reply, shut the door in her startled face.
On the other end of the line, Lexie's toddler blew raspberries to a song on the radio. Harry Styles, Shay thought. The man watched the Uber drive off, and after a moment, turned his gaze on Shay, as if he knew she'd been watching. Uncomfortable, in need of something to pretend to do, she tucked the phone into the crook of her shoulder, rummaged around her purse for a cigarette, and lit it.
"Can I bum one?" the man asked.
Was he talking to her? Shay was tempted to look around and confirm as much, but she was the only one standing in his vicinity.
"I'll forgive you," Shay said into the phone, as if in midconversation with Lexie. With her free hand, she handed the man a cigarette. "Anyway, I've got to go. Talk soon."
Without waiting for Lexie to reply, Shay hung up and tucked her phone away. The man was standing close to her now, face-to-face. He smiled.
"I didn't mean to disturb you."
"You didn't." Shay blew smoke out of her nostrils and did her best not to fidget with the outfit Lexie had lent her—a stretchy black thing Lexie had made her promise to return. "Need a light?"
The man nodded, and so she held out her lighter in her palm. Stepping forward, he placed his whole hand over hers, squeezing lightly as he swiped it from her. "Are you here for the party?"
"What party?" Shay squinted at the restaurant from which he'd come. "Oh. No. I was supposed to meet a friend."
Lighting the cigarette, he asked, "A friend, or a date?"
"A friend." Shay smiled playfully, and then pointed indiscriminately at one of the several upscale bars and restaurants lining this part of Sunset. "We were going to grab a late dinner, but she can't make it."
"Her loss." He paused. "What's your name?"
"Shay."
"I'm Caleb." His eyes dropped briefly to her bare legs. "You're not from around here, are you?"
This excerpt is from he paperback edition.
Monday we begin the book Pitch Dark by Paul Doiron.
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