Shade Grown (Barks & Beans Cafe Cozy Mystery Book 8) by Heather Day Gilbert

Author:Heather Day Gilbert [Gilbert, Heather Day]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: WoodHaven Press
Published: 2023-12-10T16:00:00+00:00

12

For our tropical facials, we draped ourselves in sheets and stretched out on parallel tables in a dimly lit room. My massage therapist wrapped a towel around my head, then pressed warm, folded washcloths along my face in repetitive strokes. As she worked her way through fruit-scented scrubs, oils, and lotions, I lost all train of thought and started to fall asleep.

My therapist had moved on to my back massage when my phone vibrated, jarring me back into the moment. As the buzzing continued, I realized it might be some kind of emergency, so I asked her to stop for a moment. She handed me a robe, then I eased off the table and made my way toward a darkened corner of the room.

Bo was on the other end. "I'm sorry to bother you, but something's come up. They found Tobias Blum dead in his bathroom at the General Lewis this morning—looks like a heroin overdose. Charlie's having me check into any previous drug records. I just wanted to let you know. You at home?"

I hadn't exactly told Bo where I was going this afternoon, and I wasn't sure I wanted to tell him. But he seemed to read my silence like a book.

"You're hanging out with Aspen, aren't you? Milo mentioned that some tall blonde with a Chanel bag stopped by and talked with you. I couldn't think of any of your friends that fit that description."

Now my barista was spying on me, however unwittingly. But I wasn't going to apologize for trying to help a grieving sister. Keeping my voice low as Aspen's therapist continued her massage, I said, "That's right. She asked me to go to the salt spa with her, and I figured it would be good for her to get out."

"You'll need to let her know about Tobias, then, since Charlie will be touching base with her. She's the only person Tobias knew here." He hesitated. "And you might want to think about the implications of that fact, sis."

I didn't want to get into it here, but I thought his "implications" were way off. "I'll let her know," I said, trying to stay noncommittal. There's no way Aspen was mixed up in something nefarious with Tobias. She didn't even really like the man.

I said goodbye and headed toward my table, easing out of my robe before slipping under the sheet.

Aspen's voice was muffled as her therapist kneaded her lower back. "Everything okay?"

I didn't want to share about Tobias' death and ruin the remainder of Aspen's spa experience. Since it seemed like our massages were winding to a close, I decided to wait until afterward, when we could talk about things at the spa cafe.

"I'll tell you soon," I said, settling my face into the padded head support.

But even as the therapist worked at the kinks in my shoulders, I felt like my entire body was tightening up instead of relaxing. I hated it when Bo forced me to stop and think, which was exactly what he'd done when he'd insinuated that Aspen might somehow be involved in Tobias' death.

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.