Page 99 of Pretty Poison
The guys laughed and said, “No,” at the same time. They softened their responses by thanking him for supporting the show.
“Sorry, Miles,” Mad Dog said. “Who’s next? Ah, yes, Sarah. Hello, love. You’ve got the trio of trouble’s full attention. What would you like to know?”
“Hi, guys. Love your show.” She paused so they could return her greeting and thank her for listening. “Have you considered doing live shows?”
“That’s a great question,” Jonah replied. “I’ve heard it’s a popular trend among podcasters, but we haven’t discussed it yet.”
“Sounds really fun,” Felix said.
“We’d need a super cool location,” Rocky added. “Something historical or true-crime related.”
“What about attending Crime Con?” Sarah asked.
“Don’t get greedy with your questions,” Mad Dog admonished mildly.
“Sorry,” she said. “Please consider both things to give your fans a chance to meet you.”
With each new question, Rocky relaxed more. No one accused them of anything or tried to trip them up. Midway through, the show’s producer appeared at the window and gestured wildly at her phone. It distracted the hell out of Rocky, but Mad Dog just rolled with it. He introduced the next caller while pulling his phone from his pocket.
Rocky was too busy studying the DJ’s face to hear the question or the answer Felix started to give before Mad Dog looked up with wide eyes and cut him off.
“Forgive my rudeness, Felix,” the DJ said, “but there’s some breaking news out of Governor Stanton’s office that the guys will want to hear.”
Rocky’s pulse kicked into high gear. He looked over at Felix and Jonah who looked as anxious as he felt.
“Don’t edge us, Mad Dog,” Felix said.
Rocky snorted. “I don’t think you can say that on the radio, Fee.”
Felix cringed. “Sorry.”
Mad Dog laughed and shook his head. “The fine will be worth it because I get to tell you that Stanton has just signed Bo Cahill’s posthumous pardon. Congratulations.”
It felt like a giant vacuum had sucked the air out of the room. Then the three of them were on their feet hugging one another. Tears welled in their eyes, and Rocky knew his friends were thinking about sweet Agnes and all the pain she and her children had endured over the years.
“How does it feel?” Mad Dog asked after a few moments.
“Euphoric,” Rocky replied, feeling breathless. “We couldn’t have done this without the help of so many.”
“Especially the fans,” Felix said. “They made the Cahills’ fight their own and kept pushing until we got the job done.”
“God, this is incredible,” Jonah added. “I can’t wait to talk to the Cahills.”
“I’m honored to share this moment with the three of you,” Mad Dog said, sounding a little choked up. He cleared his throat. “Looks like we lost our caller. I’m so pumped up about the news that I can’t remember what the guy had asked. Can you?” he asked Felix.
“It completely slipped my mind too.”
When Rocky and Jonah couldn’t remember either, Mad Dog decided to move on to the next caller. “We have Tim on the line. Go ahead with your question.”
“Hey, guys,” the caller said. Rocky’s heart sank. He’d know that voice anywhere. Motherfucking Tim Duggins. He’d known damn well this asshole wasn’t going to just go away without a fight. Oh fuck, this wasn’t going to be pretty. “I’d like to know how you expect anyone to take you seriously when your resident private investigator is too stupid to avoid the classic setup and led a woman straight to her husband’s fuck pad. She gunned down her cheating husband and his mistress, who turned out to be her sister-in-law. Then she shot herself right in front of this moron. Google his name plus pretty poison or Vegas and see what you find. He escaped criminal charges, but he should’ve been sued in civil court. It’s not too late. I hope the victims hear this and take my advice.”
Rocky tensed, and his breath caught in his throat. He wanted to signal to Mad Dog to cut the caller off, but he couldn’t move, speak, or even think. Fiona stood up and softly whined as she nudged his hand with her nose. Rocky slid his fingers into her fur, reminding himself to breathe. He felt Jonah’s and Felix’s attention yet couldn’t do anything but close his eyes and picture something serene while he fought off the rising panic.
He heard voices, some of them loud, but he couldn’t comprehend a single thing. Felix threw his arm around Rocky’s shoulders and pulled him into an embrace. He kissed the top of Rocky’s head while rubbing his hand up and down Rocky’s back. Black dots danced in his vision as Rocky’s chest felt tighter and tighter.
“Breathe, Major,” Felix whispered. “Come on.”
Rocky inhaled a deep, shaky breath, which cleared the dots and brought the room back into focus. Fiona whimpered again and pushed harder against him, nudging his other hand with her nose. Rocky buried the second hand in her fur, focusing on the slide of silky strands between his fingers. He leaned forward to hug her as his breathing regulated, and Fiona licked his face. In his pocket, Rocky’s cell phone started buzzing. As soon as the call went to voice mail, it immediately started vibrating again. He continued ignoring it to focus on pulling himself together.