Dead Ringer by Sarah Fox Read Free Book Online

noticing. We chatted some more about his time in Australia as he finished preparing our meal, and soon he was refilling our wineglasses and setting out plates of shrimp scampi on the table.
    The meal smelled delicious, and Hans lit two candles on the table before sitting down, adding some romance to the evening as the sun set and the natural light from the bay window dimmed.
    As I took my first bite of the shrimp scampi, I almost sighed with pleasure. “This tastes amazing,” I told him. “You’re a man of many talents.”
    â€œI’d like to think so.”
    His words, together with the glint in his eyes, made me blush again. This time he noticed. He smiled, the laugh lines at the corners of his eyes crinkling in a way I found charming and attractive.
    â€œWhat are we going to do now without Jeremy?” I asked. “Do you have another ringer lined up?”
    Hans swallowed a bite of food and nodded. “I have someone in mind. I’m just waiting to hear back from her. If all goes well, she’ll be at tomorrow’s rehearsal.”
    â€œI still can’t believe he’s dead,” I said, twirling some pasta around my fork. “Murdered. Who would do such a thing?”
    â€œI don’t know. But it wouldn’t surprise me if Jeremy had made several enemies in his lifetime. You know what he was like.”
    I nodded. I did know what he was like. But still, disliking someone wasn’t enough reason to kill them. At least, not in my book. But maybe someone out there was missing a few pages from their mental symphony. Or maybe somebody, for whatever reason, had hated Jeremy with a passion. Who knew? Not me. I hoped the police would figure it out, though.
    â€œIn fact,” Hans went on, after taking a drink of his wine, “he didn’t even seem to get along with Reverend McAllister.”
    â€œReverend McAllister? What do you mean?”
    â€œWhen I arrived for the rehearsal yesterday, Jeremy was already there. I caught a glimpse of him having a hushed but very heated discussion with the reverend.”
    I took a second to digest that information. “Did you tell this to the police?”
    â€œOf course.”
    â€œYou didn’t hear what they were arguing about?”
    Hans shook his head. “I couldn’t make out any words. When they caught sight of me, they broke off their argument rather hastily and went their separate ways.”
    How curious. I thought things over as I ate more of my dinner, and soon realized that something was nagging at me. “How did Jeremy even know Reverend McAllister?” I asked. “That was our first rehearsal at the church.”
    â€œAh, but Jeremy helped out with the youth orchestra that rehearses there on a regular basis. He probably ran into the reverend from time to time.”
    Right. Jeremy had mentioned his work with the youth orchestra. I’d simply forgotten about it until Hans mentioned it. I almost forgot about it again when Hans reached across the table and covered my hand with his.
    â€œLet’s not talk about Jeremy or murder anymore tonight. I’m sure there are far more pleasant things we could do.”
    My heart did something crazy in my chest and my head felt light and pleasantly woozy. I didn’t think it had anything to do with the wine. We finished up our meal, talking mostly about music and my work as a violin teacher.
    After Hans had rinsed the dishes and put them in the dishwasher, he held up what remained of the bottle of wine. “Another drink?”
    â€œNo, thanks. I’m fine.” I’d already had two glasses and wanted to keep my mind clear.
    â€œHow about we go into the living room?” Hans suggested. “I’ll turn on the fireplace.”
    He took my hand and I let him lead me down the hallway to the front of the house. He switched on the gas fireplace and turned back to me, taking both of my hands in his.
    â€œThank you for coming