Cropped to Death (Faith Hunter Scrap This Mystery) Read Online Free PDF

it, dream about it, maybe even plot it, but not actually commit it.
    Detective Roget cleared his throat. I snapped myself back to the physical present. He kept his green eyes locked on me. I returned his gaze. He continued staring. I stared back but revealed my discomfort by a rapid succession of blinking. I hoped he didn’t think I was flirting with him.
    He let out an exasperated sigh and repeated the earlier instruction. “Stay out of the way. Do not touch anything.”
    “Someone else touched something.” I pointed at the empty hooks. “All the scissors are gone.” 
    “Are you always so difficult?”
    I knew it was a rhetorical question so I went with expounding upon my previous statement. “Being in the process of inventory, those empty hooks caught my attention. I’m guessing you took them for evidence.”
    “You’ll receive a full list of all property removed when we file it with the court.”
    “I need to know now, for inventory purposes. Or I have to assume they were stolen.” I tilted my head and widened my eyes. “Who should I call at the police department to report this robbery?”
    “You don’t really think those scissors were stolen.”
    I opened my eyes wider to give him my best innocent-damsel look. “Of course I do Detective Roget. Whatever else could have happened to them?” I fluttered my lashes.
    “Officer Jasper, write out an inventory list for Miss Hunter then escort her to the customer service area.” Roget pointed to the L-shaped counter in the middle of the store jutting out from the wall.
    “Come on, Faith.” Jasper placed a hand under my elbow. He leaned toward me and lowered his voice. “If I were you, I’d stop pushing the detective’s buttons. You’re gonna wind up in trouble.”
    “I’m not pushing buttons.”
    “You’re either pushing buttons or being stupid,” Jasper whispered through gritted teeth. “Knock it off or your grandmothers will be bailing you out of jail. Not to mention Steve seeing this on the blotter.”
    I decided to keep my opinions to myself. Not that I cared if Steve found out. Of course, I really didn’t want my grandmothers storming the police station. Grandma Cheryl would tell off the detective and Grandma Hope would swear upon the family name she raised me better.
    But I should share Marilyn’s cropping habits with law enforcement. “Marilyn doesn’t use sharp-tip scissors. She  uses a personal trimmer—”
    Cold bands wrapped around my heart.
    Marilyn, with her knees pressed against her chin, was squished into the small corner of the register area where we stored our personal items. Tears spilled down her cheeks.
    Jasper groaned and shook his head. “I’m going to ask to be removed from this case.” He took in a deep breath, and with regret etched onto his face, made an announcement. “Detective Roget, we just found Mrs. Kane.”
    I hurried into the enclosure and threw a quick glance over my shoulder. Jasper roved his gaze away from us. The detective talked into a cell phone, his burning gaze resting on me. Great, the man probably thought I took the scenic route so Marilyn had enough time for an escape.
    “This isn’t going to look good,” I whispered.
    Marilyn scrambled to her feet and pulled wads of paper from her pocket and then thrust them at me. “I didn’t have a choice.”
    The sharp corners of the heavyweight paper poked into the skin of my palms and fingers, a contrast to the smooth texture of the surface. Bile rose in my throat. These weren’t slips of paper but remnants from a photograph. Evidence of Marilyn’s cropping carnage. 
    “Hide them.” Marilyn whispered between her clenched teeth.
    Wide-eyed, I stared at Marilyn. I opened my hands and confirmed my suspicion. Slivers drifted to the floor. Michael’s head—minus his body—lay on top of my shoe. The rest of the cropped images slipped from my hands. Roget stepped into the space and looked down. Scattered across the floor were the photo remains of