Bubblegum Blonde by Anna Snow Read Free Book Online Page B

had been murdered.
    I stood still for a moment and took in my surroundings. The freaking room was as big as my tiny house.
    The spacious area held a massive television, large four-poster bed, two nightstands, several bookcases holding everything ranging from books to DVDs, family pictures, and Fabergé eggs.
    I'd always hated those ghastly eggs.
    I spotted a door further along the room, most likely to a bathroom, and to my right I found another door that I assumed led to a closet. I hurried across the room and twisted the knob closest to me. Sure enough, it was a walk-in.
    Boy was it a closet.
    There wasn't an inch of free space. The racks were bursting with both men's and women's clothing, shoes, bags, accessories, hats, and much more.
    This closet made mine look like the storage room in a Goodwill store. I was perfectly happy with broken-in jeans, vintage T-shirts, Converse tennis shoes, and a few dressy outfits for those occasions and undercover jobs that I couldn't get out of.
    I stepped inside and did a slow spin in the center of the room. Strangely enough, I noticed that there were no boxes to rummage through. The drawer fronts were glass, and even I cringed at their tackiness. What kind of idiot would hide evidence of a murder in a glass-front anything? I felt around in the drawers anyway, just in case I was wrong. When I felt nothing but silky clothing and socks, I closed the drawers and stepped back out into the bedroom.
    The room was so clean and orderly that one would never suspect a murder had taken place. No bloodstains on the carpet and no bullet holes riddled the walls. Not that I expected to walk in and see a chalk outline on the floor and crime-scene tape everywhere. It had been weeks since Lydia Hatchett was murdered, but I had to admit that I was a little let down. This being my first murder investigation, I suppose I was hoping for a little more, I don't know, excitement maybe?
    The sound of my footsteps was absorbed by the plush wall-to-wall carpet as I found my way to the nightstand closest to the entrance.
    I knew the chances of finding anything in the nightstands that would aid in my investigation would be slim to none, but I had to try. Sometimes the police missed things or passed them over thinking they were unimportant and had nothing to do with the case. I'm not saying cops are completely incompetent baboons. I mean, some are, but sometimes the smallest of items are overlooked and end up having the biggest impact on a case.
    I pulled open the nightstand drawer and frowned. From the contents of the nightstand I was obviously on Robert's side of the bed. There was an old pair of reading glasses, one of his business cards, a roll of Tums, two expired condoms, lotion, a travel pack of tissues, and a DVD copy of Busty MILF's IV
    I slid the drawer closed and quelled a shudder as an image of what Hatchett did with the drawer's contents crawled unwelcome through my mind. I shook away the gag-inducing image and made my way to the other side of the bed.
    I knelt down in front of the second nightstand and pulled out the drawer. I was surprised to see little to nothing in this one as well. There was a tube of hand cream, a sleep mask, and a copy of Reader's Digest . I'd already decided that if there was a copy of Burly DILF's IV in this drawer, I was going to die.
    I removed the items and shook out the magazine to make sure there weren't any notes tucked away inside, but nothing fell out.
    I tossed the tube of hand cream back into the drawer and then paused when a hollow bong sounded. I picked up the tube again, dropped it into the drawer, and was once again met with the same hollow sound.
    I snatched the cream from the drawer, tossed it onto the floor, and knocked against the bottom of the drawer in a straight line with the knuckle of my middle finger. Sure enough, when I reached the center of the drawer, the thumping became hollow. I slid my hand along the bottom until I reached the middle. I felt a faint