Read Online 03 - Three Odd Balls by Cindy Blackburn - Free Book Online

and donned their cover-ups, but I refused to budge.
    “Dianne Calloway,” I reminded them and turned to Buster. “We were kind of in the middle of something before lunch.”
    “Oh, Jessie,” Mother scolded and gestured for me to stand up. “Surely that can wait until later? There’s a tree to decorate.”
    “But what about Wilson’s mystery woman?” I whined from my lounge chair. “What about his deep dark secrets?”
    “Mystery woman? Secrets?” Buster bent over and stacked our empty plates back onto the tray. “Is this about last night?”
    “Nooo,” I said. “It is not.”
    “We are quite certain Jessica’s paramour has an intriguing past,” Louise said casually. “But we can worry about that some other time. There’s a tree to decorate!” She gestured to Bee Bee, he hopped onto her outstretched wrist, and the two of them meandered away toward The Big House.
    Buster looked at my mother. “Paramour?”
    “Louise is just being silly,” she assured him. “Wilson Rye is as darling and wholesome as can be.”
    Wholesome? I might have scowled at that assessment, but Buster didn’t notice. He picked up his tray, offered my mother a cocked elbow, and they, too, began to wander off.
    “Don’t you be a Scrooge, Jessie,” Mother called over her shoulder. “Come help us.”
    I gave up on pouting and was buttoning my own cover-up when I noticed the Hoochie Coochie Brothers waving their ukuleles at me.
    “We’ll play Christmas carols to get you in the spirit,” Hal, or maybe it was Cal, said, and the two of them clamored off their porch toward The Big House.
    I was about to follow, but the Song of the Sea bungalow suddenly captured my rapt attention. Hadn’t a light been on at the Coochie cabin the previous night? When I was taking my walk? I tilted my head. When Davy Atwell was stabbed?
    I glanced down at The Big House, where the first chorus of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” was just getting underway. Santa was making a list of who was naughty and who was nice.
    Taking a wild guess as to which category I fell into, I flip-flopped over to Song of the Sea.

Chapter 7
    Bless their ukulele-playing hearts, Hal and Cal had neglected to lock their door.
    I tiptoed inside and stood at the foot of one of the twin beds. Wilson and I hadn’t spent much time checking out this bungalow when we were settling in the previous day. We had seen the twin beds and moved on without further ado.
    “Time to rectify that,” I whispered to myself and took a closer look around.
    Two open ukulele cases were tucked away in one corner, and a stack of fliers advertising the ukulele jamboree was piled on a nightstand, but otherwise the place was neat and tidy. No murder weapon, no bloody clothes, nothing.
    I walked into the bathroom. A couple of towels were hanging over the shower rack. But again, no blood.
    I went back into the main room, where one of the dressers caught my eye. Reminding myself I was on the naughty list anyway, I opened the top drawer. Lo and behold, a wallet stared up at me. Reminding myself I was on the naughty list anyway, I picked it up and studied Hal Coochie’s driver’s license.
    “Anything interesting?”
    I jumped ten feet in the air. And Hal’s wallet flew across the room and landed in one of the ukulele cases.
    Once I was steady on my flip flops again, I hazarded a glance in the direction of the doorway. Wilson Rye. Frowning. His big, intimidating, cop-like frown.
    “Umm,” I said. “How was the hike?”
    “What the hell are you doing?”
    I had absolutely no idea.
    “What are you doing?” I tried.
    “Your mother sent me to look for you. They’re almost done with the tree.” He raised an eyebrow. “And you?”
    “Almost done!” I jumped again. “Well then, I need help!” I dived into gathering up the contents of Hal’s wallet, which were now scattered everywhere. But at some point I realized I was working alone. Wilson had not moved.
    I looked up from the credit cards that