Death Before Diamonds (Sky High Pies Cozy Mysteries Book 10) by Mary Maxwell Read Free Book Online Page B

color for you.”
    I smiled. “Thanks, handsome. This
one’s black, but I appreciate the compliment.”
    He leaned closer, studying my
sleeve. “Looks blue to me, Katie. Maybe it’s the lighting in here.”
    “It doesn’t really matter,” I said.
“It was sweet of you to say something.”
    He raised my hand to his lips,
kissed it gently and then squeezed. “I think you look fantastic wearing any
color, babe. Or, for that matter, not wearing any color at all besides your
birthday—”
    “Look who’s here!” someone squealed.
“It’s the cutest couple in town!”
    We both glanced up to find Marion
McGill standing beside the table. The slender fiftysomething brunette was
wearing a tailored blue blazer over a white cashmere turtleneck and black leather
pants. She and her husband owned Crescent Creek Animal Clinic, where they
tended to a wide array of pets and their human companions. Marion and Herb met and
fell in love when they were both enrolled in the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine
Program at Colorado State. Although they briefly flirted with the idea of
relocating to Arizona or New Mexico after graduation, they decided to stick
closer to home when the Animal Clinic’s previous owner announced that he was
hanging up his stethoscope for good. The fact that the retiring vet was also Herb’s
father helped the couple decide to stay in Colorado.
    “How are you, Marion?” I asked.
    “Can’t complain,” she said, sitting
in one of the empty chairs at our table. “How are you kids doing?”
    “We’re both good,” I answered.
“Where’s Herb?”
    She nodded at the front door. “He
and Pete are parking the car.”
    “Oh, that’s nice,” I said. “I ran
into Pete at Tipton’s not too long ago, but I haven’t seen Sheila for ages.”
    Marion’s expression darkened. “I
guess that you didn’t hear the news,” she said glumly. “Blanche Speltzer found
out yesterday, so I figured everyone within a thousand-mile radius would’ve
heard by now.”
    “What news?” I asked as Zack
covered his mouth to keep from laughing. “I saw Blanche earlier, but she didn’t
say anything.”
    “Well, it seems that my dear,
darling brother-in-law is having a massive midlife crisis,” Marion said,
lowering her voice. “He and Sheila are taking some time to figure out…” The
front door opened and she paused briefly to see the new arrivals. “I don’t want
Pete to think that I’m talking about it behind his back,” she continued when a
family of four stepped in from the sidewalk. “Even though that’s absurd because
everyone in here is going to see him in that ridiculous—”
    She stopped when the door opened
again, watching silently as her husband and brother-in-law walked into the
café. Herb McGill was dressed in his usual attire: dark business suit, crisp
white shirt and colorful patterned bowtie. His brother Pete, walking a few
steps behind, looked like the polar opposite of his shipshape sibling.
    “Is that a caftan?” Zack whispered,
staring at Pete’s long belted tunic. “Or a circus tent?”
    “ Neither !” Marion snapped.
“It’s his stage costume for the stupid band that he started! They
have a gig later tonight at a private event.”
    “Pete’s in a band?” I said in
disbelief. “What about the plumbing business?”
    Marion scowled, watching the McGill
brothers as they moved across the crowded room. A few diners stared silently at
Pete’s peculiar attire, but most continued eating and talking without noticing
the duo.
    “They both inherited a boatload of
money from a distant relative a couple of months ago,” she quickly explained.
“Herb and I are using our share to start a scholarship for veterinary students
at CSU. Pete decided the windfall was a sign from somewhere up above that it
was time to fulfill his childhood fantasy of being a rock star. He put an ad in Boulder Buzz for musicians, bought a dozen of those silly tunics and
converted the garage at his office into a