Count Catula (Whales and Tails Cozy Mystery Book 9) Read Online Free PDF

he most likely wasn’t the killer. We can talk about it some more when we meet tonight.”
    “Yeah, that’s a good idea. I really need to take a shower. Cody is coming back for me in less than an hour. We’ll go over everything any of us can remember tonight.”
    “Okay. I’ll talk to you later. And be careful.”
    “I will.”
    After I hung up with Siobhan I headed upstairs to get ready for work. I had a feeling it was going to be a long day. I knew Tripp well enough to be aware he hadn’t been an early riser since he’d retired, so I planned to wait to set up an appointment with him until later that morning. Tara would most likely need my help first anyway. The coffee bar tended to be busy until close to noon.
     
    “Can you grab some more large cups from the back?” Tara asked me later that morning. Even with the rain, the coffee bar had been packed all morning.
    I finished ringing up the customer I was helping, then headed down the hall to the storage room. While most of the bookstore was graced with huge picture windows that brought beautiful scenery provided by the marina and the neighboring islands, the storage room had no windows and depended on an overhead light to keep it from being completely dark. I flicked on the light switch, then groaned when nothing happened. It was probably a burned-out bulb. Of course the bulbs were also in the storage room, so I’d need to get a flashlight to help me navigate the tight space filled almost to the ceiling with boxes of inventory and supplies.
    I left the room and headed to the office. I remembered seeing a flashlight in the bottom drawer of the desk. When I entered the office I noticed that the light on the answering machine was flashing. I pressed the button and listened.
    “Hi, my name is Rayleen Colby. I’m Amanda Lowman’s personal assistant. I’ve been trying to get hold of her since last night, but she isn’t answering her phone. I know she was speaking at your bookstore last evening and hoped she’d told her where she was staying. It’s important that I speak to her as soon as possible. My number is…” I listened while she rattled off a series of numbers.
    Tara was still waiting for the cups, so I grabbed the flashlight and headed back down the hall. I’d find the cups, take them to Tara, go back to change the bulb, and then perhaps I’d return Rayleen Colby’s call. There was something about it that wasn’t sitting quite right with me. For one thing, wouldn’t a personal assistant know where her boss was staying? In fact, it seemed that booking a hotel room was exactly the kind of thing a PA would do.
    I used the flashlight to locate the cups, then returned to the front of the store. I rang up several orders, allowing Tara to get caught up, before explaining about the message and the lightbulb and returning to the back to see to both. The deputy hadn’t told me to keep the fact of Amanda Lowman’s death quiet, so I supposed filling Rayleen in on the fate of her boss would be an acceptable thing to do. Still, I was hesitant.
    Changing the bulb only took a minute, and once that was done I went back to the office and listened to the recording again. The woman sounded annoyed. I suppose that was a legitimate emotion if you’d been trying to locate your boss, who wasn’t calling you back. I wanted to return the call, but I wasn’t sure how much I should say. I supposed I could find out what she knew or—in this case maybe didn’t know was more to the point—and then make a decision from there about how much to reveal.
    “Ms. Colby?” I asked when the woman answered the phone.
    “This is Rayleen Colby.”
    “This is Cait from Coffee Cat Books. I’m returning the call you left on our machine.”
    She let out a long sigh. “Thank you so much for calling me back. I’ve been trying to get hold of Amanda since last night and she isn’t answering her phone or returning my messages. It really isn’t like her. I called the inn where I’d