Slay Belles by Nancy Martin Read Free Book Online

help.”
    From behind his paper, Michael shot me a grin.
    “Is it safe to have a discussion while . . . we’re not alone?”
    “Safe?” I said. “That depends on your definition, I guess. Why don’t you try, and we’ll see what happens?”
    Cindie Rae sighed. “I don’t have a choice, is that it? Well, surely you know all about last night. Popo dying, I mean.”
    “Popo’s murder, you mean.”
    “Right. Somebody said you locked yourself in the bathroom. I’d like to know what you saw before you ran in there.”
    “I didn’t run or lock myself anywhere, Cindie Rae. And I’ve already told the police what I heard and saw. If they want to know more, I’m sure they’ll ask.”
    “But . . .” She set down her coffee cup. “Okay, I’ll put my cards on the table. Early this morning, the police arrested Alan.”
    “Alan!” I sat down hard. “You’re kidding. For Popo’s murder?”
    “Yes, they say he’s the only one who could have turned off the electricity and the security systems. How silly is that? My little Pookums wasn’t in the store at all. There’s a tape that shows him leaving. And besides, why would he murder his best sales associate? The store is worthless without Popo.”
    “Who told you that?”
    “It’s what Alan says. Of course, he could have mentioned that teensy detail a little sooner!” She worked her oversize lower lip into a huge pout. “How was I supposed to know Popo was so damn valuable?”
    Michael put the paper down. “Exactly how valuable?”
    Perhaps annoyed that Michael hadn’t sufficiently noticed her yet, Cindie Rae unbuttoned her jacket to reveal her weapons of mass seduction. “Alan says other retail companies have offered to buy Haymaker’s, but only if Popo’s employment contract was renewed.”
    “And now that Popo is dead?” I prompted. “The store is less valuable?”
    “She sold a lot of shit,” Cindie Rae said. “Apparently, she was more important than I thought she was.”
    “So why did the police arrest Alan?” I asked.
    “Because there’s a tape. The same one that shows when he left the store. Earlier in the evening, Alan and Popo had a big fight. And it was caught on one of the security cameras.”
    “What kind of fight?”
    “A lot of yelling, that’s all I know.” Cindie Rae directed her answers to Michael, although I had been the one asking questions.
    I said, “I presume Alan has a lawyer?”
    “God, yes, the executive suite is crawling with them.”
    “Not a corporate lawyer, a criminal lawyer.”
    “Why would he want a criminal lawyer?” She dragged her attention away from Michael to frown at me. “Oh, I get it! You don’t mean a criminal who’s a lawyer, you mean—”
    “Cindie Rae, what exactly do you want from me?”
    Michael got up from the table and ambled over to the stove to stir the oatmeal. Cindie Rae watched him with a carnivorous expression. “Alan says you can figure out how that Pinkerton woman killed Popo.”
    “Pinky? That’s ridiculous.”
    Sensing I might turn her down, Cindie Rae focused the full force of her personality on me at last. “Alan says you’ll do it because you’re old friends. He says you can do a better job than the police. And you heard what she said last night.”
    “I’m sure Pinky never meant—”
    “She’s a menace! She shouldn’t be walking around. She killed
both
her husbands, didn’t she? She’s as bad as you Blackbirds.”
    We heard a clatter as Michael dropped the wooden spoon.
    I said, “Her husbands died of natural causes, Cindie Rae.”
    “That’s the official story, but she has friends in high places. She probably bought her way out of both of those murder charges. I saw it on re-runs of
Stripperella
once. Pamela Anderson figured it out. It shouldn’t be too hard for you.”
    “Miracles do happen.” I sighed. “I don’t know, Cindie Rae.”
    “You should ask around. You’re naturally nosy, right? And my Pookums seems to think you’re relatively