Peril by Ponytail (A Bad Hair Day Mystery) by Nancy J. Cohen Read Free Book Online Page A

didn’t dare appear too interested.
    Juanita emptied a dryer of linens and took the bundle over to a folding table. “I have said too much. I should get back to work.”
    “And I need to go.” Marla took out a business card and wrote her room number on the back. “Here, if you need a friend, please come by. I’m always willing to listen.”
    By the time Marla reached her lodging, Dalton had returned. She tossed her purse on the counter, eager to tell him what she’d just learned.
    “Where were you? I got here ahead of you and you left before me.”
    “I made a detour. Did you sign us up for anything?”
    “Yes, the tour leaves at ten. We’ll be back by twelve-thirty in time for lunch. Afterwards, we can drive over to Craggy Peak.”
    “Sounds like a plan.” She proceeded to change into sneakers, while Dalton donned a baseball cap and sunglasses. Since it was already heating up outside, she’d leave her sweater behind. “By the way, I was passing by the laundry room when I heard a crash inside. A housekeeper had dropped a pottery bowl that smashed on the ground. I helped her pick up the pieces since she seemed upset, and we got to chatting.”
    “Naturally,” Dalton said in a wry tone.
    “Juanita’s boyfriend is the wrangler, Jesse. She said Jesse knew Garrett Long and was disturbed by his death. I wasn’t able to question her further as she clammed up at that point, and I didn’t want to appear too nosy.”
    “So that confirms what we’ve already suspected. Jesse and the deceased were acquainted, and it goes beyond Jesse saddling Garrett’s horse when he went riding with Uncle Ray.”
    “I wish I could have learned more. The tragic loss of a guest, even a friend of the owner, isn’t enough reason to go stomping off the way Jesse did yesterday.”
    “Maybe this housekeeper will tell you more if you run into her again.”
    Aware they couldn’t solve anything at the moment, she gestured to him. “Let’s go.”
    By the time they finished their hike, she was starving. They ate lunch in the dining hall, the bounteous buffet making her glad they’d exercised earlier. At one o’clock, the temperature had risen into the eighties, and she felt as though she’d worked out all day. Fortunately, two cups of coffee revived her, so she got her second wind.
    Dalton drove their loaner SUV up the mountain toward Craggy Peak after getting directions from Janice at the front desk. Neither one of them had run into Wayne so far that day. He must have had business elsewhere. Marla wasn’t sure she wanted to spend another awkward evening in the family’s company so soon after the last one, but she didn’t mention it to Dalton. Dinner was later. They had enough to do to occupy themselves for now.
    After a climb where her ears popped, they arrived at the construction site. Hammering and drilling noises sounded as they parked their car on a gravelly swale. At this elevation, evergreens, tall brown grasses, and yellow wildflowers provided a splash of color against the rocky landscape. Panoramic vistas with mountain views showed from every angle, while wispy clouds graced a brilliant blue sky. A breeze blew hair into her face as she stepped from the car.
    Walking uphill as they headed toward the noise made her short of breath. Where she lived in South Florida, stair climbing was rare and slopes non-existent. The only exercise she got at an incline was climbing the escalator in the shopping mall.
    “This must be the main street.” Dalton halted to survey the road where it rose to the base of a higher mountain and veered around a bend. Wood-framed structures in various states of disrepair mixed with brick buildings along the avenue. Electric wires strung overhead brought a sense of modernity to the scene, as did the construction equipment from the work crew. Posts along the wood-planked sidewalks remained for tying horses, a remnant from the bygone era.
    The sinewy laborers glanced at the new arrivals and then went back