The Murder in Skoghall (Illustrated) (The Skoghall Mystery Series Book 1) by Winternheimer Alida

Author:Winternheimer, Alida [Winternheimer, Alida]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: 28.5press
Published: 2015-01-07T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Jess slowed her car as she pulled into her long driveway and searched the property, as though if she looked hard enough she would see the coroner’s wagon and the sheriff’s car sitting where they had forty years ago. She stopped for a moment to stare at the small, conical structure where Bonnie had been found hanging. Jess reached a hand across the console between the two seats and laid it on Shakti’s shoulder, a protective instinct. The puppy raised her head to look at Jess, then opened her mouth in a wide yawn, uncurling her pink tongue.

“Bonnie is not your enemy. She needs your help.” This had become Jess’s affirmation since finding the articles at the library. It was meant to give her courage and had helped convince her she could do this without Beckett to hold her hand. Just now, looking out her car window at the smokehouse, she wasn’t as confident. She rolled up to the front of the house and put her Kia in park, then thought better of it. She pulled into the parking pad in front of the garage and turned the car around so it faced up the driveway, ready for a fast get-away.

Here was the house she fell in love with at first sight. The woods surrounding the property made it seem an enclave perfect for a writer. A pair of cardinals, the male’s bright red coloring a beacon of cheer, joined the sparrows and nuthatches at the feeder she had hung from the sugar maple. Jess paused to watch the birds and felt sorry for Cathy Fenton, but she also felt Cathy hadn’t wanted this badly enough. Jess wanted it. It was everything she had dreamed of one day having, and Bonnie wasn’t going to run her off.

She unlocked the door and pushed it open. It creaked as it swung into the vestibule. The house was quiet. The floor was as it should be with no sign of bloody footprints. Jess called Shakti out of the yard and they went inside together. Her heart beat fast with nervous anticipation. Jess walked through the first floor and found nothing more upsetting than a fruit fly infestation in the kitchen. She had left several ripe bananas to turn black and ooze onto the counter. As Jess headed upstairs, images from all the movies she’d seen flashed through her mind and she expected something horrifying to rush her each time she rounded a corner or opened a door.

The house was still.

Jess went into her office last and sat at her roll top desk. The cowboy stood in his usual spot, six shooters pointed right at her. She picked him up and turned him over in her hand, examining the wear, the tiny face with two black pin-dots for eyes. Jess didn’t know what he meant, but he was obviously important. She set him back down, turning him so his guns pointed at a wall.

She glanced over her shoulder to make sure she was still alone.

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