Treacherous Tart Read Online Free PDF Page B

somehow.”
    â€œMaybe not asking for her exactly,” Professor Simpson observed. “It was more like gasping her name—perhaps in surprise and bewilderment. There were some strong emotions in him.”
    â€œIs that blood on his coat?” Aunt Clara’s face blanched.
    â€œI think so.” Maggie lowered her voice. “This is what I was trying to warn you about. The man is, or was , mixed up in some very bad things. Where were you a few minutes ago?”
    â€œI was just outside in the alley, looking for the cat,” Aunt Clara sputtered as she carefully knelt down on the floor beside Donald and held his hand. “You told me that he killed older women for their money.” She shot a sharp look at Maggie. “It looks to me as though someone might have tried to kill him .” Tears began to well in her eyes. “I’d say you and Ryan were off the mark.”
    Before Maggie could respond, paramedics pushed through the front door, followed by a police officer.
    â€œWhere’s the victim?” the lead paramedic asked.
    â€œMove aside please.” The officer made room for the medical personnel. “Where’s the owner? Did anyone see what happened?”
    â€œI’m Maggie Grady, one of the owners. I saw Mr. Wickerson come in.” She described, in detail, what had happened as the lead paramedic examined Donald.
    â€œWe’ll probably need you to write that down, ma’am.” The officer was polite but distant. “Was he a friend of yours?”
    Maggie wished the officer would evict all of their customers from the pie shop, even if that meant losing some business. She didn’t want to discuss her aunt’s boyfriend in front of everyone they knew.
    â€œHe and I have been dating for a few weeks.” Aunt Clara wasn’t shy at all about it. Large tears rolled down her cheeks, and her lips quivered. “He’s such a wonderful man. I can’t imagine who would want to hurt him.”
    â€œUnless it was someone who knew one of those six women he allegedly killed.” Professor Simpson’s loud lecture voice overpowered the rest of the sound in the pie shop.
    The police officer craned his neck, trying to see who’d spoken. “All right. Everyone, I need names, phone numbers you can be reached at, andaddresses. Give your statement to my partner here, and then exit the shop.”
    â€œThat’s just what it says right here in the Weekly .” Professor Simpson held up his copy of the newspaper. Donald’s face was on the front page.
    Ryan had done exactly what Detective Frank Waters had told him not to. He’d used Donald’s real name and a picture of him with a story about the suspicious deaths of his six wives.
    â€œOkay.” The officer took off his hat and ran his hand through his thinning brown hair. “I’m calling for a homicide detective, and the ME should be on his way. Everyone take a seat, and we’ll talk to you one at a time.”
    â€œI didn’t see anything,” one of the pie shop’s regular customers complained as he nervously eyed Donald lying on the floor. “I can’t see any reason for me to be late for work because this man died.”
    â€œHe’s not dead,” Angela declared. “They’re still working on him, for goodness’ sake.”
    â€œOnce I get your name, address, and phone number, sir, you can go.” The officer sounded irritable. “I’ll need to do a short test for GSR too.”
    Professor Simpson stayed. So did Angela. The student who’d once been premed stayed too, along with a jogger who came in every morning. They all claimed to have seen Donald stumble into the shop.
    â€œI’m sorry, ma’am,” the lead paramedic said toAunt Clara, who still held Donald’s hand in hers. “I know this is hard for you, but this man is dead. You’ll have to move aside so the medical examiner can get