Corpses & Conmen (Rosewood Place Mysteries Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

have me up so stinking early every day,” he chuckled. They made small talk, discussing the house and the other guests, then fell into a companionable silence until Kizzy suggested that maybe they should go to bed.
    “Alone,” she clarified.
    “I wouldn’t have suggested anything else,” Rob flirted. They made their way back up to the veranda. Rob held the door for Kizzy, but the peaceful silence of the evening was interrupted by a loud dance tune. Kizzy jumped, then pulled her cell phone from her back pocket.
    “Oh, crap.” She touched the screen and rejected the call.
    “What’s up?” Rob still stood with the door wide open and he suddenly felt like he could sleep for days.
    The phone in Kizzy’s hand sprang to life once again. “It’s my ex. I guess I need to answer this--I left him on sort of bad terms.”
    Rob cocked a sleepy eyebrow. “What kind of bad?”
    Kizzy gritted her pearly white teeth. “I kind of stole his car,” she confided. “It’s a long story, and I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow, but for now, I need to talk to him, or he won’t stop calling me.” She apologized again even as she answered the call, and Rob watched as she strolled back down to the wooden deck to have some privacy. With a sigh, he stepped into the screened in room and made his way into the house and upstairs to his waiting bed.

4
More Permanent Quarters
    Annie felt bad about leaving her guests in the dark out by the pond, but fortunately, she’d discovered her lighting problem before anyone fell and injured themselves. She’d only noticed the problem while clearing up the last of the dishes from the veranda, and once she’d rectified the situation, and made sure that Kizzy didn’t break her neck trying to liberate the last bottle of wine, she sent her mother off to bed and joined Devon and Rory on the front porch.
    “All good out there?” Rory asked, grinning as he took one of Devon’s chess pieces from the giant board they were playing on.
    “All good,” she replied, dropping into an oversized rocking chair with a sigh. She was pleased that none of her guests had decided to hang out here on the front porch. At least for now it still felt like a refuge for her and her family. She watched as her son struggled to choose a move that wouldn’t put his queen in check.
    “You are not beating me again, old man,” Devon cried, moving his knight with a flourish to put Rory’s own queen in jeopardy. “So, Mom, I hear we’re going to be famous,” Devon said, pushing himself back from the table. Annie gave him a puzzled look. “You know, that news guy? I bet we get tons of business after he puts that video on the air.”
    Annie shrugged her shoulders. “I guess we’ll see,” she replied. “I’m not too worried about it, though. The internet ad seems to be working really well. Now I just need to make sure my guests don’t break a leg and sue me before the business really takes off.” She explained about the lights and how she’d had to play superhero by going down to the deck and plugging them back in.
    Rory, listened, then shook Devon’s hand, ending the game in a gentlemanly spirit. He leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his neck. “I’ll try and rig up something a little more permanent for the deck,” he said thoughtfully. “Though, to be fair, I don’t see how those lights came unplugged. Once you plug them in, they’re pretty secure.”
    Devon cleared his throat. “Uh, well, that might be my fault,” he replied sheepishly. “I sort of charged my phone down on the deck while I was helping Rory paint the chairs. I guess I forgot to plug the lights back in.”
    “Well, there you go,” offered Rory. “No harm done, and I’m sure Devon will remember to plug them in next time.”
    Annie felt a little better about the whole situation, but there was another problem that gnawed at her. “One of the guests didn’t turn up,” she said suddenly. “Mr. Ross. I tried to call him a