Deceit in High Heels by Gemma Halliday

Author:Gemma Halliday
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romantic suspense, humor, romantic comedy, amateur sleuth, clean and wholesome, lighthearted msytery
Publisher: Gemma Halliday

CHAPTER TEN

The first time I'd met Officer Willis at the Hollywood Psychic studio, he'd been wallpaper in a scenario focused on Chico. This time, as Ramirez made the brief introductions and told the man why we were there, I was solely focused on the officer. With his plump belly and pink cheeks, he struck me as jolly old St. Nick with a white buzz cut and a police uniform. He looked as if he might burst out with "Ho, ho, ho!" when the waitress delivered his breakfast.

"I remember that case." He folded his toast in half and dipped a corner into his eggs. "Tragic accident. The vic was so young." He chewed, swallowed, and dipped again. "As I recall it, there was a serial arsonist in the area at the time. The working theory was that was our perp."

"I didn't see that in the report," Ramirez said, sitting across from him in the red vinyl booth of the Coastal Delights Diner. I sat beside him, and while Willis had a plate full of the breakfast special in front of him, Ramirez and I had opted for coffee and a couple of blueberry muffins.

Willis shrugged. "No? Well, we didn't write every little idea down in those days. Saved paper. You know, back when we used to write on actual paper." He gave me a wink.

"Did you ever find him?" I asked. "The serial arsonist?"

He gave a noncommittal grunt. "No. Hardly ever do with that kind of thing. Those guys know how to cover their tracks."

"I thought the Montgomery fire was deemed accidental," Ramirez said. Despite his promise not to come down on the guy, I could tell he was still thinking Willis hadn't done his due diligence on this one.

Willis shot Ramirez a look, and for a second I could see concern in his eyes. But it was quickly replaced by a wide, fatherly smile. "Look, I'm a nice guy. Arson isn't covered by insurance. Accidents are. I wanted to help the family out a little, you know?"

"But you're sure it was this serial arsonist?" I pressed, my mind going to the Riccis.

"Well, we could never prove anything. I felt terrible about that. But it was just godawful luck that the vic was home at the time of the fire." He chewed thoughtfully.

"Beth," I said softly, feeling the term vic too clinical when we were talking about the life of a young mother. "Her name was Beth."

"I know." Willis's eyes shot to me. "It wasn't the first time I was called to her residence."

"It wasn't?" I asked, shooting a questioning look to my husband.

Ramirez's leg pressed against mine beneath the table, cautioning me to let Willis speak.

Which he did. "No. I responded to a call there a few months before that. A domestic incident."

"Her husband?" I heard the shock in my own voice. While Robert wasn't exactly shaping up to be the man I'd first thought him to be, I had a hard time seeing him as an actual abuser.

But Willis quickly disabused me of that notion.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.