Death in Room 7 (Pine Lake Inn Cozy Mystery Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

voice asked me.
    “Hmph?  Who is this?”
    “I said,” the man repeated, his tone annoyed, “is this Adelle Powers?”
    Something about the phone call made me sit up straight in bed.  “I’m Adelle.  Most folks call me Dell.  Now, who is this?”
    “This is Horace Sapp.  Don’t remember me?”
    Now I did.  Horace.  Jess’s boyfriend.  Well, husband now.  The hazy fog of sleep parted for me and I could recognize the inflection in his voice, the condescending tone he put into every word.  Just like back in Uni.  I hadn’t actually spoken with him since then.  Jess and me had spoken a few times, e-mailed and sent cards, too, but I haven’t heard from Horace since—
    “Are ya still there?”
    “Uh, yeah, Horace.  I’m still here.  It’s…”  A check of the clock showed me exactly how early it was.  Scrubbing my hand over my face I manage to suppress a sigh, and then a yawn.  “It’s early.  What can I do for you?”
    “I’m looking for Jess.”
    Jess had said she was here to take a break from Horace.  I just assumed she’d told him where she was going. 
    Obviously not. 
    “Uh, shouldn’t you just call her mobile, Horace?”
    “Tried that.  She didn’t answer.  Funny thing, though.  Just got a charge report on me credit card.  Seems she just checked into the Pine Lake Inn.  So I look online and find out our old friend Adelle Powers runs the place.  Surprise, surprise.  So.  Where’s my wife, Adelle?”
    Oh, I really do not want to be in the middle of a domestic spat.  I should hang up the phone.  Hang up, then leave it off the hook, and get back to sleep.  That’s what I should do.  Only, Jess is a friend of mine, and she needs my help. I can’t just pretend it’s not my problem.  Time moves on, but friends are forever.  Or at least they should be.
    So.
    “She was here, Horace.  She said something about taking a vacation.  I think she mentioned Southport.”
    There was a long pause on the line, and I very nearly hung up right then.  Maybe I should have.
    “Adelle, I know she’s there.  Don’t lie to me!  So help me, I will come down there and find her meself.  Hear me?”
    Loud and clear, I think to myself.  “Listen, Horace—”
    “No!  You listen to me.  I want to speak to my wife…”  Part of what he said was cut off by static.  “…she doesn’t know…”  More static.  “…tell her!”
    Then a harsh burst of static cut his voice off completely, and there was only white noise.  “Hello?” I asked.  Nothing.  Just static rising and falling, a noise that was oddly soothing.  Lulling me back toward sleep.
    Horace had sounded pretty furious.  That was going to cause some problems for my little Inn if he made good on his threat to come looking for Jess.  I sighed, sitting there, listening to a phone call that wasn’t there anymore.  I had been so happy when Jess came.  It was supposed to be so much fun.  Now this.
    I remembered Rosie saying that Jess brought trouble with her no matter where she went.  Maybe this was the proof of that.
    Well.  Nothing I could do about it tonight.  This morning, I mean.  Damn, it was early!  The static was a soft lullaby in my ear, and I knew that I could at least catch another couple of hours sleep before I had to tell Jess the bad news and get her to give up the whole story of why she was here.  There was obviously more to it than she was letting on.
    I laid down against the pillow, the phone’s receiver still to my ear, and let the hissing, popping, shushing noises lead me toward sleep.
    …Night, Dell…
    I could almost hear those words whispered in my ear.  For some reason, it made me smile.
    That’s the last thing I remembered until I woke up again, later, with the sun bright in my windows and the alarm clock chirping at me.  Seven o’clock.  Ah, the glamorous life of a small town Inn keeper.  Ha.
    A shower gets me ready for the day, although a cup of Rosie’s coffee will do