1 Hairspray and Homicide by Cindy Bell Read Free Book Online Page A

Bekki. "Can you imagine sharing a table with the man who killed the love of your life?"
    Bekki shook her head slowly. Something was not sitting right with her. She was dying to hear exactly what the two men were saying. She was just about to stand up and see if she could get a closer table, when Shara returned with their meals.
    "Here you go," she smiled at each of them, as if expecting more girl talk.
    "Thanks," Bekki said in a rushed voice as she tried to peer around Shara to Pete's table. By the time the waitress walked away, Teddy was gone, and Pete was picking at his food again.
    "That's it," Bekki said sternly and tossed her napkin down. "I'm going to find out what they were talking about."
    "No," Sammy pleaded and tried to grab Bekki's hand to stop her, but Bekki ignored her. She strode right up to Pete's table and sat down across from him. Pete's mouth dropped open, dribbling a bit of his stew from his bottom lip as he met her fierce blue eyes.
    "B-bekki," he stammered. He remembered her better than she expected, which she thought was fairly odd since she could not recall their lives crossing paths too often even when she was a child.
    "Pete," she replied and glanced quickly around the restaurant before leaning across the table. "I'm sorry for your loss," she said carefully, wanting to gauge his emotional reaction. His expression shifted swiftly, in such a way that she did not expect. Instead of appearing grief stricken, or even guilty, he seemed to become enraged.
    "How dare you?" he shouted and shoved his chair back from the table. "How dare you sit at my table after what you did to Daisy?"
    Bekki stared at him in shock and attempted to recover quickly. "I didn't do anything to Daisy," she insisted.
    "Don't you lie to me!" Pete roared and soon the entire restaurant was staring at them. "I know you killed her, and I have the proof that you did!"
    "I did not!" Bekki shouted back as she stood up from her chair as well, ignoring the shocked glances and gasps from the few customers and the kitchen staff. "I had nothing to do with her death. In fact, I think her lover might have had something to do with it!"
    Pete glared heatedly at her as he jabbed a finger in her direction. "All right it's true, Daisy and I were lovers, there aren't too many people that don't know that. But they all know I had nothing to do with it. What I have proves it!" he declared.
    "What is that?" Nick's impossibly well-timed voice called out.
    Bekki turned to face him and when he glanced at her the fury in his eyes was so intense that she was silenced before she could even muster a defense.
    "Show me this evidence," Nick encouraged Pete.
    "Why isn't she in jail?" Pete demanded harshly. "After what she did to my poor sweet Daisy, she should be locked up!"
    Nick shot a glance in Bekki's direction as if to make sure she was not going anywhere, and then returned his attention to Pete.
    "Then where is the proof?" he pressed and moved closer to the irate man.
    "Right here," Pete barked back and picked up his cell phone. He played a message that he received on his phone.
    "Help," came the muffled voice on the message. "Help please! Bekki's gone crazy!" the high pitched squeal was full of panic. Bekki's heart stopped as she heard it. In truth it was impossible to tell if it was Daisy's voice because of all the noise and interference in the message.
    "What were you doing to her?" Pete asked, his eyes gleaming. "When she left this message, were you kicking her? Were you chasing her? Did it all make you feel good Bekki?"
    Bekki took a step back but before she could move another inch, Nick's hand was wound around the crook of her elbow and was holding on tightly.
    "Uh uh," he said firmly as he met her eyes. "You're not going anywhere."
    Bekki could feel the push of his gaze as if it had a physical force to it, before he turned it back to the people gathered in the restaurant.
    "All right everyone calm down now, nothing to see here," he held out his free hand