Girl in the Shadows (Shadows 2)

"Too bad. She ruined a good time for you. I could have drilled you into ecstasy."

"I'd rather have root canal work," I muttered, and his smile slid off his face.

"You heard her. Get her a cup of coffee." he said, glanced around the room again, his eyes full of confusion, and then turned and left.

I rose and got dressed as fast as I could. Echo had my scrambled eggs ready. I told her I had to bring her mother a cup of coffee and she insisted on doing it so my eggs wouldn't get cold. I didn't see how I could stop her. so I let her go up. but I waited at the foot of the stairway. I could hear them clearly.

"There's not enough sugar in it," Rhona complained. "Skeeter, tell her."

"I don't remember how to say that," he said.

"Damn it, why didn't April bring it up? Get April. Go downstairs and get April," she shouted at Echo.

I hurried into the kitchen, grabbed the sugar bowl and a spoon, and ran up the stairs. As I expected. Echo was standing there confused and unsure of what to do next

Skeeter was in bed beside Rhona, who was sitting up naked. I went to her quickly.

"How much more do you want?"

"A teaspoonful. Why did you send her up here? She's worthless doing these things."

"She wanted to do something for you." I said. Of course I knew she really wanted to do it for me.

"If she wants to do something for me, tell her to tell her grandmother to give me the money I need. Yeah, maybe if she tells her, she'll do it. What do you think, Skeeter?"

"I think we're just going to have to wait around for her to die," he said bitterly.

It was on the tip of my tongue to spurt out the news that Mrs. Westington was already in the process of preventing them from getting their hands on her money.

"Make us some eggs, over easy, and some toast with my mother's jam and more coffee. You want anything else. Skeeter?"

"Yeah, but I'll get it some other time," he said, smiling licentiously at me.

"You and your one-track mind," Rhona said.

"You like going down that tack, so don't complain." She laughed,

I urged Echo out of the room and we went downstairs to prepare their breakfast. The faster I did what they wanted, the faster I could get us out of here. I thought. I didn't want to be around Skeeter any longer than I had to and I was really worrying about Echo now.

I started on their eggs. Echo wanted to do it so I could eat, but I had lost any appetite. I told her to eat them and promised to let her make me some after I finished with her mother and Skeeter. She wasn't happy about it, but she sat and started to eat.

Just as I broke the first set of eggs, the phone rang. I was in such deep thought and full of so much worry, it stunned me. It was as if it had rung in my heart. I stared at the receiver, too frightened to lift it. Before I got to it. Rhona had picked it up in her room. I lifted the receiver to listen in nevertheless.

"Hello." Rhona said.

"Hello, this is Doctor Battie, To whom am I speaking?"

"Rhona Westington, Mrs. Westington's daughter."

"I'm glad I reached you. Didn't you get my message to have you call me?"

"Message? No.' she replied in outright lie. I was about to contradict her, but thought it better to simply remain undetected on the line. "I haven't been feeling well myself. I've been up there a few times but the nurses don't tell me anything and you weren't around. How is my mother today?"

"I'm afraid Mrs. Westington has had a bit of a setback," Doctor Battie said.

I held my breath. Setback?

"What? Why? Is she dead?" Rhona asked quickly.