Talk to the Paw by Melinda Metz

Author:Melinda Metz [Metz, Melinda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2017-12-11T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 10

Jamie opened the door the next morning to get the paper, still in the rumpled clothes from the night before. How could one drink have knocked her out? Maybe she’d just fallen asleep so fast to escape the memory of her horrible date. Although meeting that guy, David, at the bar had made up for it, at least a little.

It took her a second to realize that Hud Martin sat on the front steps, working on knotting a fishing fly. He turned and smiled at her, his eyes hidden behind sunglasses as usual, even though the day was overcast. “Hello, Sunshine,” he said. “Have anything you want to tell me about these?” He patted the pile of stuff that sat next to him. She hadn’t registered it, either.

Jamie leaned down so she could study the pile—another pair of boxers; two T-shirts, one much larger than the other; a neon-orange Speedo; a nose-hair trimmer; one sock, purple with tacos; a well-worn toothbrush; and a leather belt with a silver KISS belt buckle. “I have never seen any of that before.”

Hud didn’t reply. Just raised his eyebrows.

Jamie rolled her eyes. “If I stole it, why would I leave it on my front porch? You don’t need to be an evil genius to know you should hide your stolen goods.”

Hud didn’t answer. He kept working on the fly.

“If you want to investigate this, that would be great. I mean it. Like I told you, ever since I moved here, weird things have been appearing on my doormat,” Jamie blurted out to fill the silence. “My theories are: someone who has something against Desmond, who used to live here, maybe an angry ex-boyfriend. Or that I’ve picked up some freak stalker, which seems unlikely.” She had to pause to take a breath. “Honestly, it’s starting to scare me. If you could figure it out, I’d be grateful. I truly would.”

Hud attached the finished fly to his vest, then stood and propped one foot up on the top step. “Interesting that you never brought up these theories before.”

“Why would I?” Jamie snapped. “You’ve made it clear you suspected me from day one. Or me in cahoots with Ruby.”

“I keep an open mind until I catch the criminal. Which I always do. But I also don’t ignore the evidence. And you seem to be in possession of many items that don’t belong to you, as you yourself have admitted.”

“I’m not ‘in possession’ of them. They’re just sitting there,” Jamie burst out.

“On your property,” Hud answered.

“Yes, my property. Where you’re standing without my invitation,” Jamie shot back. She knew she shouldn’t let him get to her. He was just an aging actor trying to relive his glory days. But he made her nuts with his insinuations and his stupid fishing vest. The thing looked like the closest it had gotten to a body of water was a swimming pool.

Hud nodded. “I’ll be off. But I won’t be far.” Jamie watched him until he turned the corner at the end of her block.

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.