Vicious Valentine by Patti Benning (best fiction novels to read txt) 📗

She plugged her phone into the cord she kept in the car and when the screen lit up, she saw that she had a couple of missed calls and a voicemail. With a jolt, she remembered Vanessa’s call from earlier and began to feel the first hint of worry. She thought Vanessa just wanted to chat, but maybe something else was going on. Perhaps her date had gone poorly, and she needed a shoulder to cry on. She’d been so caught up in her own dinner that she hadn’t even taken the time to wonder why the other woman was calling when she knew perfectly well Hannah was with Ben.

And now that she was looking at her phone again, she could see that Vanessa had called more than once. She was just about to listen to the voicemail when the caller ID flashed up on the screen with another call from Vanessa, and this time, Hannah answered.

“Hey,” she said, leaning back in her seat. “Is everything okay?”

When Vanessa spoke, her voice broke. “Rory is dead.”

Chapter Four

Hannah ended the call as soon as Vanessa told her where she was, but only so she could buckle her seatbelt and pull out of the parking lot, going so quickly that her tires screeched on the pavement. She didn’t have the full story yet, but from Vanessa’s tear laden voice, she knew that the other woman desperately needed someone there with her.

Vanessa’s apartment was just a couple of blocks away from Hawk’s Place. Hannah could see the flashing lights as she drew near, and had to park part way down the block to avoid the gathered emergency vehicles. She got out of her car, barely noticing when she stepped in a puddle of slush by the curb as she hurried toward the apartment building. She stopped only when the snow-speckled form of a police officer in uniform – who looked rather cold, judging by the red tip of his nose – stepped forward to intercept her.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but this building is a crime scene. Do you live here?”

“No,” Hannah said. “My friend, Vanessa, she told me to meet her. She told me… she told me someone died.”

“Right, just give me a second,” he said. He stepped back and raised his radio to his mouth. While he spoke to whoever was on the other end, Hannah stared at the door to the building, feeling a horrible guilt welling up inside of her. She shouldn’t have ignored Vanessa’s call. She should have simply excused herself from dinner and answered it. Ben wouldn’t have minded, especially not once it turned out to be so important.

“I’ll escort you in, ma’am. It sounds like your friend is expecting you.”

She nodded her thanks and followed the officer toward the building. He held the door open for her and she stepped inside. The apartments were on the second story, but there was a small area at the foot of the stairs for the line of mailboxes, with a bench along the wall. Vanessa was seated on the bench, a uniformed policewoman sitting next to her and handing her tissues. Vanessa looked up when Hannah came in and immediately started crying harder.

Horrified, wondering if she had done something wrong, Hannah took a step back, but the policewoman was already getting up and gestured her over.

“There you are. Thank you for coming. When she told us that she didn’t have any family in town, I suggested calling a friend. Will you be able to sit with her for a few minutes? She should be able to go soon, but we might have a few more questions to ask beforehand.”

“Okay,” Hannah said, the word making its way past her lips on its own. She had no idea how to handle something like this.

She approached the bench and took a seat on it hesitantly, reaching out to pat Vanessa’s shoulder. “Can I get you something? Do you need water?” she asked, saying the first thing that came to mind before she realized that she had no idea where she would even get water if Vanessa said yes.

“No,” Vanessa said in a broken voice. “Sorry, I know I’m a mess. Thank you for coming, Hannah.”

“I’m so sorry I didn’t answer your call sooner,” Hannah said, the words pouring out of her. “I was eating dinner with Ben and I thought you just wanted to talk about –” She broke off, deciding not to mention the date. “Well, I didn’t know it was important or I would’ve answered right away. I should have been here sooner.”

“It’s not your fault,” Vanessa said, reaching over to pat her on the hand. Hannah winced, wondering how Vanessa had somehow ended up being the one comforting her. “I knew you were on a date with Ben, I just really needed someone here with me. You know Caroline is with Dean – I tried them too, but I think they both turned their phones off. I just alternated between calling the two of you. It was horrible Hannah, you have no idea…”

“You can tell me what happened later,” Hannah said. “If you want to, of course. Is there anything I can do to help now?”

“I don’t think so,” Vanessa said. “I just need someone to be there, you know? I’ve been here for the past hour, alternating between staring off into space and crying. Officer Blackhall was nice enough to sit with me, but it’s just not the same as having someone I know beside me.”

Before Hannah could respond, the female officer, who Hannah was assuming was Officer Blackhall, came down the stairs. She nodded to Vanessa. “I can escort you to your apartment for you to grab your things now. Remember not to touch anything until we get to the bedroom.”

“That was faster than I thought it would be.” Vanessa stood up, shoving a tissue into her pocket, and turned to Hannah. “Do you