Thrown Off: A Cozy Mystery (Brenna Battle Book 3) by Laney Monday Read Free Book Online Page A

the freezer.
    An older man in Cherry Bowl attire stared at me. He scratched his graying five-o-clock shadow and looked like he was trying to decide whether to be amused, annoyed, or concerned. “Wow. How long were you in there?”
    “I don’t know. I was looking for someone, and then somebody shut the door and turned off the light—”
    “And parked the power jack in front of the door so you couldn’t get out?”
    “Apparently.”
    “I’m Max.”
    I shook his hand. “Brenna Battle,” I managed through chattering teeth.
    “Are you new here?” Max said skeptically.
    “I moved to town a couple months ago.”
    “Oh, I know that. I’ve heard about you. And I saw you on the news. I mean, did you just start working here?”
    “No, I don’t work here. Look…” Someone just tried to kill me , I stopped myself from saying. I didn’t know Max. He must be a night stocker or something. Or night stalker . I shivered again. He could be the killer. Even if he wasn’t, I didn’t know who he was friends with. Maybe the killer. And now that I was thawing out, the warmth of embarrassment was helping to ease my chills just as much as the relative warm air outside the freezer. “Is Amy here?” So I can maybe strangle her? Well, after I interrogated her and figured out if she was the one who did this to me.
    “She went home.”
    “Carlos?”
    “Gone.”
    “Roberta?”
    “Yeah, I think she’s still here. She’s probably clocking out right now.” He took a few steps away. “Hey, Roberta!”
    I hugged myself and rubbed my hands over my arms, eying my basketful of ice cream, still sitting just inside the freezer. I wasn’t exactly in the mood for ice cream anymore, but Blythe was expecting it. Did I really want to have to explain why I didn’t bring any home? Did I really want to tell her what happened to me? No, definitely not. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to take even one step into that freezer again.
    “Brenna?”
    I turned around to see Roberta looking at me with concern.
    “Someone shut me in the freezer,” I blurted out. And I wanted to know who it was, dang it, and I wanted them to pay.
    “Someone what?”
    “Shut me in the freezer and parked that thing,”—I waved at the power jack Max had haphazardly parked nearby—, “right in front of the door so I couldn’t get out. They turned off the light and they threatened me.”
    Roberta’s eyes widened, then her face softened with motherly concern. “You look really cold, Brenna. How long were you in there?”
    Wow. Was that really the big question on everyone’s mind? “I don’t know. I didn’t look at the time.”
    “I read somewhere that hypothermia can do things to the brain.”
    “I wasn’t in there long enough to be hypothermic.” Thank God . I made an epic effort to hold back an outburst, and I’m sorry to say my words probably came out just a little bit grittier than I wanted them to, in spite of it.  
    “I’m sorry. That was really scary. I didn’t mean to sound dismissive.”
    “No, it’s fine, Roberta.” As much as I hated being babied, as strongly as I felt that I hadn’t just panicked or deluded myself, I didn’t want to make Roberta feel bad. I hadn’t known Millie very well, but her death was reminding me to focus on the good in people. It was hard for a cynic like me. But I appreciated the heart behind Roberta’s words. She wanted to reassure me—and maybe, to reassure herself. Who really wants to believe there’s someone lurking around the back room, trapping people in freezers? Maybe someone who would push a ladder right out from under poor Millie?
    Roberta patted my shoulder. “It was a stupid place to park the power jack. And terrible timing that it happened right after the door shut behind you.”
    Someone shut the door on me, I was sure of it. And what about the light? Was that an accident, too? Why was Roberta so determined to convince me it was all accident and coincidence? Was it more than just wishful