Over My Dead Blog (Book Blogger Mysteries 1) by Sarah E. Burr

Author:Sarah E. Burr [Burr, Sarah E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-10-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

“Strangled?” Both Strider and I snapped to attention.

Teddy nodded. “When I read about what happened, it struck me as odd that Kelsey’s death was labeled as suspicious, considering she was found at the bottom of a cliff. I wanted to know why the police were so certain foul play was involved. So, I called the medical examiner’s office.”

“And they just happened to share this information with you?” Strider scoffed.

Teddy’s cheeks colored, contrasting boldly with his copper hair. “Well, I may have pulled a few strings with an inside source.” When we continued to stare at him expectantly, he sighed. “One of the Essex County ME’s assistants is a friend of my brother-in-law. I promised him a ticket to our company box at Fenway.”

Strider sneered. “There’s that lovely journalistic integrity you were talking about.” He gave the couch cushion an aggravated punch for emphasis.

My insides curdled. Had I just made a deal with the devil?

Teddy quickly plowed ahead. “My source told me the ME concluded that Kelsey was dead before she went over the cliff.” He paused for effect. “He found ligature marks around her neck.”

Ligature marks? I shivered. Of course I’d heard the term used on CSI reruns, but the thought of Kelsey being strangled to death had my vision swimming. “If the police noticed bruising like that at the scene, no wonder they were so quick to jump to foul play. Does your source have any idea how she was strangled?”

“Not anything he felt comfortable sharing. Now, my turn to ask a question.” Teddy’s gaze narrowed. “Kelsey’s death seems personal for you two, yet when I mentioned her before, you didn’t say you were friends.” He mimed counting his thoughts on his fingers. “Considering how you”—he glanced at my brother—“reacted to me asking about a suspect, I can only assume for some unimaginable reason that investigators think the Strider Lark killed Kelsey, and his sister is trying to help him clear his name.”

My jaw dropped at Teddy’s spot-on assessment.

“Since I came to that conclusion the moment you two stormed out of the café and didn’t immediately share it with the world, any chance I’ve earned your trust a bit?” Teddy’s boyish grin had a calculated element to it.

Strider’s features hardened almost imperceptibly. “Not sure how blackmailing someone into helping you get a scoop screams trustworthy.”

I knocked him on the arm. At this point, we didn’t have the luxury of picking our battles. “The police believe Strider was the last person to see Kelsey alive, but just this morning, we found evidence to the contrary.”

Teddy’s expression was annoyingly unreadable. “And what would that be?”

“Harold Polk, the coffee shop owner whose windsock skeleton assaulted you,” I clarified, “lives on the southern outskirts of Copper Bay, just off the main road. He saw Kelsey driving toward her home, only to turn around and head back north, into town, around 12:20 the night she was killed. After she dropped my brother off from a date.”

It was Teddy’s turn to look thoughtful. “Hm…12:20?”

Strider smirked.

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.