Death of the Couch Potato's Wife: Cozy Christian Mysteries (Women Sleuth, Female Detective Suspense) Read Online Free PDF

hesitant about spreading gossip. Finally, Tiara cleared her throat. When she met my gaze, I saw a twinkle in her eyes that exposed her excitement. “The word is the police brought Babe in for questioning this morning.”
    I nearly spit out my coffee. “Babe? That’s ridiculous.”
    Donna nodded quickly. “She takes sleeping pills. That’s what the police found on the pork rinds. Someone sedated Candace and then …”
    She didn’t need to finish the sentence. “I’m sure a lot of people take sleeping pills.” No way did Babe kill Candace. No way. For goodness sake, I had sleeping pills! I hadn’t taken them in a year, but I had them, just in case the nightmares came back. “Besides, why would Babe want Candace dead? She has no motive.”
    “Babe’s a little—” Tiara twirled her index finger around her ear in the universal sign for “loopy.”
    I had to defend my spunky neighbor, the first person who’d befriended me when I moved here. “She’s not loopy in a crazy way. She’s just different. She’s not afraid to be herself. I wish I had more of her gumption.”
    Donna leaned forward, coffee perched in her hands. “Who do you think did it, Laura? Do you have any theories? I mean, you were the one who found her dead.”
    I sat back. As much as I’d thought about it, I didn’t really have any ideas. I wish I did.
    “It seems like everyone had a problem with Candace in one way or another,” I said.
    “That’s for sure.” Tiara nodded.
    I leaned forward. “How about the two of you? Did you ever get mad at her?”
    Donna’s coffee slipped from her grasp and shattered all over the wood floor.
    “Oh dear!” She rushed to her feet and stared at the mess. “What have I done?”
    I sprang into action, guilt assaulting me that I’d made her uncomfortable enough to react like this. “It’s no problem, Donna. Those mugs were old anyway. Let me just get some paper towels.”
    “I don’t know why I’m so clumsy lately.”
    I rushed into the kitchen and grabbed the whole roll.
    I returned in time to see Tiara pat Donna’s back. “You’ve been under a lot of stress lately, honey. Anyone in your situation would be jittery.”
    What was Donna stressed out about? I wondered. Maybe trying to balance her blended family: two teenagers of her own, and two stepchildren.
    Or was she stressed out because she murdered Candace? She did live right next door, and our mailboxes were side by side. She could have easily slipped the note inside my box without anyone noticing.
    I shoved the thought aside and began soaking up coffee. Donna kneeled to help, but I shooed her back to the couch. “Don’t worry about it. Besides, I don’t want you to stain your khakis.”
    “You’re such a sweetie, Laura. I’m sorry you’re mixed up in this whole mess.”
    I stopped sloshing the paper towels from the floor. “What do you mean?”
    “We all know that it wasn’t your idea to go into Candace’s house. Babe coerced you, probably to make you look guilty and take the blame off of herself.”
    “Babe didn’t kill Candace,” I repeated, making a mound of wet paper towels on the floor. “The idea is ridiculous.”
    Tiara shrugged in a way that clearly stated she thought I was wrong. “Here, let me throw those away for you, sweetie. Then we’ve really got to be going.” She swooped up the paper towels and went into my kitchen before I could object.
    Donna reached into her purse and handed a plastic package to me. “Magic Wipes. They clean up anything. Keep the whole package. It’s the least I can do.”
    After I took the wipes, she and Tiara looped arms.
    “Let us know if we can do anything for you,” Donna said.
    “Of course.” I stood and saw two brown blotches on my robe. Great. I wouldn’t be winning any “most put together” contests. “Thanks for the muffins.”
    “We’ll see you tonight at the association meeting.” Tiara tinkled her manicured fingertips in the air.
    That was right. The meeting was