Raisin the Dead by Karoline Barrett Read Free Book Online

normal from all the sun. I knew his gun was strapped around his ankle.
    â€œHi there. Who are you again? Have we met?” He brushed a kiss on my lips and I fought the urge to prolong it. That wasn’t outside activity. Plus, you never knew when Bobby would be roaming around with his camera. Nothing was off-limits to his lens.
    â€œStick to police work, you’re not that funny. Hi there, yourself,” I responded. “Want to take Noelle and Beau for a walk?”
    He grinned at me. “Sure. Let’s get the dogs.”
    Noelle was ecstatic to see Sean and Beau. Beau and I exchanged exuberant kisses and hugs, the slobbery kissing part all being on his end. We all walked in companionable silence for a few minutes. “You questioned my mom about Philip’s death.”
    â€œI know. I was there.”
    Normally, Sean is outgoing and talkative, but question him about police business and he shuts right up. “Why?”
    â€œMade more sense than texting her.” He winked at me. “I don’t even know her number.”
    I usually melt when he does that—he has a devastatingly sexy wink—but I was determined to get some answers. “I’m serious. You think she killed Philip Baldelli?”
    â€œI didn’t say that. Who said anyone killed the man?”
    â€œMy mother was upset; she was distraught that you would consider her a suspect in this man’s death.”
    â€œReally?” He pinned me with a skeptical look. “You’re not exaggerating are you? She offered to make me French toast for breakfast. I was sorry I’d already eaten at the station. She gave me a vanilla hazelnut coffee to go. It was delicious.”
    I ignored his comments. “Do you think she killed him?”
    â€œI don’t recall saying anyone killed him, or anything about suspects. You have the best imagination of anyone I’ve ever met. Your hair looks gorgeous. You should leave it loose more often. It’s getting really long.”
    Compliments were not going to distract me. I stopped grinning like a fool and switched tactics. “Was he murdered? I know you didn’t say he was, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t.”
    Sean looked down at me with an amused look on his face, which I took a little umbrage at, then draped an arm around my shoulder, and squeezed. He kissed the top of my head. “Tell me again why I’ve missed you. Ms. Alessi requested an autopsy. That should clear up any talk of murder. You already know we aren’t going to discuss this, right? I’m not saying any more.”
    â€œSo Serafina probably didn’t kill him.” I mused. “If you kill someone, you don’t want an autopsy done, right? Unless you do,” my voice rose, “because not wanting one is more suspicious.”
    â€œMolly, I’m not going to talk about it,” he warned.
    â€œDid you interview Serafina?” I was used to his detective voice; it didn’t deter me from pressing on.
    â€œNo. Was I supposed to?”
    I ignored the sarcasm. “She’s rich, she’s famous. What’s in Destiny? I mean besides her great-uncle. What’s she doing here? If I wanted to get away, I’d go to Paris, or a tropical island. Isn’t it strange that she shows up and suddenly he’s dead?”
    â€œAccording to the paper, she wanted to take a break from a relationship and forget about business for a while, and she had family business with Philip. Castle Shore isn’t exactly a dump. Neither is Destiny. I’ve only been here a few months and I love it. Weren’t Brangelina and their brood at Castle Shore last month?”
    Sean was a master at redirecting conversation in which he didn’t want to participate. I indulged him for a few seconds. “That was the rumor. I never saw them. Even Bobby never saw them. He knows everything that goes on in town, and if someone is here, he’ll find them and