As Gouda as Dead by Avery Aames Read Free Book Online Page B

robbery or a beating?”
    â€œOr he saw a bear roaming the streets or a missing kid whose face is on a milk carton.”
    â€œDon’t tease.”
    Urso sighed. “Please, I beg you, don’t think about this. It’s my job.”
    â€œAnd Tim was my friend.
Our
friend. Jordan’s friend, too.” Tim and Jordan had knocked back more beers than Urso and Tim had, and they’d talked about their mutual affection for the restaurant business. And music. Both men loved jazz and the blues. “Tim deserves swift justice. You need everyone’s input to get this solved.”
    â€œI’ll consider whatever you say. Fair?”
    I nodded.
    Urso scrubbed his dark hair with his fingertips then beckoned Jordan. “Would you mind taking Charlotte home? I need my deputies to remain here, and I don’t think she should stay the night, in case—”
    â€œIn case what?” I asked. “In case I have more theories? In case I—”
    â€œHold on,” Urso snapped. “Don’t get defensive. I just said I’d take your hunches into account. But I don’t want you here in case the killer decides to come back.”
    I threw a panicked look at Jordan.
    â€œDon’t worry.” Jordan ran a hand along my arm. I’d never seen him look so shattered. His jaw was tight, his right cheek twitching. Obviously finding a dead body—not just any dead body; a friend’s body—on his farm was sapping him of his usual verve and focus. “Whoever killed Tim is not coming back, not with all these cops around.” Jordan glowered at Urso for even suggesting the idea. “But the chief is right. You should go home.” He steered me toward his Explorer.
    On the drive, we didn’t talk about the murder. We didn’t talk about our bachelor and bachelorette parties. We kept silent, the hum of the heater and my occasional involuntary moans the only sounds to disturb the night.
    After he checked out my place to make sure all the windows and doors were secure, my cat Rags trailing us and chugging his concern, Jordan drew me into his arms.
    â€œJordan, I’m scared.”
    â€œI told you, with the police at the farm—”
    â€œNo. Not for you. Not for me. For Providence. How many murders can this town handle before the tourists are convinced to stay away and the locals are compelled to move? There’s already one Providence in Ohio that’s a ghost town. I don’t want there to be a second.”
    â€œSweetheart, you know our town is no more dangerous than the next one. We’ve just had our bad luck of it lately.”
    â€œWhat about your farm? What’s going to happen to it?”
    He ran his hand along the back of my head and sighed.
    â€œOne day at a time?” I whispered.
    He forced a tight smile. “That’s my motto.” He kissed me gently. “Get some sleep. Things will look brighter in the morning. In fact, tomorrow, why don’t you put Rebecca in charge of the shop? Then pick up some of those pastries I like, and come back to the farm. I’ll whip you up breakfast, and we’ll make a new memory.”

CHAPTER

    After Jordan left, I called Tyanne. I didn’t want her to hear the news from anyone else. The poor thing burst into heaving sobs. I asked if she wanted company, but she begged off. She would rally, she said. A Southern belle always did. Next, I called Rebecca to fill her in. She, too, broke down. When she regained her composure, I asked her to man the shop in the morning. Her response was so spirited, you would have thought I’d asked her to defend her country. I made two more calls to Delilah and my grandmother, and then I crawled into bed and allowed Rags to cuddle me. However, I didn’t sleep more than a total of fifteen minutes, because I kept having horrid dreams of my wedding day becoming a shambles, or cows attacking trucks, or rivers of milk flooding and destroying