Page 73 of Let It Breathe
Francie’s face darkened. “You mean Axl ain’t in the hospital?”
Reese bit her lip. “You know, I haven’t seen him for a while,” she backpedaled. “We really aren’t that close, so maybe my mom forgot to tell me?—”
“Don’t give me none of that, I know your family’s tight. Axl is screwing around on me, right?”
Reese closed her eyes, wondering if it was weirder to have her grandfather accused of screwing around, or weirder that it was probably true.
“Um—” said Reese.
“Hi,” Wally said, putting out one hand for Francie to shake as he slid the other around Reese’s shoulders. “Wow, these hors d’oeuvres look really great, what are they?”
Francie frowned down at Wally’s hand, then at the platter. “I dunno. Probably shrimp or something.”
“Mushrooms,” Reese said. “I think they’re mushrooms.”
Wally nodded and touched Reese’s elbow. “Nothing like a good mushroom, eh?”
Francie cast a confused look down at the platter. “Guess so.”
Reese reached out to take one, then hesitated. “Actually, I’m allergic to peanuts. Would you mind checking with the caterer to see if these have any peanut oil in them?”
“Peanut oil?”
“Please? My throat will swell closed, and I’ll have a psychotic episode and probably end up destroying all these lovely paintings. Could you just check for me?”
Francie gave her a dubious look, then swung her eyes toward a door at the back of the room. “I guess I could find out. But then I want to talk to you about this thing with Axl, okay?”
“Right,” Reese said.
Francie retreated and Reese looked up at Wally. “Any chance you’d want to grab dinner? Quickly? There’s a really great Thai restaurant a few blocks away.”
“Thai? Doesn’t that have a lot of peanuts?”
She couldn’t tell if he was joking or not, and started to clarify that the peanut thing was just a ruse, but the ringing of her cell phone saved her. Reese reached into her handbag with an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I should get that.”
“No problem.”
She stared at the screen and blinked, trying to bring the words into focus. Newberg Police Department?
Reese looked up at Wally, hoping her shock didn’t show. “I’m sorry, I’m going to take this outside. If Francie comes back?—”
“I’ll handle it.”
The phone rang again. Reese stepped toward the door, her hands shaking.
“Is everything okay?” Wally asked.
“Fine, fine—just give me a sec.”
She ducked out onto the drizzly sidewalk and hit the button to take the call.
“Hello?”
There was a sniffle, followed by a choked sob. “Reese? It’s me. Oh, God, Reesey—something bad happened.”
Reese felt her blood turn to ice. “Larissa? Where are you? Why does my phone say you’re calling from the police department?”
“Because I am,” she sobbed. “I left my cell in my purse back at the bar when the police hauled Clay away, and now they’ve got him in a holding cell and?—”
