"Gardner, Renee - What Are Friends For" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gardner Renee)

She punched in Faith's telephone number. This time her friend answered on the second ring. "Hello," she said in a cheerful, wide-awake voice.

"I did something terrible last night," Sabrina said, dispensing with a formal greeting. "I left my stole in Amos's office. What should we do?"

"Not to worry. It's where I put it."

"Oh, bless you. Where?"

"In the dumpster with Amos. I found it beside his desk, so while you were out of the room I hid it under my raincoat."

"Why did you do that?" Sabrina screeched.

"So the police know you killed him -- that is in case they miss your fingerprints, which I doubt." Faith's laughter was shrill.

Sabrina's grip tightened on the telephone phone. "But you wiped my prints off everything in his office and you said he'd never be found."

"No, I wiped MY fingerprints off everything," Faith corrected.

"Yours?"

"Of course. I visited him ahead of you and shot him with his little cap pistol. It was on his desk when I came by for a chat."

"You killed him first?"

"Don't be a dope, Sabrina, a person can be killed only once. But yes, I killed him. Your attack was, if you'll excuse the pun, over-kill, though it doesn't matter. Your prints are on the letter opener and the gun."

"But yours are on the gun, too."

"Wrong. While you were traipsing through the office looking for the darling, I wiped off my prints and put it back in its holster, then I hid in his closet until you left. Lucky for me his gun fell out of the leg holster and you picked it up. That's how I got your prints on it." Faith laughed again.

"Well, your prints are in the office and on the dumpster."

"Wrong again. Didn't you notice that I never took off my gloves?"

"But why did you kill him? You don't even know him."

"I knew him a lot better than you."

"You were having an affair with Amos?" Sabrina asked incredulously. Faith's nights at the gym took on new meaning.

"Of course. And there was no Mrs. Beller. She divorced him years ago. When you came along, he had both of us. You in the examining room -- a bit tacky don't you think -- and me in his apartment. I thought it was appropriate to make you wait in your cozy salon de amour last night while I cleaned up after you."

"How did you know about us. I didn't say anything until last night."

"Not necessary. Amos loved to brag about his conquests. And by the way, movie lines were his favorite pick up spots. That's where we met." A shrill laugh traveled across the phone lines.

"Why did you continue to see him if you knew about me?"

"At first I was content to play second banana to you, like I did all my life, then I decided I wanted his full attention. So yesterday I showed up at his office and demanded he choose between us."