AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Theo thanked the agent effusively, and with sincerity.
“Thank you,” Veronica said. “It was truly lovely to talk about Dan with someone who cared about him too. We’ll be in touch. In the meantime, you will remember what I said about exclusivity, won’t you? No one must see your manuscript before we’ve had chance to decide. Day Delos and Associates is very strict about that.”
Theo nodded. “I understand. Aside from Dan, you are the only people who’ll see it.”
Veronica kissed the air an inch or so from Theo’s cheek. “Until it’s a bestseller, of course.”
CHAPTER 10
Theo stepped lightly as she walked out to Gus’s old Ford pickup. She wasn’t exactly excited, but there was the first stirring of a kind of hopeful anticipation, cautiously checked by a fear of disappointment, but surging, nonetheless. Day Delos and Associates Management and Veronica Cole gave her a connection with Dan, and it was strangely comforting. It wasn’t until she had climbed in and started the engine that she noticed the white Prius across the street. The car itself wasn’t extraordinary—it was a popular car—but there was something about the man sitting behind the wheel and talking on the phone. He was bald, wearing small spectacles, a black turtleneck, and a bomber jacket. And he was familiar. A writer, perhaps…someone she’d met at Aimee’s or one of the other coffee shops. But she couldn’t quite place him. She contemplated at least waving hello…but since he didn’t appear to have seen her, she decided it was best to just go and keep awkwardness to a minimum.
She pulled out and began the trek home. She exhaled as she settled into the drive. The meeting was done, and as far as she could tell, it hadn’t been a disaster. And it was three thirty. Surely a long lunch was a good sign. Who’d waste that much time if they weren’t seriously considering a potential client?
Veronica’s revelation that Dan had been entirely alone played on Theo’s mind. She wondered why… Had there been some horrendous accident that had wiped out Dan’s family, or had he been an orphan brought up in the system; was he the only child of only children who had now passed away? How could someone have no one at all? No one but his agent to bury him. How lonely Dan Murdoch must have been… She decided she would make dinner for Gus when she got home…a roast like their father would cook on Sundays—when they were living in a house—with gravy and potatoes and peas and biscuits. Their father had never made biscuits, of course, but they were in America now, so she’d add them to her Australian roast. And however weird and embarrassing it was, however much he would mock her for it, she’d tell her brother how much she loved him, how grateful she was for everything he’d done to protect her.
To that end, she stopped at the Dillons Food Store on Eighteenth Street to pick up what she’d need, adding the ingredients for a pavlova to her basket. It was when she was loading the last of her purchases into the back seat of Gus’s pickup that she noticed the Prius and its driver again. This time he was parked directly behind her, and close enough for her to see the edges of the cobweb tattoo on his neck. Theo cursed as she dropped the eggs. Leaving the oozing carton where it was, she climbed up behind the wheel. She stopped, trying to calm down before she turned on the engine. She could see the Prius in her rearview mirror.
The driver was watching her, car idling, waiting for her next move. She picked up her phone and opened the door pointing the camera at the Prius. A sharp moment as their eyes met and the Prius plowed into the back of the pickup. Half out of the car, the impact was enough to throw Theo from the truck and onto the roadway. Someone screamed as the sage velvet jacket was shredded against the asphalt.
People rushed out of the store. Kind hands and voices. Shouts for someone to call an ambulance and then in protest as the Prius reversed out and screeched away.
When Gus arrived, Theo was trying to convince the paramedics that she did not need to go to the hospital. There was an ambulance parked in front of his truck and a police car in front of that. Theo was sitting in the back of the ambulance—her jacket ripped, the side of her face and hands grazed. An intrigued crowd had gathered to watch.
“I’d know if there was something broken. I’m just a bit bruised.”
Gus pushed his way through the crowd. “Theo, are you all right? What the hell happened?”
Theo reached out and embraced him, holding on tightly. “I want to go home,” she whispered into his ear.
A policeman asked for his name.
“Gus Benton. I’m her brother. Can you tell me what happened?”
“Your sister was involved in a hit-and-run, sir.” The officer read from his notebook. “A white Prius ran into the rear of a stationary Ford pickup driven by Miss Benton. Miss Benton believes it followed her from Prairie Village, and that the man driving it approached her near her home two days ago. The door of the pickup was open, and Miss Benton was consequently flung out by the impact. The Prius then sped away.”
“Did someone get the license plate?”
“Miss Benton says she took a photo of the vehicle shortly before the incident, but her phone has not yet been found.”
“It was in my hand when I fell,” Theo said vaguely. “I must have dropped it.”
“Is she okay?” Gus directed the question at the paramedics. “She seems a bit odd.”
The man shrugged. The female officer nodded. “Probably just a bit of shock.”
“Gus, I’m fine,” Theo insisted. “I just want to go home.”
“Can I take her home?” Gus asked. “I can take her to the hospital myself if it’s necessary.”
The male paramedic threw his arms in the air in a way that shouted be-it-on-your-own-head. The woman said, “Oh, sure. Just keep an eye on her, won’t you, buddy?”
Gus promised he would. He called over a man who until then had stood back. “Theo, this is Mac Etheridge—he works with me.”
Theo stared at the man who stopped beside her brother and smiled awkwardly. Dressed in a tweed jacket, he looked more like a young academic than a lawyer. “You brought someone…” she said confused.
“He’s not my date,” Gus replied. “I needed a ride—you took my truck, remember.”
“Oh…yes.” Theo flinched.
