Throw a Monkey Wrench (an Emma Cassidy Mystery Book 1) by Karen Chester Read Free Book Online Page B

shoes and wriggled her toes in the carpet before
changing into stretchy sweatpants and a loose T-shirt. But the comfy clothing
didn’t help lift her mood.
    She glanced around her room, and what she
saw depressed her spirits even further. Years ago she’d been so eager to get
away from this modest house in the middle of nowhere. She couldn’t wait to go
to college thousands of miles away in the east, couldn’t wait to shake off the
dust of small town life. She’d had such big plans to expand her horizons, try
new things, race up the ladder of success. Nothing else mattered except
escaping Greenville. That dream was the reason she and Owen had split up, and
Owen was not a guy to be given up easily.
    But now, where was she? Back where she
started in the same bedroom that hadn’t changed and nothing to show for all her
years of being away. Well, she guessed she had her college degree, and she had
travelled a lot. But her business partner had defrauded her, leaving her with
nothing but debts and a trashed reputation, and when she’d turned to her
boyfriend in her hour of need, he’d decided she was too much hassle and dumped
her unceremoniously.
    And just when she thought her new business
here was up and running, she had a major food poisoning at one of her parties
and her first wedding was in peril because of a shocking murder. How many more
knocks could she take?
    Oh, quit your whining . She shook her head at herself. Now was not the time for a pity
party. No, she had to go out there and tackle her problems head on. If fate was
determined to throw obstacles in her path, then she just had to figure out a
way around them.
    She sat down to dinner with her dad and
wolfed down three chicken burritos. There was no getting away from discussing
Tony Barnet’s murder, since that was what dominated the news headlines.
    Her father shook his head and wondered if
drugs were involved. “A desperate addict will do anything for a hit.”
    “Is it a problem at your school?” South
Lake High School had been rather straitlaced when Emma had attended, but things
might have changed.
    “I don’t think so,” Andrew said, but then
he frowned as if something had just occurred to him. “Not that I’m aware.”
    “Do you remember Bart McCluskey?” Emma
asked as she took a sip of iced tea. “He was two years ahead of me.”
    “Hmm, Bart McCluskey. Yes, a big, surly
boy, as I recall, but not vicious, I would have thought. Why do you ask?”
    “I ran into him when I went to Sean’s
repair shop to see about my car. It’s been acting up lately,” she added, “so
I’m dropping it off tomorrow.”
    “You can borrow my car,” he said instantly
as she had half-expected.
    “Are you sure?” She really would feel like
a teenager again if she drove around in her parent’s car.
    Andrew nodded. “I can’t drive for the rest
of the week, and Janet’s been giving me a lift to school, so you may as well
use my car.”
    “Thanks, Dad.” She only hoped the car
repairs wouldn’t cost much. She really couldn’t ask her father for a loan.
“Apparently the police searched Sean’s auto shop, and a bunch of McCluskeys
turned up and caused a disturbance.”
    He took a bite of his burrito and chewed
slowly and thoroughly. After he’d swallowed, he said, “People are quick to
label the whole McCluskey clan as troublemakers, but I don’t think it’s fair to
tar them all with the same brush. They’ve been settled here for generations,
but they’ve never enjoyed the same opportunities or advantages as others have.
When everyone else is against you, it makes sense to stick to your own tribe,
whether you agree with them or not. Sean has gone a long way in striking out on
his own. It can’t have been easy.”
    “He’s straight now, but the Chief still
holds a grudge against him.” When Sean was seventeen, Sergeant Putnam, as he
was then, had arrested him for burglary, but the case had been dismissed for
lack of evidence, leaving the