Star Light Star Bright: A Private Eye To The Stars Cozy Mystery (The Private Eye to the Stars Cozy Mysteries Book 1) by Monica Knightley

Author:Monica Knightley [Knightley, Monica]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-04-25T16:00:00+00:00

While I waited for the phone to ring—at this point I knew there were several people who might want to talk to me at any given moment—I kept working on finding a true friend among Bethany’s many FacePlant friends.

I finally hit pay dirt when I found a woman who went to high school with Bethany. Which meant she also went to school with Frances. This woman could kill at least two birds with one stone.

Erin Fisher listed her employer as a supermarket in Long Beach. It was a bit of a drive, so I called the store to ask if Erin was working that day. The person who answered sounded distracted and mumbled that yes, she was working until seven.

After telling Peggy my plans, I flew out of the office, and with traffic being on the light side, I made it to the supermarket in just over half an hour.

I wandered the store, looking for the woman I saw in the FacePlant profile. It didn’t take long to find Erin stocking a shelf in the cereal aisle.

“Erin?” I tried to sound friendly and non-threatening.

She looked up from the box she was emptying.

“Yeah?”

“Hi. I’m sorry to interrupt your work, but my name is Carla Mattucci—I’m a private investigator and I think you could be very helpful on a case I’m working on.” I saw her flinch when I told her what I was, but she quickly recovered.

“What would that be?” she grumbled.

At least she hadn’t told me to leave her alone.

“First, have you heard the news about your friend Bethany?”

Her face blanched.

“No. What news?”

“I’m so sorry to have to tell you this, but Bethany died last night.”

“Oh, my God.” Her hand flew to her mouth. “What? How?”

“Erin, is there a quiet place where we could sit down and talk? I don’t think you want to have this conversation here in the aisle.”

“Um, yeah. Right. Yeah, we can go to the break room.”

“That’s a good idea.”

I followed her to the dreary, windowless break room which, fortunately, was empty.

We sat across from one another at the end of a long table.

Erin’s eyes filled with tears. “Bethany was one of my oldest friends.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“How did she die?”

“There is no easy way to say this, Erin, but she was murdered. Found in her office early this morning.”

“What?” she exclaimed. “Murdered? Are you sure? She couldn’t have been murdered.” She shook her head vigorously.

“I know it’s hard to comprehend. But, yes, it’s tragically true. Do you have any idea who would have wanted Bethany dead?”

Erin stared at the table. I don’t think she heard my last question, as she was still processing the news that her friend had been murdered. I gave her time and sat silently.

Eventually, she looked up. “What did you ask?”

I spoke just above a whisper. “Can you think of anyone who would have wanted Bethany dead?”

She frowned. “Well, her creepy ex comes to mind. They were fighting about money lately.”

“How so?”

“He wasn’t paying her the alimony he was supposed to be paying.

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