Strawberry Cream Murder: A Donut Hole Cozy Mystery - Book 1 Read Online Free PDF Page A

squeezed into the corner.  Nothing out of the ordinary.
     
    Wait.  The dresser.  The nightstand.
     
    She glanced at the photos there as the unformed thought that had been bothering her in Christa’s office registered itself in her consciousness.  Christa’s office had held nothing personal.  That was what was wrong.
     
    Yes, Christa had been overly hung up on neatness, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t a real person with real relationships.  Surely there must be someone she would want to have a picture of.  Or if not that, some memento of a trip she’d taken, or some knickknack. 
     
    Maybe she just hadn’t gotten her office entirely set up yet, Heather argued with herself.  After all, she wasn’t even open yet.
     
    But the suspicion that the lack of personal items meant something wouldn’t go away.  It niggled at the back of her mind as she took care of a few housekeeping chores and then dressed to go out.  It was still there as Amy’s champagne-colored Toyota pulled up in front of the house.  Heather locked the door behind herself and got into Amy’s passenger seat.
     
    “Amy, let me run something by you, and you tell me if I’m crazy,” she said.

Chapter 5
     
    “Okay. So—” Amy closed her mouth, chewed the rest of her bite of enchilada, and swallowed.  “So—“ she said again, reaching for her water glass and taking a sip, “You have two suspects.”  She held up one hand and raised a finger for each person on her list.  “Joey Ray Gorham.  Billy Fordyce.  Anybody else?”
     
    “I don’t know,” Heather mused.  “After the blood tests come back, we’ll know more.”
     
    “And maybe we’ll know we should suspect someone else.  But right now, Joey Ray and Billy are looking pretty good for the murder.”
     
    “Anything else, ladies?”  Their waiter stopped next to their table and smiled.
     
    “No, thank you,” Amy answered for them.  “We’re good.”
     
    “Okay.  Just let me know if there’s anything else I can do for you.”  With another smile, the waiter turned and headed for the kitchen.
     
    Amy leaned across the table toward Heather.  “He’s hot,” she whispered.
     
    Heather rolled her eyes, a grin crooking the corner of her mouth upward.  “You think every guy is hot,” she said.
     
    “Please, girl.  Give me some credit.  I have taste .”  Amy sat back and fixed her with a faux-snooty glare for about two seconds.  Then her expression relaxed.  “Okay.  Now where were we?”
     
    “Suspecting Joey Ray and Billy.”
    “Oh yes.  That.  Them.  Whatever.”  Amy frowned.  “So if they did it, or if one of them did it, why?  Their connection is drugs, but what would drugs have to do with Christa?”
     
    “Maybe their motive has something to do with whatever Billy meant when he said Christa had a habit of screwing people over.”
     
    “Yeah, I wonder what he meant by that.”
     
    “I do too,” Heather said.  For a moment, each of them thought in silence.
     
    “You know what we need to do?” Amy said suddenly.  “We really need to find out why Billy thinks Christa screwed him over.”
     
    “How are we going to do that?” Heather asked.
     
    “We’re going to search Christa’s computer.”
     
    “ What?”
     
    “We’re going to search Christa’s computer,” Amy repeated.  “Only we can’t do it tonight, because if somebody walks by and sees lights on in her shop, that might look suspicious.”
     
    “I have no idea how to get onto her computer.  I don’t have any idea what her password would be.”
     
    “Leave that to me,” Amy said. 
     
    “You think she would have her office computer connected to her home computer?”
    “Who knows?”
     
    “What time tomorrow?” Heather asked.
     
    “You tell me.  You’re the one with a regular job.”
     
    “8:00.”
     
    “Are you kidding?  You know I don’t get up until at least 10:00,” Amy protested.
     
    “Call me when you’re awake,