The Palm Beach Murders by James Patterson (the read aloud family .TXT) 📕

the corridor. I turned to him and said, “Last chance to pay or use the bathroom. Do you want to do either?”

“Hell, no, I’m an outlaw. I’m with you all the way.”

I pushed open the door and was relieved to see there were only two couples on the patio. We wouldn’t have to awkwardly step past anyone. The waitress looked up and smiled, eager to have someone else in her section. I just shrugged like we’d walked through the wrong door and then turned quickly to my left, stepping over the rope that sealed off the area as Marty followed me. We took a few steps down the sidewalk and then heard a man’s voice shout.

“Wait!”

The manager had seen us.

My impulse was to freeze in place and come up with an excuse, like we were going out to get money from the car. But Marty took off at a sprint and I followed. The CrossFit classes came in handy as we shot north toward Second Street. Just as we turned the corner, I looked over my shoulder and saw the manager and Diego on the sidewalk coming after us.

I said, “We should probably get to the car. We can outrun them easily, but I doubt they’ll be happy about us walking out on the bill. They’ll have the cops down here looking for us in a few minutes.”

Before I knew it, I’d lost any fear and was laughing as we trotted along the sidewalk toward the park, where the car was waiting for us.

I couldn’t believe how this guy had brought me out of my shell. I loved that he was so unpredictable and had an edge to him. I never would’ve thought a respected architect would act like a teenager and do something like dine and dash. This was the most excitement I’d experienced in a long time. Definitely since I’d been locked in this nasty divorce. I’d had no idea life could be this much fun again.

Chapter 5

We decided to take the long way back to Palm Beach and drove north on the oceanfront US Highway A1A, having to make several detours around inlets, but once we were back in Palm Beach County, it was a steady, comfortable ride with a cool ocean breeze in our faces. The night was beautiful, and Marty seemed to be opening up more and more.

For the first time since we’d met, he started to talk in detail about his divorce. I hadn’t wanted to pry, but I was curious. Every divorce has its own story, and it’s told by two different people, but in this case, I believed everything Marty said.

Marty changed his voice in an effort to imitate his ex-wife. It wasn’t like a comedian who just raises his pitch; Marty actually sounded like an annoyed woman. In his odd falsetto, he said, “Marty, I’m going to need an extra twelve hundred dollars for the trainer this month so I can learn how to properly work my arms. Marty, I’m going to New York this weekend to go shopping with my girlfriends, have you paid off the credit card from last month yet? Marty, why haven’t you designed any skyscrapers like John Nelson, a boy I grew up with whose second major building is going up in Seattle?”

All I could say to him was “I’m sorry, babe. It sounds like you’re better off without her. What happened to finally end it?”

He kept his eyes on the road as he spoke. “There’s really not much to tell. She fell for an AC contractor. You know how women love air-conditioning.” He let out a laugh. “Some tall, goofy guy from Boca Raton. I think he was originally from New Hampshire, and whatever he had, she wanted. The hell of it is, I like him. He’s a funny guy. And as much as I try to stay away from both of them, I hear different rumors. Most of them come from the contractors who use me as an architect. I heard he’s taking jobs up in Vero just so he can see her and keep his own wife in the dark.”

“He’s married?”

“Someone’s got to be doing the cheating. I read some stat that claimed fifty percent of married men cheat. That means they’ve got to be finding an equal number of women to cheat with.”

“Does that make it harder for you?”

“That she cheated on me? Yeah, it hurt. The fact that we had no kids made the divorce work its way through the system quickly. No-fault. That’s all I kept hearing. It’s a great idea until you realize your ex-wife gets nearly half of your earnings for the next eight years. It’s brutal. Now I live in a rented condo in downtown West Palm and work my ass off just to stay afloat.”

“I hope you realize you don’t have to spend money just to impress me.”

“I’m having a hard time spending enough money just to keep eating. I figured you were impressed with my sexual skills.” That sly smile of his made anything he said adorable.

I leaned across the seat and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Then I couldn’t help but bite his earlobe.

Somehow I couldn’t resist asking, “What’s your ex-wife’s name?”

“Teal. I swear to God my ex-wife is named Teal.”

That made us both laugh.

Marty said, “She told me she’d always supported me emotionally when I was working. She said I only wanted her happy, in shape, and at home. Then, at the last court proceeding, she said, ‘Now I am happy, in shape, and at home, and you gotta pay for it awhile longer.’”

Marty took a moment to gather himself. “You know what else she told me?”

“No, what?”

“She told me I should meet someone, I’d feel better.” He took his eyes off the road to look at me. “You know what?”

“What?”

“She was right.” He had to pull the car to the narrow shoulder of the road in Highland Beach just to kiss me the way he wanted to.

Chapter 6

Once