Ghost On Duty (Destiny Bay Cozy Mysteries Book 2) by J. D. Winters Read Free Book Online Page B

that?”
    “I have my sources too.”
    She swore softly. “Okay, I served my time. I paid my debt to society. I’m an honorable person. But yes, I did try to kill the jerk. I had high emotions at the time.”
    “I see.”
    “But I never, ever tried to kill anyone else. Cross my heart, honey. I wouldn’t hurt a fly ordinarily.”
    “Just when your emotions are high.”
    “Right.”
    “Got it.”
    I promised to get back to her if I found out anything she could use. That didn’t make her very happy but it was the best I could do. I hung up and frowned, thinking about the captain. I didn’t know for sure but I had a feeling he wasn’t supposed to talk about suspects like that. Who else had he told that I was in his cross hairs? How on earth had that man become my enemy without me even noticing?
    But I didn’t have time to dwell on it. I looked in on Bebe and Gary. They were leaning close over their cups of coffee, talking earnestly, and I decided not to bother them with aimless conversation. I changed into a light wool pants suit, white and blue with kind of a nautical flare. A glance in the mirror told me it looked pretty good on me, and I got ready to head out to the Victorian Village where I was going to meet Lance for a tour through the houses.  
    But first I wanted to check on the silver cat. I hadn’t seen him all morning, though Sami was underfoot every time I walked from one room to another. I’d tried to keep Silver in since this was a strange house to him and I was hoping to get him used to it before I let him out—but I was afraid he’d gotten out anyway.
    I slipped out the back door into the garden. Even in the middle of winter, Bebe had flowers and vegetables in raised beds all over, some covered with greenhouse structures, some out in the winter coolness on their own. It was like a maze of greenery, with a few blossoms here and there to brighten the scene, even while the skies were filled with fog and clouds. It was going to be a cool day.
    I looked around. No cat. I really hoped he hadn’t gone far but I didn’t have time to look for him. Suddenly I noticed Aunty Jane walking between the rows, her straw hat set jauntily on her grey curls, her Hawaiian muumuu a splash of crimson color that couldn’t help but make you smile on this gray morning.
    “Aunty Jane,” I called out. “Have you seen a silver cat? I brought him home two days ago and he’s missing.”
    She stopped, looked back at me and got a frightened look on her face. I went around a tall greenhouse panel to meet her at the end of the row, but by the time I got there, she’d vanished like smoke.  
    I sighed. It was hardly surprising. She was pretty shy and she was a ghost, after all. I was just going to have to hope for the best where Silver was concerned.  
    The drive to Victorian Village was only about five minutes. I met Lance in the parking lot of a small neighborhood grocery store, just as we’d planned. He got out of his car and I got out of mine and he gazed meltingly at me as we met in the middle of the space between us.  
    “Mele,” he said. “You look lovely this morning.” For a second I thought he was going to kiss my hand, but he merely shook it with extra affection.  
    That gave me a bit of a start. I mean, this was really nice. He really liked me. Lance was a rich guy and he was definitely acting like he was interested. I’d never snagged myself a rich guy before. For just a moment, it was tempting to play into that and see how far I could get.  
    “Nice to see you too, Lance,” I said. “Thanks for agreeing to take me on this tour. I’m looking forward to meeting some of the tenants and seeing what they’ve cooked up for the pageant.”
    He began giving me some tips on what to look for and who I’d want to talk to. I watched him talk and it occurred to me that there seemed to be a line of tension around his mouth that I hadn’t noticed before. His eyes looked blood-shot, with deep dark circles