And The Earth Moved: Romantic Comedy Cozy Mystery (Amber Reed CCIA Mystery Book 1) by Zanna Mackenzie Read Free Book Online Page A

check on me. 
    I turn to face him. “Somebody has been doing their homework.”
    “Of course.” He shrugs as though checking up on people is an everyday occurrence for him. Actually, it probably is. “So why didn’t you tell me you two dated?”
    “It was ten years ago. Nothing to tell.”
    “I beg to differ,” he says.
    “I didn’t think it was relevant. What difference does it make now?”
    A door slams behind us and we both turn to see Siobhan flounce towards her car, she spots Charlie and me. Smiles at Charlie and then glowers at me. What did I do now?
    “Want to come inside a minute?” he asks. “Might be better to finish this conversation somewhere more private. You’ve got time?”
    I follow him inside as Siobhan’s car disappears down the driveway with a screech of tyres and shower of gravel.
    The guest wing is every bit as amazing as I thought it might be. I’ve visited the main house many times but never the guest wing. Downstairs there’s an open plan living space complete with log burner for those chilly nights. The kitchen is a glossy red with all the top of the range appliances and sitting off to one side there’s a huge oak dining table that would easily seat ten people. The whole thing is overlooked by a glass and steel mezzanine, off which I presume are the bedrooms.
    Charlie leans against a kitchen countertop. “Look, there’s no easy way to say this but your involvement with one of the suspects…”
    I cut him off mid-sentence. “Suspects? Ennis isn’t a suspect!”
    “I’m afraid he is a suspect. Joel died whilst visiting Ennis. It’s common knowledge the two of them didn’t get on. Joel’s wayward behaviour attracted a lot of bad press and media attention, both things Ennis is keen to avoid. It’s not a huge leap from there to think he could have been involved in Joel’s death.”
    He’s speaking so calmly, so matter-of-fact but I feel anger bubble up inside me at his words. “No.” I shake my head. “Ennis would never do something like that. Absolutely not. I mean, think about it logically. Why would he hire the agency to solve the case in double quick time if he was the one who killed Joel? He’d have let the local police deal with it, not bring in specialists.”
    “Could just be calling our bluff,” he reasons. “He hires us so it looks as though he’s desperate for answers, and it means we’re reporting to him as well as to the authorities. Then he ensures he’s kept even more in the loop about progress on the investigation by asking you to help him out and shadow me. Saying it’s because he’s concerned about my trustworthiness. Now, he’s got you feeding him insider stuff too, so if necessary he can take whatever measures he needs to in order to ensure he keeps his part in the death a secret.”
    I gasp. “That’s crazy, Ennis wouldn’t…”
    “Just stop and think for a minute,” he says. “Try to take your emotions out of the equation and think with just logic.”
    Well, logically speaking, yes, it’s a possibility but in reality, no, no way.  “Ennis would never be involved in something like that.”
    He sighs. “If I had a pound for every time someone had said something like that during an investigation about a friend or member of their family I’d be a very rich man. Do you realise what percentage of victims know their attacker? It’s a lot. Ennis is on the list of suspects,” he says with finality.
    “That’s warped thinking,” I mutter unhappily.
    “That’s investigating. Sorry but that’s how it works. Anyway, their alibis aren’t watertight so we have nothing to discount Ennis or Siobhan, for that matter, from the investigation. Not yet.”
    A thought occurs to me. “Isn’t it a conflict of interest you staying here if you have Ennis on your list of suspects?”
    Charlie shrugs. “No, it’s fine, makes perfect sense. The agency will be pleased because it saves them having to pay for a hotel for me. Plus, it means I’m in