Read Tahoe Ghost Boat (An Owen McKenna Mystery Thriller) for Free Online Page B

the outside, especially when you first meet him. But he can be a nice guy. At least, he was when I first met him. I was at a sports bar and he was next to me. He was the first guy who didn’t try to use a stupid pickup line on me. Instead, we just watched the game. And we discovered that we liked the same teams. So we started going to some games. Pretty soon we got married. He promised me he’d take me to Hawaii for our honeymoon. But when we got married, Merrill’s probation officer wouldn’t let him go.”
    “What was Merrill’s crime?”
    “Assault. He’s a big guy, and, you know, sometimes fighting just comes natural to big guys.”
    “Why did you and Merrill get divorced?”
    “What does this have to do with me getting blackmailed?”
    “Everything about you and your life and the people closest to you matters because somewhere in your world is some bit of information that might lead us to the blackmailer.”
    She took a big breath and let it out. “The reason we got divorced is that Merrill’s kind of a loser. No ambition. No drive to improve himself. I suspected that when I married him. But I believed all that stuff about how money doesn’t buy happiness. I stayed married to him for ten years. I gave him and Trudy my best years, but I couldn’t take it anymore. And because of Trudy, which we didn’t plan, we couldn’t afford a new car or even new clothes. We couldn’t eat out. We couldn’t travel. And Merrill never even applied for promotions when they came available at work. I’m a girl on my way up. I’ve got big plans. Merrill is never going up. Level or down is his direction.”
    “What’s he do?”
    “He drives a forklift in a warehouse. He says it’s fun and that it’s useful work. Imagine that. What could possibly be fun about driving a forklift?”
    Nadia held out her hand, palm down, fingers outstretched. Maybe she was admiring her nails.
    “We lived in Reno all ten years we were married. After we split, he took Trudy to Sacramento.”
    “When was that?”
    “Our divorce was finalized six years ago. He asked for custody of Trudy, but I think it was more about spite for me than wanting to care for Trudy. So I gave it to him.”
    “Custody,” I said.
    “Yeah.” She nodded.
    “Did you give him custody just to spite him back? Or because you didn’t want to care for Trudy, either?”
    I thought she’d get mad, but she was reflective for a bit.
    “Probably both,” she said. “The truth is that I’m shallow. I admit it. I care about presentation more than I should. Merrill is a regular guy. He likes sports and blow-’em-up movies, and he drinks Budweiser. Too much Budweiser.”
    “You liked sports, too. That’s how you met Merrill.”
    “Yeah, but not anymore. Big guys slamming into each other. That’s like – I don’t know – like those ancient guys with horses and buggies and trying to throw the losers to the lions. I forget what they’re called.”
    “Gladiators.”
    “Yeah. That’s what Merrill likes. He’s more into the violence of sports than the skills involved. He’s pretty primitive.”
    I nodded. “And you like opera and intellectual films, and you drink red wine.”
    Nadia’s eyes looked afire. “You’re making fun of me.”
    “Am I wrong?”
    She paused “No. Well, sort of. I don’t like opera, but I like musicals. Grease and Lion King are my favorites. I mostly watch rom-coms.”
    “What’s that mean?”
    “Romantic comedy movies. The only real intellectual film I’ve seen is Forrest Gump. That one really made me think. The lines he says are so profound. And yes, I like wine. Sitting around with a bunch of Monday-Night-Football fans drinking beer and yelling at the TV is the last place I want to be.”
    “Is Merrill a handsome guy?” I asked.
    “What does that have to do with anything?”
    “Curious, that’s all.”
    Nadia looked at me with suspicion. “No, he’s not. And he’s overweight. Real overweight. It’s not like it’s a