Strung Out to Die Read Online Free PDF Page B

just stop by,” I said with a hint of sarcasm and pointed across the lake to her much larger log cabin.
    She was here for one reason and one reason only—to get me in fighting shape.
    Bernadine was right; I did need to exercise, not just to control my weight, but also to help me deal with the stress of finding Doug Sloan’s dead rump on my bead shop floor.
    She looked at me squarely.
    “Fine!” I walked back to the bedroom and pulled out the only jogging suit I had. I held it up. My nose curled. Orange was not my favorite choice to wear, and a jumpsuit didn’t look good on plump girls.
    “Come on.” Bernadine yelled from the other room. “Did you forget we have a killer to find?”
    I shuffled to the bathroom to splash a little water on my face in hopes it would help me wake up. The white-tiled bathroom was perfect for my minimalist decorating style.
    I looked in the mirror, noticing the black circles that had found a home under my tired eyes. “I bet jail has gray walls. Not a good color for me”, I told the image staring back at me.
    There was little to no motivation in me. With a heavy sigh, I turned on the water, and used my hands to throw it all over my face.
    Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Doug lying on the storage room floor with that strand of cat eye beads around his neck. A few more splashes still couldn’t wash away the image.
    “I think Willow is hungry. She’s trying to eat my bracelet.” I detected a hint of irritation in Bernadine’s voice.
    I walked back down the short hallway, lined with pictures of generations of Sloans. From what I understood, they used the cottage as getaway on the weekends.
    Ginger had told me to make it my home until I could afford a down payment on my own, but it felt funny changing out the human pictures for piggy photos.
    “Come on, girly.” I patted my leg for Willow to follow me to the refrigerator.
    Willow hopped off the futon, nudged her ball, and trotted over. I’ve never understood the affection she has for all things round. Peas, balls, beads, and Bernadine.
    I took a leftover ear of corn from the other night’s dinner and handed it to her like she was a child. Eagerly, she took it and lay in the dog bed happily chomping away. I’d purchased the bed thinking she would use it to sleep in. Not a chance. She sleeps snuggled right up against me; hot piggy belly and all.
    “Are you ready?” I couldn’t believe those words were coming out of my mouth. Nor did I believe that I was having Bernadine get me in fighting shape. “I’m ready.”
    “The leader at Food Watchers says that if I incorporated exercise, I could have a snack or two during the day, and I’m starving for more than a carrot stick.” She pulled the bag out of her pocket and dangled them in front of my face. “Yuck.” She put them back in her pocket.
    Normally, I would smile, agree with her and crack a joke, but this wasn’t a joking situation.
    She reached out and rubbed my arm, trying to comfort me. “Plus, I want the low-down on if you heard anything about Doug since last night.” Bernadine did a couple of warm up moves, reaching her hands up to the sky and then down to touch her toes.
    “Come on, Willow.” I grabbed her hot pink leash off the kitchen chair and clipped it on her collar. “If you are going to keep up with me, you are going to have to lose some weight too.”
    Groink, groink.
    “I feel your pain,” I whispered to her. From her snorts and grunts, I could tell she wanted to walk as much as I did.
    We made it around the lake a couple of times. Bernadine yammered on about her divorce and how lucky I would be if it really was Sean that killed Doug, because then he’d be out of my life forever.
    I couldn’t help but look over my shoulder a time or two. I guess that was a natural reaction when you think someone was setting you up for murder.
    “What?” I strained to hear what she was saying. I had to walk twice as fast as Bernadine to keep up. “What did you