Judy's Death (Cara Daniels Cozy Mystery Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

man tumbling to the
floor.
    Judy blinked and straightened her
skirt. “Good grief, Cara! What happened?”
    Cara stood up and pointed at the man.
“He attacked you!”
    The man laughed, got to his feet and
helped Judy up. He smiled and said, “I didn’t attack her, I was hugging her.”
He put his arms around Judy and gave her a big hug. Judy let him. Cara frowned.
What was going on?
Once Judy had been released she said, “Cara, this is Andrew. Also known as A. J.
Moss.”
    Cara’s mouth dropped open. She’d just
wrestled with a world famous author. What if she’d have broken his hands! Cara
stuttered, “I’m so sorry … I didn’t realise …”
    Andrew smiled. “Doesn’t matter. Judy,
is this your bodyguard?”
    Judy laughed. “No, this is Cara, a
lovely volunteer. She’s been …” Judy faltered as she looked at something behind
Cara.
    Cara spun around. Lauren and Millie
were standing there. Both had unnaturally bright smiles on their faces. They
looked far more sinister than any of the dressed-up fans of Snake-Eye Jones.
    Millie said to Judy, “I must apologise
for my behaviour earlier. I should do more to help my local community. I’m
putting myself forward as a volunteer. Thomas sends his apologies, he can’t
make it tonight, he’s got errands to run.”
    Lauren mimicked her mother’s overly
sweet tone and added, “Judy, Mum can help you with this evening’s events.”
    Millie gave a laugh that made Cara
shiver. Millie moved closer to Judy and said, “Let’s make this an evening to
remember.”

 

 
    Chapter 8

 
    Cara didn’t have time to worry about
the implied threat in Millie’s tone as vampires and werewolves began to make
their way into the town hall.
    Andrew gave Judy a quick peck on her
cheek and said, “I’ll catch up with you later after the book signing.”
    Lauren snaked her arm through Millie’s
and said, “Wait until you meet the big star of the show. I pulled off quite a
deal getting him to appear here. He’s already put the word out to some of his
author friends.” She shot a look at Judy but carried on speaking to her mum.
“This town could become the place to go for authors of Snake-Eye’s calibre, if
the right person was to manage the festival.”
    Judy ignored her tone. She smiled
brightly and said, “Lauren, are you going to oversea Snake-Eye’s event, or
should I do it?”
    Lauren tutted. “Of course I’m going to
do it. I’ll introduce him and then take my seat at the front. Mum, I’ve got a
couple of VIP seats ready for us.”
    Still keeping the smile on her face
Judy continued, “And what about showing people to their seats? And making sure
the bookseller is ready?”
    Lauren waved a hand at her. “You do
that, you’re used to doing menial jobs.”
    Judy’s smile now look forced as she
added, “And what about his thank-you gift?”
    “A thank-you gift? I didn’t know we
gave them out. Of course I’ll give it to him.”
    Cara couldn’t help herself. “No you
won’t! Judy spent a lot of time sorting those gifts out! She even handwrote a
thank-you note. Why should you get the credit?”
    Lauren and Millie’s mouths dropped open
at the same time.
    Judy put her hand on Cara’s arm.
“There’s no need to shout, Cara.” Judy’s smile disappeared as she gave Lauren a
direct look. “But Cara is right, why should you get the credit for something
I’ve done? I’ll be handing the gift to Snake-Eye Jones.”
    Lauren and Millie shared a look. Cara
didn’t miss the slight turning up of their mouths as if they were sharing a
secret.
    Judy said, “Come on, Cara, people are
starting to queue up for Snake-Eye’s event. We’d better let them into the
room.”
    Lauren’s voice was overloud as she
announced, “Mum, we’d better go and introduce ourselves to Snake-Eye.”
    Cara and Judy made their way towards
the closed doors of the top room. The dressed-up crowd greeted their arrivals
with cheers and big smiles. Cara was taken aback as she saw