Dolled Up for Murder Read Online Free PDF Page B

into genuine friendship, but so far, we hadn’t found the time.
    Ian told Wes that they’d lost most of their retirement savings investing with Alice’s company and it was all Alice’s fault—he and Martha, he explained, had been good friends with Alice, and she’d betrayed their trust. When Wes asked Alice to respond, she’d said that while she couldn’t comment on individual clients, some people make risky investment decisions and then, when the risk doesn’t pay off, cry foul. According to Wes, Ian called Alice a blight on the community that needed to be squashed like a bug. Ouch.
    Ellis was looking at me, waiting for me to respond to his comment about Wes’s article. He seemed to have all the time in the world.
    â€œI don’t have a clue about anything, Ellis, not a clue.”
    â€œYou’re not an ADM Financial client?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œWhy not?”
    â€œMy dad was a very conservative investor. He taught me to keep most of my savings in government-backed securities, I-Bonds and the like. That approach suits me, too.”
    Ellis nodded. He finished his coffee and placed his cup on the butler’s table. “Did Alice mention any trouble she was having with anyone?”
    â€œShe called her daughter-in-law, Ms. Attila the Hun.” I shook my head.
    â€œYou said she got the news she was about to be arrested from Pennington Moreau, the TV lawyer. Do you know him?”
    â€œI met him for the first time today. I know his reports. I like them.”
    Ellis shifted position. “I hate to ask you to relive the shooting, Josie, but I need to take you through it one step at a time. Some new memory may come to you. Start when you stepped outside.”
    I felt my muscles tighten and raised and lowered my shoulders, hoping to ease the discomfort, then took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and thought back. Vivid memories came to me. As soon as I’d opened the outside door I’d smelled the moist sweet aroma of fresh-cut grass. Fluffy clouds dotted the baby blue sky. The sun warmed my skin.
    â€œOkay,” I said, opening my eyes. I slid my cup onto the butler’s table and stared at a spot on the Oriental carpet, a beige dot near the gold fringe, and reported. I didn’t remember anything new.
    When I finished, I raised my eyes and glanced around. There was my rooster collection in the corner cabinet. There was my desk and the window that gave me the view of the old maple tree. I touched the damask fabric on the love seat. Everything was familiar, yet it all looked and felt different, as if I’d been away for a long, long time. It was discombobulating. I rubbed my arms as if I were cold.
    â€œThank you, Josie,” Ellis said. He paused, then asked, “Are you going to keep the business open today?”
    I glanced at my grandfather clock, a Daniel Chessman original. It was after three. “I don’t know. When I’m upset, my inclination is always to work. Although I gotta say a hot bath and a Blue Martini sound pretty good right about now.”
    â€œBefore you head home, I’m going to need you to come to the station and give a statement.”
    I leaned back. “I really cared about Alice, Ellis. No joke. If I could help you find her killer, I would, but I don’t know anything else.”
    â€œIt won’t take long, Josie, but it’s got to happen. I need the formal record. On our way, I’m going to ask Doc Volmer to give you a once-over, to check you out for shock and scrapes and bruises and the like.”
    I shook my head. “I don’t need a doctor. I’m fine. I’m shook up and sad, but overall, I’m fine.”
    He nodded. “We can skip the doctor, although I don’t recommend it, but we can’t skip the statement. Sorry, Josie.”
    I recognized a losing battle when I saw one. Protocols were protocols and that was that.
    â€œOkay,” I said.
    â€œI need