Murder on the Half Shelf Read Online Free PDF

Now!”
    The chief’s expression went from surprised to a scowl. “Then go.”
    Angelica let the door swing shut. “Tricia, you may bring my luggage home.” Without waiting for a reply, Angelica stalked off to the front door, letting it slam behind her.
    Chauncey Porter, who had apparently lost his police escort, stood at the bottom of the stairs. “Oh my,” he said in a low voice. Tricia had completely forgotten he was in the house. How long had he been standing there, eavesdropping on their conversation? Had he heard what Angelica had said about him just minutes before?
    Chauncey gripped the handle of his scuffed overnight bag tightly and hefted the book he’d been reading in the other. “I’d—I’d better be going home.” He nodded to Tricia andhurried to the door, looking distinctly guilty. What did he have to hide?
    Suddenly the thought struck her as ominous.
    What if sweet Chauncey Porter wasn’t quite so sweet after all?
    Tricia shook her head and frowned. The fact that a violent death had just occurred encouraged her to think the worst of everyone. And Angelica had been right. When Jon Comfort was proven to be the long-lost best-selling author Harrison Tyler, suspicion was sure to fall on her.
    Anger rolled through her for the years she had mourned the loss of her first lover, Harrison Tyler.
    Now she could just kill him.

FOUR
    The swinging door from the kitchen banged open and Chief Baker entered the living room with Harry Tyler right behind him. “Was that Mr. Porter leaving?” he asked.
    “Yes, and I’d like to leave, too. If Mr. Comfort—or Tyler, or whatever he’s calling himself today—will give me a hand with my luggage, I’ll be off,” Tricia said rather curtly.
    “
I
will help you,” Baker said.
    “Fine with me,” Comfort said, and stalked off for the kitchen once again.
    Baker waited until the door swung shut before he spoke, his voice low, angry. “Why didn’t you tell me about Tyler?” he demanded.
    “Have you told me about every woman
you’ve
ever been with?” Tricia replied.
    “Comfort or Tyler is a suspect in Pippa Comfort’s death. And you could be considered an accomplice.”
    “How? I didn’t even know he was alive until he marched into the inn’s kitchen. You were there. You saw how surprised I was to see Harry Tyler return from the dead.”
    “Of course, but the district attorney might not believe it.”
    “That’s ridiculous. I hadn’t seen or heard from Harry since the day before he disappeared and was presumed dead over twenty years ago. I hadn’t even thought of the man in years.” Okay, that was bending the truth a little. She’d made a point of remembering Harry on his birthday, and on the anniversary of his so-called death, but after such a long period of time they were only wistful thoughts of what might have been. She’d mourned for him for a year or so, and then she’d dated other men and moved on with her life, eventually marrying Christopher Benson.
    “It doesn’t matter what I think,” Baker said.
    “Of course it does;
you’re
the Stoneham chief of police.
You’re
the one investigating this death.”
    “Yes, and I have to make sure that everyone who’s a viable suspect gets treated exactly the same way. Including you.”
    “I did
not
kill Pippa Comfort!” Tricia said, a bit louder than necessary.
    “And you didn’t see anyone in that yard when you came out with the dog?”
    “It was as quiet as a grave.”
    Baker actually winced at her word choice.
    “Now, since you let Angelica leave in a huff, I’ve got to bring all her luggage home, and my sister does not travel light. And unless you or one of your men gives me a ride home, I’ve got to drag that luggage through the streets of Stoneham.”
    “I will give you a ride home.”
    “Thank you. The suite is this way.” Tricia turned and started up the stairs with Baker hot on her heels.
    “What were you doing here tonight, anyway?” he asked.
    “Angelica won a raffle at