Read 6 - Pages of Sin for Free Online Page A

“Right. Because it was a suicide.”
    It was some kind of law that an autopsy was required when someone died from something other than natural causes. Suicide was not considered a natural cause.
    “Yes,” Dad said. “And Byron can’t do anything to speed that process along.”
    “No, I suppose not,” I said, cringing at the thought of having to wait for a loved one’s body to be autopsied.
    “Poor Byron,” Mom said.
    I nodded in agreement, then remembered his greeting to Elaine. “Although he seems to be holding up pretty well.”
    Mom bit back a smile, no doubt recalling the same thing. “Eat your green beans.”
    “I am. They’re delicious.” I forked a few more beans and shoved them into my mouth. After a minute, I said, “Has everyone else in the community rallied around Byron like you have, Mom? I can’t imagine he’d want to spend too much time alone right now.”
    Dad reached for more garlic mashed potatoes. “Joe and Jeri Spaulding are handling all the details for Wanda’s burial and service.”
    “They’re so good at stuff like that,” Mom added.
    I smiled. Joe and Jeri were like our honorary aunt and uncle and I’d known them my entire life. They had been with the commune as long as Mom and Dad and before that, the four of them had all been best Deadhead friends.
    “That was nice of them to take over,” I said.
    “Byron needed the help,” Dad said. “He’s been walking around in a fog all week. I can’t blame him.”
    “No,” Mom murmured.
    “I would be in a fog, too.” I frowned at the thought of losing someone so close to me. It would be unbearable. I looked at Mom. “I’m glad you asked me to help you with Wanda’s stuff.”
    “I’m happy you could do it,” Mom said. She smiled at me, but it faded quickly. “I’m just so confused about Byron and Elaine.”
    “He wasn’t in any fog while he was kissing her.” I took a bite of meat and spent a few seconds enjoying the flavors of Mom’s special sauce she’d made for the pork tenderloin. Dad had once called it groovy gravy and the name had stuck. Garlic, soy sauce, Dijon mustard, a squeeze of fresh orange juice, rosemary, ginger, and a splash of red wine. While Dad had grilled the meat, Mom had cooked the ingredients down until the whole thing was exquisitely rich and yummy.
    Finished with my meal, I relaxed in my chair. “We should work out a strategy for getting the lowdown from Elaine at lunch on Wednesday.”
    Mom’s left eyebrow hitched up. Okay, maybe I hadn’t been formally invited, but still.
    Dad glanced at me. “You’re having lunch with Elaine?”
    “I assumed I was coming along.” I laughed and looked at Mom. “Am I?”
    “Of course you are.” She dabbed her lips with her napkin. “Otherwise, you’d badger me relentlessly.”
    “You know me so well,” I said with a smirk.
     
     
    After dinner, I drove up the mountain to visit my best friend, Robin, who had been living with my brother, Austin, for the past few months. I had met Robin the first day my family moved to Dharma over twentysomething years ago. We’d been instant friends ever since.
    Before moving back to Dharma, Robin lived in the Noe Valley district of San Francisco, not far from my loft in SOMA, and we saw each other all the time. But recently, during a murder investigation that hit too close to home for all of us, Austin realized how much he loved Robin. He’d asked her to move in with him and she had taken him up on it. So while I missed my best pal in the city, I was excited at the possibility of having her as a sister-in-law someday soon.
    The winding road to my brother’s house finally ended in a cul-de-sac at the top of a hill overlooking the grapevines of Dharma. It was still light out and I took a moment to appreciate how beautiful the view was up here.
    After the initial hugs and kisses, we sat around the bar that separated Austin’s kitchen from the large, open living room. Austin poured me a glass of wine and we all