Fever Rich: A Mercy Mares Cozy Mystery Read Online Free PDF Page B

him all about my dog.
     
    “Well, his name is Barney. He's a Pug. He hasn't lived with me too long, so we're still in the getting to know each other phase of our relationship, but he's really funny and really sweet and I love him.” I felt so bad for Barney because ever since he'd been given to me by the staff at a nursing home I'd worked at for a brief time not too long ago, I hadn't had much time to devote to him. As it stands right now, he was still staying with my friends Ruby and Hank.
     
    Between them and Diana, they'd taken care of him while I was away on assignment. Since I'd arrived home, things had happened so quickly that they all thought that I should take a few days to settle in before he came back home or my daughter hopped on a plane to pay me a visit.
     
    She no longer lived at home and made her life all the way across the country in New York City, but came home quite often to spend some time with me and her father from time to time.
     
    “I used to have a dog. I think.” Cash crinkled up his nose as he thought back to a time when he had a dog.
     
    “What happened to your dog?” I asked.
     
    “I don't know,” he shrugged. “I guess they got rid of him too.”
     
    I didn't understand. I hoped he wasn't saying that his parents had gotten rid of the dog like they had him. The thought of that made me sad. I can't imagine ever walking away from my child.
     
    “Are you talking about your parents?” I asked.
     
    A soft tapping on the door interrupted our conversation. Lucilla opened the door and poked her head in.
     
    “Can I see you for a moment, Mrs. Mares?” She asked.
     
    “Sure. I'll be back in a few minutes, Cash. Can you please wait right here for me and I'll come back and tell you all about Barney when I get back?” I asked.
     
    He shrugged and grabbed some small toys nearby, waving us off. I turned to Lucilla and she nodded for me to follow her.
     
    After she closed the door behind me, she whispered, “The police are here. They'll want to speak to you and Cash. Go on downstairs.”
     
    “They want to speak to me? I didn't see anything.” Being questioned by police never went well for me. I didn't want to take a chance of saying something that would make me lose this job. I hadn't done anything wrong, but sometimes my lips moved faster than I ever wanted them to.
     
    When I reached the bottom of the stairs, several people were milling about downstairs. There were police officers, detectives, and several people I hadn't seen before, but by their uniforms, I assumed they were part of Nathaniel's staff members.
     
    One female detective saw me and introduced herself. “Hello, I'm Detective Zoey Ortiz. I was wondering if we could talk for a few minutes.” She led me to the dining room and closed the pocket doors behind her. “Tell me your name.”
     
    I told her my name and explained that I had just been there for an interview. I wasn't supposed to start working yet.
     
    “Yes, I know. Can you tell me exactly what happened today after you arrived?” She didn't take notes as I spoke, but listened intently. I found that to be interesting because on both occasions where I'd been interviewed by police, both officers wrote down what I'd said into a notebook.
     
    “Are you going to memorize this?” I was just curious. I wasn't meaning to be rude.
     
    She smiled politely and explained that she had a good memory and had already written down what Lucilla and Nathaniel had told her. “If I need to remember something in particular, I'll write it down, but this should just be a quick chat. So, the interview didn't go as expected, did it?”
     
    Boy, she wasn't kidding!
     
    “The interview was interesting. I killed it.” Why was I joking at a time like this? “I mean, I got the job, but truth be told, I think I had the job before I walked in the door. This was just a formality.” I explained.
     
    She didn't react to my bad word choice. Hopefully, that wouldn't be used against