Building Blocks of Murder Read Online Free PDF Page A

had happened before the yelling began.
    Why did being in his arms have to feel so good? And why did he have to be so very beautiful? Most of all, why should she care about either of those things? Telling Tosh she wasn’t ready for a relationship had almost become a mantra, and yet every time she was near Jason, she lost her head.
    Just don’t lose you heart, too, was the last sleepy warning she gave herself before she finally drifted off to sleep.
     
    The morning brought amnesia until the building inspector called Lacy to confirm their appointment. Then the memory of buying a building, plus her anxiety over the subject, returned full force. She spent a moment in self-recrimination before pulling up her figurative bootstraps. What was done was done; she might as well face the matter head on and figure out what needed to be done next.
    She showered, taking the time to blow dry her hair and apply makeup. Perhaps it didn’t make sense, but looking good made her feel more capable and in control of her circumstances. Maybe if she looked like she had it all together someone might believe she actually did.
    Her grandfather showed up just as she and her grandmother were finishing breakfast. He waved her grandmother away when she rose to pour him a mug of coffee. Pouring his own coffee, he sat at the table between the two women.
    “Seen the paper today?” he asked.
    Lacy wasn’t fooled by his bland tone. She was beginning to know him. The more he suppressed his emotions, the more emotional he was feeling. “No, what is it?”
    He blew on the coffee, stalling for time, and then he answered. “An old case is being reopened.”
    She wondered if it was the same case Jason had referred to. “Jason told me about that, I think.”
    Mr. Middleton nodded. “He was the arresting officer.”
    “What type of case was it?” Lacy asked.
    “Murder,” he answered.
    She gasped. “Not…not Barbara Blake’s murder.” She bit her lip and looked uncertainly at her grandmother. Peggy, the woman who had murdered Barbara Blake, had confessed to the crime, sparing them all the horror of a trial.
    “No. This is an old murder from a quarter century ago.”
    Lacy frowned, puzzled. “But Jason has only been on the force for seven years.” After high school, he received a two year associate’s degree before joining their local sheriff’s department. Most rookies began their careers in the jail, like her friend, Travis, but Jason had shown such promise that he bypassed that step and became a road unit.
    “It was an old unsolved case that became solved shortly after he began working there.”
    Lacy’s frown deepened. “He was so new; surely reopening the case couldn’t affect him, could it, Gra…” She broke off, stopping herself before she could call him “Grandpa.” A blush rose to warm her cheeks, and she immediately felt awkward for her bumbling mistake. Why couldn’t she just bite the bullet and use the endearment? Though they weren’t biologically related, Lacy was too much like her Grandma Lucinda. They both had trouble expressing their emotions.
    Mr. Middleton paused, but Lacy thought it was because he was measuring his words and not because he had noticed any awkwardness on her part. “There are things you don’t know about Jason, Lacy,” he said at last.
    “Like what?” she asked.
    He took another sip of coffee. “Not my place to say.”
    Now it was her turn to sip her coffee, and she did so thoughtfully. As their former principal, Mr. Middleton had access to information about everyone, but what could he know about Jason? By his tone, she guessed it was something bad, but she could never believe anything bad about Jason. His character was unimpeachable. Even if he sometimes ran short on mercy, he retained an overdeveloped sense of justice.
    “We should go,” her grandfather said, jarring her out of her brooding thoughts. They both kissed her grandmother’s cheek, and then they were off. The building inspector, Kerry