Skating Around The Law Read Online Free PDF

rink. While I didn’t want to run the rink myself, I wanted to find a buyer who would keep Mom’s dream alive.
    â€œTurn him down.” I sighed as a flashbulb went off in my face to commemorate the moment. “And anyone else not interested in owning a roller rink.”
    Doreen’s eyes twinkled behind her rhinestone rims. “It could take a long time for the sheriff to put Mack’s death to rest. Things don’t move as quick around here as they do in the city.”
    â€œI know,” I assured her. “Just do the best you can, and could you get these people out of here? George looks like he is about to go into cardiac arrest.”
    Leaving Doreen to deal with the fallout, I slid into my stifling car and cranked the air to arctic. Now what? A frightening vision of the rest of my life trapped in this town flashed before me. I didn’t relish the idea of handing out skate rentals and dodging Pop’s dates for the next decade.
    Laying my head against the steering wheel, I considered my options. There was only one. The case needed to be closed and fast; otherwise my life was going to resemble a country-western song. Too bad the sheriff’s department didn’t seem to function at a speed above mosey.
    But I did. Between Pop’s information network and visiting Roxy’s House of Nails, I now had a list of potential suspects—Agnes Piraino, Lionel Franklin, and Annette Zukowski. Since Sheriff Jackson was busy pruning his daisies, paying them a visit probably wouldn’t hurt.
    Someone should, right?
    As my car chugged through the downtown area, I spotted several familiar faces. A woman coming out of the Lutheran church looked familiar, and I waved as I sat at a stoplight. Instead of giving a typical Indian Falls smile, though, the woman hurried around the corner, her eyes filled with fear. The light changed, and I continued down the street with the weird feeling that the woman thought I had something to do with Mack’s death. Just one more fun problem to deal with, I thought as I parallel parked my car down the block. Getting out, I prepared myself to interview my first potential murder suspect and my godmother—Annette Zukowski.
    Annette ran the town’s only beauty salon, Shear Highlights. She’d opened it when I was in high school. Today the salon was filled with women getting their hair set and colored in time for Sunday morning services. Several of them jumped as I opened the door. Clearly they were spooked about a murder taking place in Indian Falls. Still, that wasn’t enough to keep them from their weekly beauty ritual.
    I spotted Annette in the back clipping a little girl’s blond hair. Annette and I were a lot alike physically. She was thin, about average height, and had large quantities of hair, which today she wore pulled back at the nape of her neck. Hers was dark brown where mine was red. Annette’s bright blue eyes were crinkled in perpetual laughter, and her smile never failed to lift everyone’s spirits. The minute she looked up from her work, she smiled and waved me forward.
    I strolled down the aisle, trying to ignore several sets of eyes widening as I passed. My shoulders tensed, and I took a deep breath. Being stared at by gossips in this town hadn’t gotten any easier in the past decade.
    Annette’s scissors didn’t stop snipping as she shot me a large smile. “How are you doing, Rebecca? Did you come by for the haircut I promised you?”
    A year ago, after my mom’s funeral, Annette suggested I get a makeover to assist me through the sadness. When I turned her down, she helped me consume the better part of three bottles of wine and tucked me in when I passed out.
    I shook my head. “Next time. I kind of wanted to talk to you about Mack.”
    Blow-dryers all around me went silent.
    Annette just raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow. “I heard about what happened to him yesterday. It’s