“The first time I met Brian, something zinged through me. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he felt the same way.” A faraway look came into her eyes and despite the serious circumstances, a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “After that, we made excuses not to spend time together, but Linda insisted. She wanted me and Brian to get to know each other, so we gave in for her sake. Every time I saw him, I felt the same pull.” Mrs. Rodriguez stopped.
“This is starting to sound like a romance novel,” I muttered under my breath. Even though I wasn’t as pissed at her, I had to keep up my role. “Can you fast-forward to the sex part?”
“One time, he came over because Linda knew that my furnace wasn’t working right. He’s a whiz at those kind of things, and Linda insisted that he see to it. I have no sons, you see, to do that kind of thing for me. She thought she was doing me a favor.” This time, the smile Mrs. Rodriguez produced was mirthless.
“When was this?” I interrupted, wanting a timeline.
“Four months ago,” Mrs. Rodriguez said, clearly irritated that I kept interrupting.
“Can I take it that your furnace remained broken?” I asked archly, baring my teeth. It was amazing how easy it was to rile this woman, and I watched in amusement as she flushed.
“It got fixed,” Mrs. Rodriguez said through gritted teeth.
“How was your day, dear?” My mother greeted me as I knocked on the back door again. Even though there were fewer reporters out front, I still didn’t want to deal with them. I never understood people who talked to the media in the midst of a horrible tragedy. The only thing I’d say to those vultures was, ‘Get the hell out of my face before I kill you’—otherwise known as, ‘no comment’.