Valentines and Vandals by Riley Blake

Author:Riley Blake
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: animal cozy mystery, private investigator, cozy mystery, police procedural, retirement cozy mystery, male sleuths
Publisher: Riley Blake
Published: 2025-01-06T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Three

Later that night, I received a call from Withers. Dora might have made it to the front yard, but she didn’t leave her house alive.

“There were sirens when we were at the community center. Is that around the time when she was found?” I asked.

“Yes,” Withers deadpanned.

“And you were texting with Carnes while you met with us?”

“Right.”

“So, you misled Charlotte.”

Withers waited a moment before he said, “If you want to get technical about it, I didn’t shoot straight with you either.”

We bantered back and forth for a moment before he jumped into the specifics. Her body was found on the beach and her children provided a positive identification. She had suffered one long laceration across the throat. Withers called the laceration a slash. He was still waiting at the hospital in hopes of speaking with the other victim.

After I hung up the phone, a light peck fell on the backdoor. Ribbon, my goldendoodle, began barking like an attack dog while her tail went round and round as she awaited our visitor on the other side of the sliding glass.

“Thank goodness! I was afraid you weren’t home!” Izzy gave Ribbon a treat and then glanced up at me. “So, where are we in the investigation?”

“Please tell me you didn’t walk down the beach to find this out. A phone call would do.”

She thumbed the air behind her. “I’m staying with Max tonight. He went out to grab a pizza and said to invite you over.”

“I don’t typically receive invitations from Max.” My neighbor was the retirement community’s drunk and proud of it, so proud in fact that he typically blared his music until the wee hours of the morning.

“You have an invitation now. You’re probably thinking that we’re only interested in finding out what you know. While that is true, you mustn’t forget that all three of us worked together to catch Sheriff Reynolds. There’s luck to be found in trios.”

“Trouble travels in threes, too,” I pointed out.

She frowned. “Just come and eat pizza. What else do you have to do tonight?”

“I need to gather my thoughts and see if there’s anything I can contribute to the investigation.”

She waved a dismissive hand. “That’s all the more reason for you to come over. Men can’t think well all by themselves. Haven’t you heard that ‘behind every man with a good idea stands the woman who gave it to him’ adage?”

Where did she come up with these crazy notions?

About that time, the doorbell rang. Izzy and I swapped glances before she took off ahead of me. “It’s probably Charlotte. I bet she wants to stay here tonight. Women need protection in times like these. Can’t say that I blame her.” She turned to look at me. “Did she tell you Dora’s kids are staying at her place tonight?” I didn’t respond because Izzy preferred to answer her own questions. “Of course she didn’t. She wouldn’t want you to worry. You would then start to think that one of Dora’s sons is responsible for the killing.

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.