When Sleuthing Spells Trouble by T. C. LoTempio

Author:T. C. LoTempio
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mysteries & Thrillers
Publisher: Beyond the Page
Published: 2025-10-09T00:00:00+00:00

• • •

Nick greeted me when I walked into the shop. I bent down to give him a scratch on the white streak behind his ear. “Miss me?” I asked the cat.

“Meower,” Nick said as he rubbed his portly body against my ankles.

I sighed. “Well, it certainly has been an eventful afternoon.” I tossed my bag on the counter and sank into one of the high-backed stools. “My interview with Paul Lassiter went well, and he seemed sincere, but I’m not ready to take him off the list of suspects just yet. He seems to have Mariah’s best interests at heart, but that could be a cover. He did point a finger at Jerry Cutter, though. And after talking to Jennifer Hinkle, I’m convinced he definitely bears further investigation. She might think he’s innocent, but I’m not all that sure.”

Nick blinked twice, laid his head on his paws.

“Mariah had a dream that someone tried to kill her, but no one was in the house when I had a look around. I did find a pink thread in her bedroom, though, that an intruder could have dropped.” I frowned as I realized that I’d never checked out Elle’s pink and white sweater. Elle had a key, she could easily have let herself in. As fast as I thought of that, though, I rejected the theory. I didn’t trust Elle, but she was staying with Mariah. She had a pretty fair run of the place. There would be no reason for her to sneak into the house.

Or was there?

“I’m not too sure about Elle either,” I said. “She claims to have Mariah’s best interests at heart, and Mariah trusts her, but there’s just something about her that rubs me the wrong way. Of course, it could just be her snooty attitude, but somehow I think there’s more to it than that.” Suddenly I snapped my fingers. “Oh, darn. I forgot to ask Mariah if she knew Elle’s maiden name. Maybe Hank can find it out for me.”

I pulled out my phone and checked my texts. Nothing from Hank. Well, he’d said he was going to be pretty much incommunicado. I knew that he’d get back to me when he could. I sent another text asking if he knew Elle’s maiden name and set the phone back on the counter. I looked at Nick. “So, what do you think, Nick? Lobster salad for you for dinner?”

The cat’s head jerked up. He licked his lips. “Yowzer.”

I got up, went over to the refrigerator to get the bowl of lobster salad. As I carried it back to the counter, my phone rang. I picked it up, glanced at the screen and frowned.

Unknown Caller.

I hesitated, tempted to let it go to voicemail, but Nick let out a sharp meow. I frowned. Maybe it was Hank. Maybe something had happened to his other phone and he was calling me from a burner phone with some news. I hit the answer icon. “Nora Charles.”

The voice that floated back

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.