Real Murder (Lovers in Crime Mystery Book 2) Read Online Free PDF

the murder of a hooker.”
    “I looked into it when Josh first moved back here,” Curt said. “I wasn’t sheriff back when Gardner disappeared, so  what I know is not first hand. There were no murder cases involving a prostitute, dead or otherwise, back when he disappeared.” He shrugged. “I wish I could help.” Seeing that the cruiser was out of the water, the sheriff excused himself to go down to the lakeshore to join Joshua and Tad in examining the vehicle and the dead body inside.
    “Hey, Mrs. Thornton!”
    It took a full moment for Cameron to realize Woody was talking to her when he broke through the crowd to join her.
    His round cheeks were red with pride when he smiled at her. “I found the car!”
    “Good for you, Woody,” she said.
    “Donny said it was just an abandoned junker, but I saw the lights and knew that it was a cruiser,” Woody said.  “I thought, why would the police dump one of their cruisers in the bottom of the lake? Then I knew that it was something suspicious. Maybe I have what it takes to be a great detective like you, Mrs. Thornton.”
    “Actually, it’s Gates,” Cameron said.
    “’Huh?” Woody asked.
    “I kept my maiden name,” she explained. “It’s Gates, not Thornton. You can call me Cameron though.”
    Woody blushed even deeper.
    “What happened to you?” Donny came over to ask when he saw the cut on her cheek and the bruises.
    “I jumped off a second-floor fire escape,” Cameron said.
    “What were you doing jumping off a second-floor fire escape?” Donny smiled in anticipation of her response.
    “I was chasing a killer,” she said.
    “Did you catch him?” Woody asked.
    “Yes,” she said, “he broke my fall.”
    “Good for you.” Woody bumped fists with her.
    Joshua was walking slowly when he came up from the lake. Cameron broke from the group to join him. “Is it him?” she asked.
    “They found a badge pinned to what is left of his clothes,” Joshua said. “We wiped off the gunk and found his badge number on it. We’ll need dental records to confirm it, but it’s Mike.”
    “Cause of death?”
    “Body is badly decomposed, but Tad might be able to  determine it,” Joshua said. “His gun isn’t in his holster. It might be in the car under all the mud, but since it’s not in his holster I think he was disarmed.” He looked down at the lake. “This was no accident, Cam. No way he could have lost control of his car and ended up this far off the road and all the way over in that lake. Someone dumped it—most likely in the middle of the night after the park was closed.” He turned around to take in the thick woods surrounding them. “Lots of places around here to hide the cruiser until dark when no one was around.” He turned to her. “Someone killed him, and I’m going to find out who.”
    She took his hand and gazed up into his blue eyes. “And I’m here to help.”

Chapter Three
    “Sawyer doesn’t know of any murdered hookers in the area,” Cameron said more to break the silence in Joshua’s SUV than anything else. After all, the sheriff had already told her that Joshua had looked into the case after his wife had passed away and he had returned to Chester.
    “I know,” Joshua responded.
    Cameron rubbed her forehead while resting her head in her hand on the side window in the front seat.
    They were on their way to Belle Fontaine’s home. Mike Gardner’s widow had remarried shortly after Mike had been legally declared dead. Royce Fontaine, Belle’s second husband and an executive with a pharmaceutical company in Pittsburgh, had moved his wife and stepson to a luxurious house on Woodland Avenue that looked over the town and Chester Bridge crossing the Ohio River.
    Cameron pointed out, “You know, most hookers I’ve encountered don’t exactly list their occupation as ‘prostitute’ on their resume. Maybe he was looking into the murder of a woman who was a hooker but posing as a masseuse.”
    “We don’t have any