Bound To Die: A Cozy Mystery (Strawberry Shores Mystery Book 1) by Mak K. Han Read Free Book Online

he was telling the truth. That's how I knew that robber didn't have a gun. There was a radio in the gas station. I asked him if he had a gun, and when he said yes, I heard the static. Right then, I knew he was lying. That's also how I know Harold is afraid of mice. There was a radio nearby when I asked him, and he said he wasn't afraid of mice. When he said that, I heard the static.”
    Alex stared at me for a moment. “Laura, that sounds completely bonkers.”
    I shrugged. “Fine. Whatever.”
    Emily wrapped herself in her blanket and plodded over to me. “I'm not so sure, Alex. Laura—what am I thinking right now?”
    “That's not how it works, Emily.”
    Alex threw her hands up. “Fine. Let's test it. Where do you have a radio?”
    I pointed to the kitchen. Alex shuffled into the kitchen, grabbed the radio, and brought it back. She turned it on and then sat on the coffee table before me.
    “Okay,” she said. “Ask me something.”
    I rolled my eyes. “What's your name?”
    “Alex. Come on, something you don't already know.”
    I chewed it over for a moment. “What's your middle name?”
    “Francine.”
    Static.
    “No it isn't.”
    Alex furrowed her brow. “Okay, maybe that was an easy one. It's actually Juliet.”
    Static.
    “No it isn't.”
    “Georgia.”
    “Nope.”
    “Christine.”
    “Nope.”
    “Dawson.”
    “Nope.”
    “Jade.”
    “Bingo. Alex Jade Shade? You must have tortured your parents for that one.”
    Alex's face reddened. “It's my mother's maiden name. Okay, a few more questions.”
    Alex had more than a few more questions. She had about a hundred. They all went about the same as the middle name interrogation. Every time she was lying, I knew. Every time she was telling the truth, I knew.”
    Finally, an hour later, Alex retreated to the sofa, defeated. For the first time ever, I saw Alex speechless. Emily, convinced after about three questions, had lost interest and dozed off in the recliner about twenty minutes earlier.
    “Wow,” Alex said finally. “It's true.”
    I nodded.
    “So why not just line up the suspects and ask them if they killed Mr. Brooks or not?” she asked.
    “I'd thought of that,” I explained. “First, I'd have to get them all near a radio. Then, suppose it's none of the people we suspect? What, am I going to ask everyone in Strawberry Shores? And suppose I do ask everyone in Strawberry Shores. Then what? I know who killed Mr. Brooks, but I have no way to prove it. Even if Sheriff Caldwell put me through the same round of questions you just put me through, he'd assume it was some kind of trick. The fact of the matter is, there's no way 'psychic testimony' is going to hold up in a court.”
    Alex rubbed her eyes. “I see your point. Still, there has to be something you can do. Sheriff Caldwell is useless. He's usually too drunk to bust teenagers for skateboarding. How's he going to solve a murder case?”
    “I'm not looking to be a hero,” I said.
    “No, maybe not,” Alex pressed. “But still. You have something special. You have a gift. You—”
    A loud bang cut Alex off mid-sentence. Emily screeched and sat straight up in the chair. She looked around in a daze, wisps of blond hair floating in front of her eyes. “What was that?”
    I jumped to my feet. I had a sneaky suspicion. I crossed the room to the window and looked down. The bulkhead doors had broken open—the bang was one of the doors striking the siding. “It's just the bulkhead,” I called over my shoulder. “It's fine. I'll have to call to have it fixed. Until then, let me run downstairs and jury-rig it.”
    I left Alex and Emily up in the living room as I started for the basement, intending to secure the bulkhead door with a pair of bungee cords. As I descended the steps, however, I got to thinking that maybe Alex was right.
    Maybe I could help out.

Chapter 12
    What are you doing here?
    It was the question I started asking myself the instant I stepped onto library property. Most