Peril for Your Thoughts (Mind Reader Mystery) by Kari Lee Townsend Read Free Book Online

myself to you?” He scowled, pure frustration written all over his handsome face.
    “Jaz doesn’t get a day off, does she? She’s looking at twenty years to life if we don’t catch this guy. That’s why.”
    “Let me make myself perfectly clear. There is no we , Kalli. You are way too close to her to be of any help. Not to mention that if she truly is innocent, then there’s a killer on the loose. You could be in danger. So could she, for that matter.”
    “What about you? She’s your landlady, for crying out loud. I might not be Sherlock Holmes, but I’m pretty sure I can deduce that’s a conflict of interest or something?” I gave him a smug look.
    “And Detective Matheson is her ex-lover. I’m pretty sure that means I’m the better man for the job in a police department this small.” He smirked, but then blew out a large breath and rubbed the back of his neck before adding calmly, “Look, we both want the same thing here: to get to the truth. All I’m asking is that you cooperate.”
    “Well, what do you suggest I do?” I put my hands on my hips and glared at him.
    He mimicked my movements and I jumped back, nearly having a heart attack at his nearness. “Stay away from this case, and let me do my job,” he said with a growl.
    I huffed.
    He grunted.
    And Frona screamed for all she was worth as someone finally caught her.

C HAPTER 5
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    Later that night, we were having unusually warm spring weather so Jaz and I sat on our back deck. When the house was divided, she’d had the fenced-in backyard divided as well, along with two decks put on. Detective Stevens was nowhere in sight and neither was his beast of a dog, Wolfgang, thank goodness. His yard was a mess already, and he’d barely moved in.
    My Calico cat, Priscilla, leapt on top of the railing and stretched out, staring over the perfectly groomed yard and landscaping. The snow had melted early this year. Flowers hadn’t bloomed yet, but the promise of their glorious splendor was in the air. I adored spring when everything was fresh and new and … clean.
    Jaz still wore her track suit, and quite frankly still looked like a hot mess, but I’d convinced her to have her favorite toddy to help her relax. I’d fixed her a Bahama Mama while I sipped on a crisp glass of chardonnay. Usually Jaz was the strong one, pulling me out of my funk. It felt so strange to reverse our roles, but I knew she needed me. No matter how uncomfortable, I would do whatever it took to clear her name.
    “So … how was your day?” I asked tentatively.
    “Awful,” she responded, leaning back in her lounge chair and crossing her legs before her. “I can’t stand not being busy. I don’t know how people who don’t work manage their days without going crazy.”
    “You need to keep busy. Find a hobby. Focus on something.” I paused for a second to let my words sink in, and then I asked, “Any luck on making a list of suspects? Who would like to see you get into trouble and suffer?”
    She snorted. “Pretty much everyone in town.”
    “Well, that narrows it down,” I said dryly, then adopted a no-nonsense tone like the one she had used plenty of times on me. “Jaz, if you honestly want to get your life back, you have to get serious about this.”
    “I know.” She sighed. “I just needed a little pity party.” She pulled a folded up sheet of paper from her pocket and opened it fully. “For starters, Maria Danza hates me.”
    “You mean the pastry chef across the street from your shop?”
    “One and the same.”
    “What did you do?”
    “Remember the carpenter, Johnny Hogan, I hooked up with six months ago?”
    “Yeah, the one who split this house in two? Why?”
    “Well, he kinda sorta was her boyfriend.”
    “What?” I slapped my forehead with my palm. “Oh, no, Jaz … tell me you didn’t.”
    She winced. “I did. Several times in fact. What can I say? I’m a sucker for muscles, and the things he could do with those big hands