An Appointment With Murder by Jennifer L. Jennings;John Simon Read Free Book Online

mind. We can do it some other time. I’ve got things to do anyway.”
    “Well, it’s just that Kerry’s having people over after the game. We were going to order pizza or something.”
    “Sure. Go ahead. Have fun. Leave your old mom in the dust. I’m used to it by now.”
    “Thanks, Mom. See you later, okay?”
    The joys of having a teenager. Maybe someday, I thought, he’ll actually want to spend time with me again.
    I tossed my cell on the seat and decided to make a note of Lindy’s plate number. My concentration was broken by a loud knock on my car window. I jumped and looked up to see the man I’d seen walking his dog earlier. He motioned for me to roll down my window. Cracking it no more than an inch, I smiled and said, “Can I help you with something?”
    “Actually, I thought I might be able to help you,” he said, all smiles and bad teeth. “I noticed a scratch in the paint on the side of your car, and, well, you see, I own a body shop here in town. Here’s my card if you’d like me to fix it for you.”
    “Oh. Thank you,” I said, taking the card and waving goodbye. Some nerve. The dog walking was probably the guy’s way of scoping out the neighborhood every day for prospective customers.
    As man and dog walked off, I glanced back at the coffee shop again. Lindy’s car was gone! Looking up the road and seeing nothing, I pounded the steering wheel. After a few minutes of cursing myself for being so stupid, I looked down at the license number I’d jotted down in my notebook. What was I going to do with it? If I called Detective Flynn, how would I explain following someone halfway across town on a hunch that got me essentially nowhere? Instead, I called Gabby.
    “Hey, it’s Sarah,” I said when she answered. “Wanna go out for margaritas tonight? I need to fill you in on some things. And I could really use some advice. My treat.”
    Gabby accepted without hesitation. “I can meet you at six. Usual place?”
    “Yeah. Thanks. See you then, Gab.”
    Later that evening, sipping margaritas with her at my favorite bar, Coco’s Cantina, I told Gabby about Lindy. So engrossed was she in the tale of my brief stint as private investigator that she’d drunk almost her entire margarita.
    “So what happened after you followed her to the cafe?”
    “Nothing is what happened. Some guy knocked on my window trying to sell me something and when I looked back at her car, it was gone,” I shook my head. “She couldn’t have been in that café more than five minutes.”
    “Wow. Guess you better not quit your day job.”
    “No shit.”
    “What would you have done, anyway? Confront her?” Gabby licked some salt from the rim of her glass.
    “I hadn’t really thought it through. I was acting on impulse.”
    “Hey, look, maybe we should go to the police and tell them about all of this. Let them sort it out. It is not your responsibility, or your burden, to solve Beth’s murder.” Gabby rested a hand on my shoulder.
    “It’s not just about Beth, you know. Her killer attacked me, too. I need to figure this out,” I said, staring into what little was left of my own drink.
    “Yeah. I figured as much. You’re a stubborn bitch, you know that?” Gabby smiled and punched me gently on the arm.
    “By the way, did you know Beth has a gorgeous brother named Max? I met him the other day.”
    “Really? How? What?” Gabby couldn’t find the words to phrase the question she wanted to ask.
    “He must have known about me from Beth. I was at the coffee shop and he just came in, sat down next to me, and introduced himself.”
    “How’d he know you’d be there?”
    “I don’t really know, come to think of it. He didn’t say.”
    “Sounds a little creepy to me.”
    “He was nice enough.”
    “So what’d he have to say?”
    “He wanted to talk about Beth. He seems to think Jacob may have had something to do with her death. He’s not a big fan of Beth’s fiancé.”
    “But why would he think that? I