A MATCH MADE IN MURDER (The Wedding Planner Mysteries Book 5) by Jeanine Spooner Read Free Book Online Page A

Kitty. Why would Kitty be sleeping on the couch?”
                  “Did he walk in the front door?” Harrison challenged.
                  Sterling didn’t want to have to include Kitty, but now it was imperative. He waved her over.
                  “Did you lock the front door after you let Layla in? Or before you went to bed?”
                  Kitty thought hard then remembered. “Yes.”
                  Sterling locked eyes with Harrison.
                  The lieutenant was the one to state what had happened. “He knocked on the door. He grabbed the woman who answered. He had every reason to believe it was who he was after.”
                  Sterling felt like he could spit.
                  “No signs of a struggle,” Harrison commented, glancing back at the body.
                  “It’s the necklace that killed her.”
                  Then Kitty had a question. “Why would Layla let a stranger put a necklace around her neck especially if the guy came in the middle of the night? That makes no sense.”
                  “Be honest, sweetheart,” said Harrison. “What type of girl was she?”
                  Kitty turned cross taking immediate offense. “I beg your pardon?”
                  “Kitty, please,” Sterling said to calm her before she could explode. “He knows what he’s doing. You gotta trust that Harrison’s questions are crucial.”
                  “If you’re insinuating that my cousin was some kind of lady of the night who throws caution to the wind and gets herself killed, you’ve got some nerve!”
                  “What if he knocked on the door,” Sterling offered. “Placed the necklace down and hid. She sees it, puts it on. Drops dead—” with a glance at Kitty he added, “Sorry. Then he simply closes the door and drags her off into the woods.”
                  “He didn’t close the door,” Kitty interjected. “But that sounds possible.”
                  Harrison scrutinized her as though he could read in her eyes whether or not she liked the scenario because it made her cousin more a victim and less an imbecile.
                  “The gravel near the door is stripped away and disheveled,” she went on, giving reasons why Sterling’s suggestion lined up.
                  Sterling heard men's voices from the clearing, which Kitty had also noticed, turning to face the field.
                  A few officers stalked up. Behind them were Sterling’s dad, Steve, and his Uncle Grady. It was the sight of his family that had Sterling suddenly caving under his emotions. Kitty grabbed his arm then wrapped it around her shoulder so he could lean on her. It was embarrassing, but if he kept his reaction purely physical he might be able to hide from Harrison the tears that stung his eyes.
                  “I’m gonna give it to you straight, Kid,” said Harrison. “You can’t work this case. Period. You also can’t stay in that house. It’s a crime scene as far as I’m concerned.”
                  Sterling swallowed hard, but didn’t argue.
                  “Go on,” his lieutenant ordered. “Pack a few bags. Check into a hotel. We’ll take it from here.”
                  “I have to call my parents,” Kitty stated, supporting Harrison’s reasons that they ought to shuffle off. “And my poor aunt,” she added with shrill and sudden horror. “Oh God.”
                  Sterling’s legs felt less like rubber so he straightened up and started toward Steve and Grady with Kitty beside him.
                  Harrison had one last thing to say. “Wrack your brain, Slaughter. And call me if you’ve got any names worth looking