Skating Around The Law by Joelle Charbonneau Read Free Book Online Page A

Winfrey.”
    Sean wrote it down without blinking. “Address.”
    It went on like that until he finally walked over to the door for a closer look. He snapped a couple of pictures with his camera phone and walked back toward me. Sean gave me the clipboard and asked me to sign the sheriff’s report, which I did.
    â€œDon’t you think we should test the paint or something? You know, collect evidence of the crime.” My late-night television watching reared its head.
    â€œNo point.” Sean gave me a superior look. “My guess is all your poking around today asking questions pissed somebody off. If you’d let the sheriff’s department do their job, you wouldn’t have any problems. Keep your nose out of other people’s business and let trained professionals handle Mack’s murder. I’d hate to see anything happen to that pretty neck of yours.”
    I took my copy of the official report, thanked Sean, and watched as he headed out of the parking lot—Indian Falls’ finest on his way to save the world. Too bad he didn’t seem all that interested in solving my graffiti problem.
    Walking back to the doors, I took a closer look at the scrawled message. Huh. The words didn’t look like they were written in paint. I ran my finger along one of the letters, something Sean didn’t think of, and the writing smeared.
    Lipstick?
    I rummaged through my purse until I came up with a Dairy Queen napkin. Then I rubbed some of the graffiti onto it. With the sample safely stored in my purse, I proceeded inside to get a bucket of water and a sponge.
    Mom had been very proud of those new doors. Cleaning them was the least I could do.
    Â 
    I spent the rest of the afternoon behind the rental counter giving out skates in exchange for my customers’ smelly shoes. The task required only two of my brain cells, which allowed the rest to think about Mack.
    Mack taking money from people and not finishing the jobs they paid for didn’t sound right to me. My mother always said Mack was a stand-up guy who did good work. I remembered her mentioning that she’d hired him to do a bunch of the rink renovation.
    I zipped back to the front office and checked the books. Sure enough. Mack had painted the rink walls and hung the new lights. Ironically, he’d even laid the bathroom tile. After each job my mom had drawn a smiley face—her bookkeeping technique for signaling a job well done. Several entries for other workers had frowny faces, but not Mack. A year ago Mack was still doing his job well, so what happened?
    Around six o’clock, George popped his head into the office. He told me he was going to stay till close and could lock up. The rink wasn’t all that busy. Not surprising considering a murder had taken place here. Parents were going to be careful about letting their kids go out at all, let alone come here to skate. That meant the rink’s bottom line was going to take a hit. One more reason to solve the murder, I thought, as I grabbed my purse and headed home for the night.
    Walking into Pop’s house, I could hear the television blaring from the living room. Peeking in, I saw Pop watching TV with a date. Terrified about what else I might see, I tiptoed past the doorway and headed up the stairs.
    â€œRebecca, is that you?”
    Caught. I backed down the stairs. “Yeah, Pop. It’s me.”
    â€œWell, come on in here. I have someone I want you to meet.”
    My stomach clenched in protest as I walked into the living room. My grandfather had his arm draped around a robust, champagne-haired lady with apple cheeks. They were seated on the living room love seat facing the television. Both turned to flash their convertible teeth in my direction.
    I forced a cheerful smile and waved. “Hi. I’m Rebecca.”
    My grandfather gave the lady’s shoulders a squeeze. “This here is my date, Louise Lagotti. She’s one of Indian