Hot Money by Sherryl Woods Read Free Book Online Page B

pieces three times as valuable.”
    Molly glanced at the other end of the buffet table where a heavy, ornate candlestick still held a softly glowing candle. She could think of one distinct reason someone might need such an object. It would make a dandy murder weapon.

CHAPTER
FIVE
    The expression on Michael’s face was not particularly welcoming when Molly came tearing back around to the terrace where she’d left him and Liza comparing notes on the murder.
    “Where did you run off to this time?” he inquired testily.
    “You won’t be quite so cranky when I tell you what I discovered,” Molly retorted.
    “Try me.”
    “I’ve found the murder weapon. Well, I haven’t found it exactly, but I know what it was.”
    He refused to look impressed. “Considering that no one has established that Tessa Lafferty was murdered, that’s quite a feat,” he said.
    She decided to ignore his stubborn denial of something everyone else on the grounds accepted as true. The police were certainly treating the death as if it were a homicide, even if the word hadn’t been used yet. That was enough for Molly.
    “A silver candlestick is missing from the buffet table,” she said, deciding no embellishment was needed. Michael would get the implication. She noted the reluctant spark of interest in his eyes with satisfaction.
    “Are you trying to suggest that Tessa Lafferty went for a stroll with someone toting along a heavy candlestick?” he inquired doubtfully. “Wouldn’t she have noticed?”
    It was a reasonable question. Molly had already thought of it. She had an answer. “If the murderer was a woman, it could have been in her purse.”
    Michael cast a significant look at the tiny evening bag in her hand, then glanced at Liza. She carried no purse at all.
    “Okay, yes, mine’s too small,” Molly conceded. “But we won’t know about the others until we look.”
    “You’re wasting your time. There’s not a woman in the place carrying a purse large enough to conceal more than a tube of lipstick and maybe a solid gold compact,” Liza chimed in.
    “Have the two of you spent the evening checking out every woman’s purse?” Molly shot back irritably. If she couldn’t find a logical means for the killer to have gotten that candlestick from the buffet table to the murder site she saw her discovery’s importance diminishing.
    “No. I have a thing for observing likely places to conceal a murder weapon,” Michael countered. “It’s just one of those things cops do instinctively.”
    Molly caught the slip and beamed. “Then you do agree, albeit somewhat belatedly, that it was murder?”
    “I agree that’s one possibility,” he conceded with obvious reluctance.
    “That’s a start,” Molly said, gleefully determined to pursue what was clearly the best lead they had. “If the candlestick was the murder weapon, then maybe somebody arranged a rendezvous with Tessa, sneaked up behind her, and knocked her out. Anyone could have slipped through the shadows with that candlestick without anyone noticing. I’ll bet it’s at the bottom of the bay even as we speak.”
    “I’ll mention the possibility to the investigating officer,” Michael said dutifully. “Then I suggest we get out of here.”
    “Now? But what about the investigation?”
    “It’s under control without your help.”
    “I just meant it seems early to be releasing suspects.”
    “You consider yourself a suspect? I’ll admit I found your reluctance to dip your toes in the water a bit suspicious, but I never really considered the possibility that you might know Tessa Lafferty’s body was in there.”
    Molly scowled at his good-natured sarcasm. “There are times, Michael O’Hara, when I find you incredibly irritating.”
    “I know the feeling. Liza, do you want to ride home with us?”
    “Shouldn’t I stay?”
    “If the police are through questioning you, I don’t see why. They’ll want a formal statement tomorrow, but tonight I think, for all