Expecting to Die

Where Are They Now? She loves that one.”
Bianca visibly brightened. “I do, too!”
“Still not ringing any bells.” Pescoli shook her head.
“Doesn’t matter. He’s coming to Grizzly Falls. This week. Or that’s what
Carlton implied.” Lucky was on a roll now, more excited than she’d seen him
since he’d hit a thousand-dollar jackpot in a casino when Bianca was a baby.
“Implied?”
“It’s not a ‘for sure’ thing, but if Bianca comes to the meeting, Sphinx told
Carlton he’d try to make it.”
“Really?” Bianca whispered.
How had this become a thing? Alvarez thanked Bianca and made her escape,
shooting Pescoli a look of commiseration on her way out. As soon as she was
gone, Pescoli rounded on Luke. “And you think . . . what? That because some
Hollywood type blows into town that it means . . . money? Fame?”
He lifted his chin like a stubborn little boy. “Maybe.”
So there it was; the real reason Lucky was in her house, swilling her beer and
being the attentive parent.
“I’m afraid everyone, including Sphinx, is going to be disappointed. Bianca’s
not going.”
“You can’t just say that. Bianca can make up her own mind,” Luke shot back.
Again, he gave his daughter an encouraging do-it-for-Daddy smile.
Pescoli growled, “Stop it, Luke. We’re done here. Bianca’s recovering. It’s
been a long day and—”
“What would it hurt?” he demanded.
“—we’ve got a murder investigation, so the answer is no,” she barreled on.
Enough of this nonsense!
Lucky was eye-to-eye with Bianca. “Carlton says you don’t have to get up and
give a formal talk. Just go to the meeting, talk to some of the people, meet Mr.
Sphinx. It could be fun and you know . . .” He winked at her. “You’ll be a
celebrity. Think on it.”
It broke Pescoli’s heart to see the light in her daughter’s eyes at her father’s
show of tenderness. “I want to go, Daddy.”
“Bianca,” Pescoli began.
“Mom,” she angrily shot right back.
Pescoli clamped her teeth together. She knew better than to get between father
and daughter, but it was nearly impossible to hold her tongue.
Luke bent down and placed a kiss on Bianca’s head, then started for the door.
“Jer’s here,” Bianca said at the sound of an engine fast approaching. Pescoli

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glanced out the window to catch a flash of metal, followed by dust kicking up
from behind the tires of Jeremy’s truck. He parked next to the Corvette, threw
himself out of the cab, and was up the path to the house as the truck’s door
slammed behind him. Inside, he nearly ran into Luke, who was on his way out.
At six-foot-two, he had a couple of inches on his once-upon-a-time stepfather.
“Hey!” Jeremy said and gave Luke a high five as the dogs, barking and
wagging their back ends, greeted him enthusiastically. Cisco acted as if he hadn’t
seen Jeremy in years rather than hours.
“Back atcha,” Luke said after the slap. “So, your mom’s got you working for
the sheriff’s department now?”
“Nope. All my idea.” Jeremy shot Regan a quick smile, took time to pat each
dog on the head, and then beelined for the refrigerator. “Hey, Mom,” he said as a
greeting, then to his sister, “How ya doing, brat?”
“Not great,” Bianca muttered with a glare at her mother.
“When are you ever?” He opened the refrigerator door and hung between the
door and the body of the appliance as he studied the shelves.
Bianca threw him a look. “Very funny.”
He wasn’t cowed in the least. “So, you can’t walk or drive for the next six
months?” He grabbed a pizza box, pulled it out, and examined the contents.
“You’re such a douche,” she muttered. “I can drive. The splint is just kind of a
reminder to take it easy or something. I’m fine.”
Grabbing three slices of the cold pie, he took the time to dump two into the
microwave, hit the button, and while the slices warmed, ate the third in two
bites. Then, without missing a beat, he opened the pantry door and retrieved a
full pack of Oreos.
“Those are poison, you know,” Bianca warned. Her healthy diet was on-again,
off-again, but currently, it seemed, back on.
“Really?” he mumbled around the sausage and pepperoni pizza while ripping
the bag open. “Somebody should let the FDA know because there’s no warning
on the package.”
“Read the damned contents.”
He ignored her suggestion as the microwave dinged, and he retrieved the rest
of his snack, placing the cheesy slices on a napkin. “What’s going on?” he asked,
holding a pizza slice and two cookies in his hands.
“I just had to talk to Mom’s partner about Big Foot.”
“She’s speaking to the BFBs this week.” Luke rushed in, bringing Jeremy up
to date and couldn’t help but mention the possibility of a reality show and
dropping Barclay Sphinx’s name.
Jeremy gaped. “Are you kidding me?” he said, awe in his voice. “Barclay

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Sphinx is a genius.”
“The reality show producer?” Regan asked in disbelief.
“Oh, he’s a lot more than that, Mom. He worked on some other TV stuff.
Zombies Among Us and Ghosts of the West. Docu-drama/reality or non-reality
shows, whatever you want to call them, but they’re all high intensity.” He was
impressed. “You have to meet him,” he told his sister, and he was so intent he
momentarily forgot about the pizza and Oreos. “I mean, the man’s a genius,” he
said again. “I can’t believe he’s here.”
“Oh, he’s apparently here,” Regan said.
“I’m gonna go to the meeting,” Bianca declared. “Mom can’t stop me!”
Jeremy looked at Regan. “You’re trying to stop her?”
Luke put in smoothly, “Your mom’s got a lot of things to think about, and I
remember what she was like at this stage when she was pregnant with Bianca. It
wasn’t pretty.”
“Thanks for that, Lucky,” she said through her teeth.
But there was no fighting all of them. Jeremy and Bianca were starstruck and
Luke, well, she’d known him long enough to see that he was smelling easy
money. There was no talking to him when he caught that scent. “Fine,” she said,
and then walked out of the room.

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