Dolled Up to Die by Lorena McCourtney Read Free Book Online Page B

whisper.
    “But she’d already been questioned out at the house.”
    “I know,” Donna said in a tone that put ominous significance on the double questioning.
    “She can’t go back to the house yet?”
    “The officer said they weren’t finished there.”
    Cate scrunched the phone closer to her ear. “I’m sorry, but I can barely hear you.”
    “I don’t know if Jo-Jo would want me to call you. I waited until after she went to bed, but she may not be asleep yet.” A pause, as if Donna were listening for something from the bedroom, then another whisper. “I know you said you weren’t investigating Eddie’s death, but I think you should be.”
    “Why is that?”
    “I stayed home from work today because I was concerned about Jo-Jo being here alone. She still seems so dazed. I probably shouldn’t have listened in when the deputy questioned her, but I kind of . . . did.”
    “What kind of questions were they?”
    “Oh, mostly about where she was, and who she’d talked to. It certainly sounds to me as if they suspect Jo-Jo killed him, though I don’t think she realizes that yet. She’s just too upset to think clearly about anything.”
    “Why would they be suspicious of Jo-Jo?”
    “Oh, you know. There are . . . peculiarities.”
    Cate had to agree with that, although she wasn’t about to offer her own list of peculiarities. One thing she hadn’t thought about before occurred to her now. It had seemed accidental when Jo-Jo picked up the gun beside Eddie’s body, then dropped it in apparent horror, but could the police be thinking that might not have been accidental? That she was cleverly making a legitimate reason for her prints to be on the gun to conceal the fact that they were already there?
    “Are you suspicious of her?” Cate asked bluntly.
    “No! Of course not. Jo-Jo’s my friend. I’ve known her for years. She’s a wonderful woman.”
    Cate thought that statement came with more hasty indignation than actual conviction, and she had the feeling that Donna did have suspicions about her old friend. Still, Belmont Investigations did not do murder.
    “It sounds as if the sheriff’s office is simply doing a thorough investigation,” Cate said. “Actually, law enforcement officers usually treat any death that isn’t natural as a possible crime.” That information had come from Cate’s middle-of-the-night reading. “It doesn’t necessarily mean they’re suspicious of Jo-Jo.”
    “They sounded suspicious of Jo-Jo to me.” Donna sounded accusing, as if she thought Cate was shirking her duty.
    “A private investigator can’t just barge in and start investigating the way law enforcement officers do,” Cate pointed out. “It’s their job to investigate any unnatural death, but aPI doesn’t have that right. It would probably be a good idea for Jo-Jo to talk to a lawyer.”
    “Okay. I’ll tell her.”
    Cate started to hang up, but curiosity got the better of her. “By the way, I understand Eddie’s new wife has a store or shop of some kind. Do you know anything about it?”
    “The Mystic Mirage,” Donna said promptly. “Lots of incense and crystals and candles. Tarot cards. Astrology stuff. Jewelry and some clothing, with a big emphasis on natural fabrics and dyes.” Donna spoke in a disparaging tone, but then, as if she made the admission reluctantly, she added, “Although some of it is rather attractive, especially the antique jewelry and the leather sandals. In a, um . . .”
    Cate filled in with Robyn’s word. “Funky-fashionable way?”
    “Yes, funky. But I found her selection of books really disturbing. Everything from New Agey spiritual stuff to books about Atlantis and out-of-body experiences. UFO books, even some on witchcraft and the occult. Creepy.”
    “You’ve been there?”
    Moment of silence, as if Donna realized she’d again revealed too much. “These friends from Portland—”
    Cate let her off the hook, although she suspected nosiness rather than