Murder Unmentionable by Meg London Read Free Book Online

policeman answered. “Wegot ourselves a real, live dead body.” His face paled suddenly, and he swayed slightly.
    “No kidding, Einstein.” The other policeman shuffled from foot to foot, staring at Guy’s body. “We haven’t had one of these since 2004 when Mrs. McGillicuddy came home early and found her husband in bed with the neighbor. Missed the neighbor, but she nailed him good.” He circled Guy slowly then looked at Emma.
    Emma glanced at the shiny badge pinned to his uniform. Officer Joe Kenny.
    “Who is this guy? Do you know him?”
    “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him around these parts before,” the other policeman said. His badge indicated his name was Patrick Flanagan. He swallowed hard and kept his eyes averted from the floor of Sweet Nothings.
    “Me neither.” Kenny scratched the other side of his head as he stared at Guy. “Know who he is?” He looked at Emma.
    She began to stutter. “His name is Guy Richard. He’s a photographer.”
    “What’s he doing here?” Flanagan asked.
    “Dunno,” Kenny answered.
    Emma gave him a stern look
    “He a friend of yours?” Kenny asked.
    Emma nodded her head.
    “Boyfriend?”
    Emma began to nod her head again but then stopped. “Ex. Ex-boyfriend. We dated, but it was over.” She crossed her arms over her chest definitively. She wished her head wasn’t pounding quite so hard. It was putting her at a disadvantage.
    “Okay, so let’s start from the beginning.” Kenny nodded toward Arabella. “Who found the body?”
    Arabella finally got her voice back. “I did.” She fiddled with the strands of jet beads at her neck. “Would you mind if I sat down?” She moved toward a chair. “I’ve had quite a shock.”
    “Aunt Arabella, are you okay?” Emma helped her to the chair. “Would you like a drink of water?”
    Arabella shook her head. “I’d rather get this over with as soon as possible. She perched on the edge of the chair, her back rigid, her head high.
    “So you found the body.” Kenny turned toward Arabella. “When did this happen?”
    “Obviously a few minutes before I called you. I certainly didn’t sit around polishing my nails first,” she added with a sharp edge to her voice.
    Pierre lifted his head and gave a low growl.
    Take that
, Emma thought, and shot an admiring glance at her aunt.
    “So the body was here on the floor when you arrived?”
    Arabella gave a quick nod. “I came in through the front door,” she waved a hand in that direction, “and there he was.”
    “Was the door locked?” Kenny pulled a small, worn-looking notebook from his pocket and scribbled in it.
    “Yes. I used my key to get in. Then I locked the door in back of me.”
    “Why?”
    “Obviously so no one would come in.”
    “Were you expecting someone to come in?”
    Arabella gave a hiss of annoyance. “Of course not. But occasionally customers try the door, and if it’s not locked, they assume we’re open for business.”
    “And you aren’t?”
    “No. We’re in the process of renovating the shop. We plan on being closed for a few weeks.”
    “So let me get this straight.” Kenny took his hat off and tucked it under his arm. “You come open up the shop as usual and bam, you fall over this dead body lying in the middle of your floor.”
    “I didn’t fall over him,” Arabella protested.
    “In a manner of speaking, only,” Kenny reassured her.“And this guy is your niece’s ex-boyfriend. And it looks like someone clonked him over the head with something.” Kenny squatted down next to the body and examined the wound. “Nasty.” He shook his head and stood up.
    Emma noticed a glint of something shiny underneath the edge of one of the cabinets. She bent down to get a better view. It was Arabella’s silver-headed walking stick. She reached out a hand.
    “Don’t touch it!” Kenny snapped.
    Emma jumped and pulled her hand back. “I was only—”
    “That could be our murder weapon.” Kenny yanked a slightly tatty-looking