COZY MYSTERY: Murder At The Festival: A Cozy Mystery in the Mountains (Book 4) by Liz Turner Read Free Book Online

table to cool, smacking away Byron’s hand as he tried to grab one. “Not yet. Patience, young man.”
    Byron gave an exaggerated shake of his hand, “Ow. Ok. So, the thing is, I never really noticed Margie; we didn’t have too many classes together. She was taking Biology courses. But then last year, she joined my computer club. All of a sudden, she and I were hanging out a lot more, and I realized she’s actually kind of cool.”
    “Did you want to date her?”
    “To be honest? Yes, I did. But she was with a guy, and I’m not the type to encourage cheating. You know that, right?”
    “I do,” Victoria smiled. “I’ve brought you up well.”
    “Yeah sure take all the credit.” Byron rolled his eyes. “Well, anyway, Margie was really cool. She was funny, and she found me funny. Even apart from the dating thing, I was fond of her as a friend, you know?”
    “I never realized.” Victoria said sadly, “You never talked about her at home.”
    “Yeah, well, you and Aunt Karen tease me about girls a lot these days,” Byron said. “I guess I just got shy. It’s safer to just talk about Joe or Mason with you guys.”
    “I suppose it is.” Victoria made a mental note not to tease him about it again. “So, you wanted to date her and disliked Jay.”
    “I mean… I wanted to date her, but that’s not why I disliked Jay, honestly.” Byron said. “I didn't like Jay because of the way he acted. He didn’t really care about her. Just about himself. I knew a lot more about her than he ever did. I actually cared for her, unlike him.”
    Victoria sighed, wondering if Byron knew how jealous he sounded. “You can’t judge someone based on the little you see of their relationship.” She said.
    “Yeah but Marge told me stuff too,” Byron said. “Stuff like how whenever she tried to talk to Jay about computers and stuff he’d tease her for being a nerd or if she told him she liked a particular band, he’d tell her that the band wasn’t cool and that only he listened to cool music.”
    “Sounds… well, seems rude.” Victoria said. “Still, it’s typical insecure teenage boy stuff.”
    “He was controlling,” Byron said.
    “Did she say that Jay was controlling her?”
    “Not really,” Byron said. “But he told her she shouldn’t speak to me or any other boys. That’s not normal, is it?”
    No, Victoria agreed. But perhaps more of a sign of immaturity than malignancy.
    Byron kept talking. “He kept badmouthing me to her and trying to get her to stop coming to the computer club because he didn’t want us spending time together. But she kept coming. She was fascinated with computers, partly I think because her dad used to be a computer engineer.”
    “Did she ever give you signs that she was afraid of him?” Victoria asked. “Did he try and stop her talking to her other friends too?”
    “Well… no.” Byron said. “Just me, I guess. Margie was kind of loud and cheerful, so she had tons of other friends.”
    “A genuinely abusive relationship is generally marked by the person becoming isolated from all their friends over a period of time,” Victoria said. “They were together two years. Did she get more introverted? Did she stop speaking to her friends?”
    Byron considered this. “No. She was still very extroverted. She was always hanging out with her friends. She hated being home alone so she was with Rebecca and Janie; they’re her two best friends. Also, she spent a lot of time with Jay and his friends, a mixed group of skateboarders.”
    Victoria nodded. “How about physical abuse? Did you ever see her with bruises? Did she wear long sleeves on hot days or use extra makeup?”
    “She hated to wear makeup, and I’ve never seen bruises on her,” Byron admitted. “Though…”
    “Yes?”
    “Last night, at the party, something happened,” Byron said. “She broke up with Jay last night, you know? She told him it just wasn’t working anymore. She told him that she’d started