Whiskey Rebellion (Romantic Mystery/Comedy) Book 1 (Addison Holmes Mysteries)

red she wouldn’t be too surprised when she got the news. My mother was strong stock, and nobody had better criticize one of her children. Only she had the right to do that.
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I fibbed. “Does Greg know you’re sleeping with John Hyatt so you can get information on people’s financial records?”
    “Please,” Veronica laughed. “I don’t have to sleep with a man to get what I want. I have other ways. I’d say I’d give you a few tips, but I saw how you wrapped Mr. Butler around your finger.”
    “What does he have to do with anything? Le t the man rest in peace for God’s sake.”
    “You know, it wouldn’t take long for a rumor to circulate about how you found his body. About how it was you who probably killed him in a jealous rage,” she said with a snakelike smile.
    Somehow, all three of us ended up in a standing position, Kate’s hand resting lightly on my arm in case I thought of doing anything rash.
    “You’re a liar,” I said, but the color had drained from my face. I knew it wouldn’t take long at all for a rumor of that magnitude to get started and spread through the town.
    “At least I didn’t sleep with the principal to get my job,” she said. “Do you think I wanted to teach Home Ec? I was more qualified to get your position, but it didn’t seem to matter what I did to influence Mr. Butler. He only had eyes for you. Apparently he’s drawn to women who have a body belonging to a middle-aged housewife. Tell me Addison, did Mr. Butler get tired of you just like Greg? Were you just another cast off? It’s a pretty good motive for murder.”
    Veronica leaned toward me , spewing venom from her fangs, her huge breasts spilling out of her gown. I was still trying to figure out why she thought I had any kind of relationship with Mr. Butler, sexual or otherwise. We’d never said more than a dozen words to each other the entire time he’d worked at my school. And I was even more stunned by the fact Veronica thought she should have had my job. I was almost willing to trade her just so she could see the horrors she’d been missing out on. I wouldn’t mind spending seven periods a day teaching kids how to crochet hot mats or change a diaper on a bag of flour.
    “Look over there, even Nick’s lost interest in the forty-five minutes he’s had to spend in your comp any,” she said, pointing toward the dance floor.
    I shouldn’t have looked. But Nick was supposed to be my lifeline for the night. He’d told me he wasn’t going anywhere and I believed him. So I looked.
    And there was Nick with his arms around some woman I had never seen before, dancing much too close for my comfort and laughing at whatever she’d just whispered in his ear. This was the last straw for me. If I was going to go down, I wasn’t going without a fight.
    “Bring it on, bitch,” I said , looking straight at Veronica. “What’s going to happen in ten years when the tits you’re so proud of are hanging down to your knees and there’s no one left to give blow jobs to that you haven’t already serviced?”
    I heard Kate stifle a laugh behind her hand. Veronica was sputtering and spittle was flying. No one messed with Addison Holmes. Well, sometimes they did, but not this time.
    “ Oh, yeah?” she said, eyes narrowing. “You’re just a sexless wannabe that looks like a pathetic tramp in black leather and just plain pathetic the rest of the time. Maybe you should have stuck with your first instinct and stayed with your lesbian friend here. Oh, wait. You can’t. Even the lesbian managed to find a husband somehow.”
    I was so furious I was shakin g. The room was unusually quiet, and I glanced around to see a group of people raptly paying attention to what was going on between us. My gaze found Nick’s across the room, but it was with indifference. He was nothing to me.
    I was done with people who only made me look like a fool. I did a perfectly fine job of doing that on my own. I turned back to Veronica when Nick started towards me, hoping that I could make an exit and leave for home before he reached me.
    “That’s a fine specimen of man,” Veronica said, her gaze also lingering on Nick. “You seem to be able to find the attractive men, but you don’t seem to be able to keep them. Why is that, I wonder?”
    Veronica’s eyes gleamed like black marbles. Her satisfied smirk was more than I could bear. She knew she’d finally gotten to me, but her