Final Fondue (A Five-Ingredient Mystery) Read Online Free PDF

to the hall and peeked through the sidelight. Chief Yardley, a large man in his late fifties, stood on the front porch with a young policeman, Officer Wade. Val remembered the rookie from the last time she’d reported a murder in Bayport. He looked no older than a recent high school graduate, though he was probably in his twenties. She opened the door.
    The two men came into the house, followed by a pair of EMTs, a wiry man and a husky one. They’d come without sirens, but the flashing lights on the ambulance would alert anyone who looked out the window of an emergency at the house. Maybe no one would look. Harvey, the neighbor with a driveway adjacent to Granddad’s, had left for the weekend to avoid the influx of tourists. Across the street, the couple with a baby and a preschooler usually didn’t stay up this late. But dog walkers might come by. Everyone on the street would know something had happened at Granddad’s house, by morning if not sooner.
    Val led the way to the small enclosed porch at the back of the house. She pointed to the door leading to the yard. “She’s out there, on the ground, halfway between here and the shed.”
    The chief nodded. “Okay. You and your granddaddy stay inside.”
    Relieved at not having to look again at those dead eyes, Val stood at the back door with her grandfather, watching as Officer Wade’s powerful flashlight illuminated the yard. The EMTs crouched down. The body language when they stood up confirmed that Fawn was beyond help.
    Val left her grandfather on the porch and went into the kitchen.
    “Hello? Anybody here?” a man’s voice called from the front of the house.
    Noah . Val hurried to the dining room to head him off. “Hi. Do you need something?”
    “I was in the window seat upstairs, looked out, and saw the ambulance lights flashing. Is your grandfather ill?”
    “He’s fine. Thank you for asking.” Val would have been surprised if that answer satisfied Noah, the lawyer.
    “Why is there an ambulance here?” Noah’s eyes widened, his curiosity giving way to concern. “Is Jennifer okay? And the others?”
    The unnamed others sounded like an afterthought. Why would he think Jennifer wasn’t okay? Though Val wanted to allay the man’s fears, she abided by the chief’s request not to tell the guests what was going on. “I have no reason to think there’s anything wrong with Jennifer.”
    Val heard voices in the kitchen. The chief said something she couldn’t catch, but Granddad’s voice carried.
    “She was the only likable one in the bunch,” he said. “Where’s Val?”
    “I’m in the dining room, Granddad.”
    The chief came into the dining room with Granddad and showed his badge to Noah. “Earl Yardley, Bayport Police chief. Your name, sir?”
    Noah gaped at the big man. “I’m Noah Hurdly, attorney-at-law in Washington, D.C.”
    “I take it you’ve reserved a room in Mr. Myer’s house for the weekend.” Chief Yardley pointed toward the sitting room. “Please have a seat in there. Mr. Myer will join you there.”
    The chief turned back to the kitchen, motioning Val to follow him. He asked her what she knew about the woman lying in the backyard.
    “She registered as Fawn Finchley. She told us she worked as a gate attendant at Reagan National Airport. She and the other guests are here to help plan a wedding for Jennifer Brown, who’s also staying here.”
    “Which room was Ms. Finchley staying in?”
    Val shrugged. “Granddad would know. I left here before the guests chose rooms.”
    “You know the drill from the last time you found a body. The medical examiner and the crime scene unit will be here shortly. Don’t talk about what you saw at the crime scene to the media or anyone else.
    “I want everyone together in one room, including you. Would you tell your other guests to join your granddaddy and Mr. Hurdly? Don’t say why. I’ll give them the news.”
    Val took the staircase that went up from the kitchen. She paused outside