The Missing Comatose Woman by Sarah Ettritch

Author:Sarah Ettritch [Ettritch, Sarah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Cozy mystery
Publisher: Norn Publishing
Published: 2013-02-24T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Casey slipped another piece of pizza onto her plate and took a sip of water. Apart from having pizza yet again—thank god she loved the stuff—so far, so good. Emily had shown up on time, and the drive to a nearby family restaurant hadn’t been awkward. Casey felt more at home in this casual atmosphere than she had in the swanky restaurant with Leah. Jeans and a blouse were more her style than dress pants and a matching jacket. The desire to impress wasn’t driving her, either. She didn’t want to make an ass of herself, but the pressure to sound brilliant wasn’t there.

“So what do you do?” Emily asked.

Casey tensed. Okay, what she’d just said to herself about not needing to impress? Not entirely true, but her discomfort with the dreaded question wasn’t specific to Emily. Being so new at the game, calling herself a private investigator didn’t sit right. Maybe when she had a solved case or two under her belt… She wiped her mouth with a napkin, then said, “I’m a private investigator.”

Emily stared at her. “Really?”

“I’m new. I—I’m working my first case. I—”

Emily held up her hand. “I’m surprised, that’s all. It’s not the answer I expected. Why a private investigator? I thought you were working at Walmart.”

Casey felt her face flush. God, how embarrassing. Why the hell was someone who was working on her PhD sitting having pizza with a former Walmart minion pretending to be a private investigator? “I was. But I always saw that as temporary.” That was what she’d told herself when she’d graduated from high school with no burning desire to be anything. Most of her friends had applied to university and looked forward to taking the next step on the path to their dream careers. She’d trudged from store to fast food joint, dropping off a resume that listed the glamorous skills she’d acquired from her summer jobs serving behind counters at food courts. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I left high school.”

“So why a private investigator?” Emily asked again.

“I’d helped a few people find their missing pets. One of them said I had a knack and should be a pet detective, like Ace Ventura.” It sounded so stupid now. She couldn’t believe she’d seen it as a sign from the Universe—and that she was telling Emily about it. “It got me thinking. I figured limiting myself to pets would be dumb.” When Emily grinned, Casey couldn’t tell whether she thought the entire notion of being an investigator was dumb. “Either way, I needed an investigator’s licence, so I got one.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t as easy as that.” Emily lifted a piece of pizza from the platter and bit into it.

“I had to take an exam. I took courses at a security college.”

Emily swallowed her mouthful of pizza. “Working and going to school can be rough. It takes dedication.”

Casey’s modesty wouldn’t allow her to nod. “What about you?” she said, wanting to shift the focus away from herself.

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.