Cozy Mystery: Life's a Beach Read Online Free PDF Page B

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    “I went up. I’d bought a new dress and when I got up there and saw Tony in bed with that woman I lost it. I picked up some scissors that were sitting on a dresser and started to cut the dress off. The woman, high as a kite, thought I was trying to join in and came over to me. She touched me, intimately, and I pushed her away. She thought it was part of the game and threw herself at me. I wasn’t paying attention and the scissors…oh God…the scissors slid into her stomach! They were those old fashioned metal kind, sharp and lethal and they slid right in!” Tina buried her head in her arms once more and sobbed.
    “Is that all of it, Tina?” I asked, wanting the whole truth.
    “Yes. Tony freaked out and injected me with something so I’d stop screaming. I fell asleep and didn’t wake up until the next day and Tony had put this ring on my finger, he promised we were getting married and I just kept taking the drugs. He said he’d dropped her off at a hospital and run. I believed him like an idiot! I thought that was it. He must have killed her though. I didn’t stab her that many times, I didn’t cause all of that devastation. It wasn’t me, I swear!” Tina’s fingers clawed at my arm and I patted her hand once more.
    “It’s alright dear. Well, it’s not but we’ll sort it out.” I didn’t know how but we would.
    Amber turned the recorder off on her phone and we left Tina to sleep. She’d told us she wanted to go to the police and we told her we’d take her the next day. I called the lawyer and arranged a meeting with him for sooner than we’d originally planned.
    “What a mess!” Amber exclaimed over a glass of wine a short while later.
    “I know. We have to make sure Tony pays for his part in this. He brought her to this.” I wanted vengeance against the man but had little hope of getting it. Not right away anyway. For now he’d destroyed Tina’s life and I hated him.
    “At least you figured most of it out.” Amber consoled me. “I didn’t even know where to begin. I was still trying to convince myself those weren’t her drugs, that she was holding them for someone else.”
    “Oh, I tried, believe me. It just didn’t work. But I think we’re almost done. If you want to go home…” I let my words trail off.
    “No, I’ll stay until this part is done. She needs us.” Amber assured me.
    I did more investigating and found something that could finally be helpful. Tony had an outstanding warrant for felony tax fraud. If the drugs didn’t get you, tax fraud would! I printed out all of the information I had and prepared a folder for the next day. Amber and I quietly agreed to flush the drugs down the toilet and use the money for Tina’s defense. At this point she wasn’t going to have a lot of say in what happened with her money.
    The next day dawned and we found ourselves sitting in the lawyer’s office. Tina was nervous but told her story once more and then I revealed all of the information I had.
    “Now, they can catch a small fish, which they seem to like to do, or they can agree the plea Tina has consented to and catch this much bigger fish. I have a feeling they’ll find he’s now a major supplier in the area and has also got scams going for robbing vacation homes as well as human trafficking. Our boy looks like he doesn’t have a job but he wears several hats at the moment. He’s a busy man, even when he’s not.” I slid the file over to the lawyer and he was impressed with the work I’d accomplished so far.
    “I believe you’re quite right, Melanie. Good work!” He shook my hand and then shook Tina and Amber’s. “I’ll probably need to see you back here in a few hours so don’t go far. Tina, I hope you’re prepared to stick to your bargain and do a whole lot of talking.”
    Tina shook her head in resignation and we took her out to eat. She was still recovering from the drugs but she’d been supplied with a prescription to help with the