The Black Cat Knocks on Wood by Kay Finch Read Free Book Online Page A

they’ll say he caused Crystal’s death.”
    “That’s ridiculous.” I stood too quickly and felt a momentary light-headedness. “I firmly believe my cat is home where he’s supposed to be, not here in town, and no one can blame this on him. And on top of everything else, he is
not bad luck
.”
    Pearl shrugged. “You know how people are, always looking for good gossip.”
    “Making up lies is not
good
,” I said. “Crystal needs our help, so stop it about the cat already.”
    “I had to warn you,” Pearl said. “That’s why I called you instead of the sheriff.”
    I stared at her. “Please tell me you called 911.”
    Pearl shook her head. “Like I told you, Crystal is already dead. She’s beyond help.”
    “For Pete’s sake, Pearl, you
always
call. What were you thinking? This horrible accident,
any
accident,
any
incident, you have to call.” I patted my pockets frantically before remembering I’d left my phone in my laptop case.
    Dang it
.
    “Give me a freaking phone.”
    Pearl pulled hers from a pocket, and I nearly yanked her arm off grabbing the phone from her. Before I could dial, clomping footsteps sounded behind me. Thank goodness, the cavalry was coming after all.
    Pearl grabbed my elbow. “We gotta get out of here.”
    “No, Pearl.” I tried to pull my arm from her firm grasp as I turned to the sight of two men the size of linebackers in hard hats coming into the room. The first one took in the scene before him with a swift and sweeping glance.
    “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” he said as he pulled out his own phone. “Chet, keep an eye on these broads. Don’t let ’em get away while I call for help.”
    “It’s not like it looks.” Panic rose in my chest. “I just got here.”
    “We didn’t kill her,” Pearl said. “It was an accident.”
    “Save it,” the man said. Then into the phone: “We got a badly injured woman over here and two suspects. Send help pronto.”
    *   *   *
    I had never before wished that I could disappear like Samantha of
Bewitched
as fervently as I did in that moment. I slouched in the backseat of a sheriff’s department car where Deputy Brent Ainsley had stowed me until he could get around to asking me more questions. Like he thought I’d make a run for it given the chance. The longer he kept me here the hotter I got—both literally and figuratively.
    Ainsley had no good reason to lock me in the car. I hadn’t refused to talk. He had no evidence to use against me. I wasn’t a flight risk. The guy was a big fat bully, which is what I’d heard about him in the past. Which made me worry all the more for Pearl ’cause Ainsley’s focus shifted to her the moment he’d spotted blood on her shoes. As far as I could tell, she was still inside with him.
    Sweat trickled down my back even though Ainsley had cracked each of the windows about an inch so I could get some air. Didn’t do much good on a hot July day. Lucky for me, the car was parked under a tree and there was some cloud cover. Maybe I’d survive.
    If only I hadn’t listened when Pearl asked me to come over and meet her. I would be happily writing away at Hot Stuff right now, adding to my word count. But no . . . I had to give in to stupid curiosity and get involved in this crime scene. Or accident scene. Which was it? Yesterday Pearl was bad-mouthing Crystal Devlin every chance she got, and today she’s standing next to Crystal’s dead body. Her luck couldn’t get much worse. So why was I the one locked in the back of the cruiser?
    Emergency vehicles and gawkers crowded Bluebonnet Street. No surprise that the flashing lights had attracted everyone. Wait till they figured out that Pearl, the sweet candy-store lady, was being held inside for questioning about the death of Lavender’s real estate maven. I checked my watch, the only personal possession I had on me besides my clothes and flip-flops. I wondered if Pearl would tell Ainsley about the cat. Or if I would. There had to be