Some Like It Lethal by Nancy Martin Read Free Book Online

you'd turn up."
    Libby looked completely relaxed, but I knew every molecule in her body had just vibrated to attention.
    Benjamin Bloom stopped beside our table and proceeded to do a plausible imitation of a Little Leaguer accidentally barging into the wrong locker room.
    "Hi, there," said Libby.
    Bloom glanced between the two of us, scantily wrapped in pink robes, and he fought down a blush. The detective wore a neatly pressed coat over a sweater, wrinkle-free khakis and clean white sneakers. Sometimes I wondered if he still lived with his mother. He had liquid brown eyes in a narrow, trustworthy face. Unfortunately, I'd discovered he wasn't as trustworthy as he appeared, especially when he wanted information that might boost his career out of the sleepy suburbs and into a big-city homicide squad. When he wanted details on a crime, he could be as relentless as a jackhammer.
    He had an interesting mouth and a lithe body, however, which Libby noticed right away. Surely she also noticed that he was considerably younger than herself, but that didn't seem to matter. She smiled, transparent as cellophane in her need to be desired by the only man in radar range. Plus, she looked as if she could actually cause a man with a breast fascination to collapse of a heart attack.
    I wanted to kick her.
    "Hi." Bloom avoided intense exposure to the searing rays of my sister's sexuality by looking straight into my eyes. "Feeling okay? I heard you fainted."
    "I'm fine," I said briskly. "Do you remember my sister? Libby Kintswell. Libby, this is—"
    "Yes, I know," she said. "We've met."
    She slipped her hand in his, as if expecting him to kiss her fingertips.
    He did not. Instead, Detective Bloom tried to shake her hand without actually looking at her. He had encountered my sister before, of course, during the investigation into Rory Pendergast's death just a few months earlier. Bloom looked as enthusiastic about renewing his acquaintance with Libby as he might with an amorous anaconda.
    "Mrs. Kintswell, my superior would like to speak with you."
    Libby's brows flew up. "Why?"
    "You were nearby when Rushton Strawcutter's body was discovered, ma'am. We need to get information from you while it's still fresh in your mind."
    "Where is your superior? Is he here?"
    "She," Bloom corrected, "has asked me to take you to our office."
    Libby suppressed her disappointment admirably. "Now?"
    "As soon as you get dressed."
    "Oh. Well, all right, but I'll need to pump first. If you'll excuse me?"
    She departed in a flourish of naked skin glimpsed beneath her robe.
    Detective Bloom frowned. "She lifts weights?"
    "She's not pumping iron," I said. "She's— Well, you don't want to know."
    "I hate to say it, but she scares me."
    "You have good instincts." I checked my watch and calculated how soon the baby would need his next meal. I hoped the baby-sitter could convince him to take a bottle, but quickly lectured myself that Libby could handle her own child care without my intervention for once.
    Bloom sat down in her vacated chair. "I just came from the hospital. Your sister Emma—"
    "Is she all right?"
    I must have looked frightened, because he put both hands up as if to stop a speeding car. "She's going to be okay. We'd like to talk to her, but a guy turned up who claims to be her lawyer. I gather you called him?"
    "Yes."
    "Well, you did her a favor. He's refusing to allow anyone but medical staff within ten feet of his client. In the meantime, I hope you can answer some questions."
    I knew what was coming. This would not be the first time Detective Bloom had asked for my input in a murder investigation. He'd previously used my connections to a social circle that was foreign to him, and as a result he'd received two letters of merit in his official record.
    "What can I do to help?"
    He turned sideways in his chair. From that position he had a good view of my bare legs, which he tried not to inspect for more than five seconds. "You okay?" he asked.