The Body in the Boat by Ami Diane

Author:Ami Diane [Diane, Ami]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-11-10T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 17

ELLA poured the last drops of coffee from the percolator into the chipped thermos, causing steam to curl up from the narrow opening. Despite getting to sleep in, her mouth opened in a wide yawn. Since most of the townsfolk tended to skip breakfast at Grandma’s kitchen the day after a potluck, Wink had told her to come in later.

Ella’s hand ran over the tightening waist of her yoga pants, regretting some of the calories she’d consumed at the previous night’s festivities. It was her typical post-meal coma and guilt.

After grabbing an apple instead of one of the homemade donuts calling her name, she slipped out the back door and down the terrace steps. The conservatory glass winked in the morning dew.

A few yards away, the mass of fur that was Fluffy sat on his haunches under the tall oak tree behind the inn. His tail swished back and forth in the damp grass, and his ears twitched as he stared up into the ochre leaves.

“Whatcha got there?” she called out to the feline.

Her fingers itched to entangle them in his soft fur, but she was already running late to get to the sheriff’s. As it was, she feared he might leave for the professor’s without her.

Fluffy’s left ear twitched, the only acknowledgment he had heard her. The leaves in the tree quivered, and she heard a familiar, distinct chittering from within. Ella froze mid-step, glanced at her watch, then jogged over to the tree.

“Fluffy, I don’t have time for this. You can’t be terrorizing Chester. Not this early in the morning.”

She wondered why the rodent wasn’t in the diner with his owner. After scooping up the massive Maine Coon, she glanced up in the branches at the gray squirrel. His tail curled over a brightly colored clown suit.

Fluffy squirmed in her arms as she quickly deposited him just inside the inn. The door slammed shut, and she raced across the grass.

“You owe me! Again!” she threw over her shoulder at the oak tree.

A couple walking the trail around the lake shot her a furtive glance before quickening their steps.

Cutting down an alley to Main, Ella burst through the front door of the station. The knob banged into the brick wall making her wince. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the dim lighting.

Near his aged desk that probably belonged in a museum, Chapman’s hands buckled his belt and holster over his hips. He didn’t acknowledge her, but she knew by her grand entrance there was no way he had’t heard her come in.

Will stood from one of the scuffed chairs. “I was worried you wouldn’t make it.”

“Yeah, sorry. I got detained.”

His blue-green eyes lingered on the thermos in her hands, causing her to hug it tighter against her chest.

The sheriff scooped up his derby hat and pressed it over his gray hair, hiding his features in shadow.

Will took a deep, audible breath and let it out. “That coffee sure smells good.”

“It does, doesn’t it?” Ella unscrewed the lid, sniffed the steam, then took a ginger sip, instantly killing multitudes of taste buds.

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