Read A Dead Husband (Jessica Huntington Desert Cities Mystery) for Free Online Page A

up because she bought them that way.  Most of the hangers in the room were empty.
    Jessica dug through one of the nearest shopping bags . She pulled out a pair of baggy boyfriend jeans and wiggled into them after making sure there weren’t any tags on them. With a second plunge into the bag she grabbed a white tee. She topped it off with a lightweight Balmain navy blazer that was hanging from the corner of a half-open drawer.  It was hot as hell outside. You never knew when the air conditioning in somebody’s house would make you glad you had another layer. The blazer had been purchased during a late-night, online shopping binge.  She could do even more damage, in a shorter period of time online. All the while, raging at the rat-bastard who had betrayed her, knowing half the tab was still his. Not much solace, but it had, at least, filled the hours until dawn on sleepless nights. 
    Digging around in a corner , Jessica found the pair of navy Superga sneakers she needed to complete her outfit.  Shoving a couple things out of the way, she sat on the little bench nearest the door and put the shoes on.  She stood up and took a last look in the full length mirror and approved of what she saw.
    “Jim you’re crazy to choose that skank over me,” she said aloud.
    Jessica grabbed the Buti bag off her dresser and headed to the kitchen, digging through her purse for her keys.  “Shoot!” she said, remembering that Tommy and Brien had taken her BMW. She’d have to use her mother’s Porsche.  A shiny little silver number, it had midlife crisis written all over it. Not her thing, but what the hell her life was in crisis.  Maybe one of those “quarter-life” crises she’d read about in a pseudo-psych magazine during the endless waits in doctor’s offices while in baby-making mode.
    The keys to the Porsche were in the kitchen, hanging on a hook near the door to the garage .  Bernadette was so well-organized. Right next to the keys was a list of things they needed from the grocery store.  Maybe helping out around here a little more would make up for her most recent display of bad behavior. Pretty basic things, she could easily pick up at Trader Joe’s on her way home. A local favorite Trader Joe’s offered a bit of adventure, unlike a more conventional grocery chain.  A shopping adventure was just the thing to clear her head and earn some points with Bernadette after hearing what Laura had to say.  Jessica snatched the list and jammed it into a pocket of her jeans as she headed out of the kitchen into the garage.
    Like everything else in the Rancho Mirage estate, the car was kept in tip top condition . It purred to life instantly. A low growly sound came from the car, like it was ready to prowl. It didn’t get out much. The pint-sized Bernadette preferred to drive the massive Cadillac Escalade parked next to the Porsche in the four-car garage.  There was room for Jessica’s BMW in a third space and the fourth was used for a golf cart and storage.
    Jessica backed out of the garage into the large circular drive that flanked the front of the house. She took off driving a little faster than she should on the residential streets that led to the guard gate and out onto Dinah Shore Drive. This time of the year the enclave of larger estate homes within Mission Hills Country Club were mostly deserted. They remained closed up until the summer heat retreated and the “snow birds” came home to roost, escaping cold winters all over the U.S. and Canada.  It was hard to say whether the valley was really “home” or not for these prodigal sons and daughters. Beautiful high end houses in the desert were often only one of the properties owned by those who could afford to pay a couple million and up for an estate home in the Coachella Valley.   
    When Jessica got to Monterey she took a left and headed for the on ramp to I-10 .  There was remarkably little traffic at 11:45 on a Saturday morning in June.  She really opened