Murder Takes to the Hills Read Online Free PDF

with her signature three-inch heels. And she had had her hair done at some point during the day.   She looked lovely but somehow stressed.
    Sonny put his free hand on her shoulder and leaned down for a peck on her cheek. “I’ll be damned, honey, you look good enough to have for dinner!”
    Cindy looked up at him, said, “…Let’s say… Oh, God!!” And burst into tears.
    Sonny dropped his hand like he’d been shot and took a giant step backward into the refrigerator door. “Cindy! I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean anything wrong! It’s just…you looked so pretty…I must have just said it wrong…please don’t cry.”
    I knew he hadn’t meant anything out of line—and, more to the point, so did Cindy. There was considerable affection between the two, and she would never have taken offense at what he just did and said. And if she had thought he was out of line, a swift verbal one-two punch would have been a much more likely reaction than tears. What on earth was wrong with her?
    Before I could phrase the question, Cindy abruptly sat down at the table and fished a tissue from her jacket pocket. Dabbing at her eyes, she looked up at Sonny.
    “It’s not you. I’m the one who’s sorry. You didn’t do anything.” She blinked back a fresh round of tears and got control of her voice.
    “I think I’m being stalked.”

CHAPTER FOUR
    Nobody said another word.   Sonny and I just stared at her as if she’d placed a smoking bomb on the kitchen table.
    Fargo was the first to get his act together, scrambling to his feet and going to her and putting his head in her lap. That seemed to unlock Sonny and me. And we were full of questions.
    “Darling, how awful for you!   When did this start?”
    Before she could answer, Sonny asked, “Is it a male or a female?”
    “Is it someone you know or recognize?” I queried.
    “Have you been harmed or threatened in any way?” Sonny was looking fierce.
    Waving her hands as if she were shooing away flies, Cindy spoke jerkily between short breaths. “Wait! Just wait!   You’re both picking on me. I can’t answer you both at once. I just can’t!”
    It finally dawned on me that she was understandably near hysteria, and firing questions at her would not help the situation. Count on Fargo—he’d handled it correctly right from the get- go. I lowered my voice—both in pitch and volume.
    “Absolutely right, angel. Take your time. Sonny, would you make Cindy a drink and freshen mine, as you so kindly offered earlier.” He headed for the dining room, where the liquor lived.
    “Sure. And just remember, Cindy, you’re perfectly safe now…and we’ll make certain you stay that way. Try to tell us about it as you feel up to it.”
    Sonny soon handed out the drinks. Taking a sip, Cindy began to speak. “You know how you somehow become aware someone is staring at you? They don’t have to wave or say anything; you just feel it. Most of the time it’s okay…someone you know wanting your attention, or some woman wearing the same dress you are, or a tourist about to ask directions. You know…nothing.”
    We nodded agreement and she continued. “But the last week or so I’ve had the feeling someone was watching me a lot. Then when I looked up or looked around, I felt as if they had quickly looked the other way, or stepped behind another person, or were suddenly reading the newspaper.”
    Sonny asked gently. “Has this been a specific person or just a kind of general feeling?”
    “Just a general feeling. Why?” she asked defensively. “You think I’m paranoid?”
    “Far from it,” he smiled. “Knowing you, if you could tell who it was, you’d have long since confronted them. Right?”
    She returned his smile, and I felt better. Obviously, so did she. “You bet!” she said. “And at this point I would confront them with a baseball bat.”
    I put my oar in the water. “Where have you been when you had these feelings?”
    “Most often at work. Usually downstairs in