Red Julie (An Olivia Miller Mystery Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

wet. I think he was bleeding, Joe.”
    “So what did he do? What happened?” Joe asked.
    “I told him to back off.”
    Joe’s eyes went wide. “You did?” He smiled and added, “I don’t know why I’m surprised.”
    Olivia swallowed hard. “He looked me in the eye then. It was bad. His look. I thought he was going to kill us both.”
    Joe’s face creased with worry.
    “Some people pulled over just then. Ran over to us. The cops arrived too…and the paramedics. I …I didn’t see him anymore after that. He disappeared. The officer came right up to me and started asking questions.”
    Joe shook his head.
    “There’s something else,” Olivia said.
    Joe raised his eyebrows.
    “I was wearing my tan jacket. After the accident, I was upset, shaking, so I stopped for a coffee. I reached into my pocket for my money.”
    She put her hand in the pocket of her shorts. “And found this.” She opened her outstretched hand.
    Joe leaned forward. “A necklace? A cross?” He picked it up and turned it in his hand a few times, inspecting it. “Looks valuable.” He saw the engraved ‘S’ and traced it with his finger. “An initial.” He looked at Olivia. “Not Martin Andersen’s initial obviously.”
    “No,” she said. “Why would he put it in my pocket, Joe? He’s the only one who could have put it there. Why not just hand it to me?”
    Joe stared at it. “He must have given it to you deliberately.”
    Olivia nodded. “I agree. But why? Why put it in my pocket?”
    Joe kept staring at it as if he might glean some answer by looking. He raised his eyes. “I guess he didn’t want anyone to see it?” Joe offered.
    “So did he steal it?” Olivia asked. “Did he want me to return it to someone? To Julie, maybe? Whoever she is.” She sighed. “Or did he want me to hide it from someone and that’s why he slipped it into my pocket?”
    Joe shrugged. “It must have been important to him since he made sure he gave it to you. In the midst of being trapped in the car and the tongue and the gunshot wound.” Joe winced at the thought of the man’s accident and injuries. “The guy’s dying but he makes sure he gives you this necklace. In secret.” He shook his head and passed the necklace back to Olivia.
    “You didn’t tell the cops this stuff,” Joe said.
    “No.”
    “Why not?”
    Olivia shook her head. “Not sure. It doesn’t feel right.” She looked up at Joe. “It seems like I have an obligation. To do the right thing. To honor Martin Andersen’s intention.” She put the necklace back in her pocket. “But first I have to figure out what that intention is.”

Chapter 5
    Olivia walked into town to meet with the manager of the bank about Aggie’s accounts. On the way home, she wanted to pick up a few things at the food market. The store was small but it had an excellent array of products. She and Joe were planning on grilling chicken and vegetables for dinner and Olivia wanted to make a lemon marinade.
    When she reached the town center, Olivia noticed the new book shop across the street. A man was out front sweeping the sidewalk. He turned towards the road continuing his cleaning. Olivia smiled in surprise. Brad Walker. She hadn’t seen him since she was fourteen. They had been friends from the time they were seven years old. They both spent every summer in Ogunquit until his family moved to the west coast and didn’t travel to Maine anymore. Every summer day, they would swim, bike, climb trees, kayak, read, and sit by Joe’s fire pit at night and tell ghost stories. Brad gave Olivia a compliment once, telling her gratefully, ‘You’re as much fun as a boy and you’re not afraid of snakes or spiders.’ Actually she was afraid of snakes but she wouldn’t show her fear to Brad. Brad, his parents, and five sisters would come to Ogunquit around the twentieth of June and would stay for two months. As soon as Brad arrived, he and Olivia would pick up where they left off ten months before, as if