Read Online A Mew to a Kill by Leighann Dobbs - Free Book Online Page B

Elspeth leaned back in her chair, raising her cup of tea to her mouth as she studied me.
    I shrugged. “Some people were upset that she got the spot.”
    “Maisie Beardsley,” Elspeth said.
    “You know Maisie pretty well, right? You don’t think she would’ve done anything…” I let my voice trail off.
    Elspeth waved her hands. “Lordy, no. She wouldn’t harm a fly. Surely the police don’t suspect her?”
    I thought about the charm in my pocket. “I don’t know who they suspect. But Maisie did make a threat.”
    “Against Paisley?” Elspeth’s tone was incredulous.
    “Well, not technically. She said she’d see Paisley in the show over her dead body.”
    “I hardly see how that qualifies as a threat. If she'd said over Paisley’s dead body, maybe. Anyway, I’ve known Maisie my whole life and I can assure you she wouldn’t do anything like that. She is very serious about things when it comes to art, but she wouldn’t take it to that extreme.” Elspeth’s brow wrinkled. “Surely there must be someone more likely on the suspect list.”
    “Well, it does seem like she might have had something on George Witt. They were … friendly. He was the one that used his power as head judge to ensure she got a spot in the art show.”
    Elspeth’s lips pressed together. “I don’t like that man. I know he’s a cheater, but I never pegged him for a killer. But you never know what people will do when they are desperate.”
    “I’m not sure if he was desperate, but he did use his influence to get her into the show and so he must have been scared. Unless he really liked her work. The thing is that she did get into the show, so she wouldn’t have threatened George. I have to admit he’s my favorite as a suspect, but something doesn’t quite add up.”
    “Maybe she got greedy and wanted more. You know, threatened him for money or something once she’d seen her threats worked on getting into the show.”
    “Maybe.” That would have made sense if Paisley herself didn’t tell me otherwise. Of course, I couldn’t tell Elspeth that.
    Elspeth shook her head. “But George seems so concerned about his reputation and his wife comes from money so he wouldn’t want to screw that up. Who else didn’t want her in?”
    “Well, there was Maisie. She was pretty adamant about it.”
    “I doubt it was her. Looking into her as a suspect would just be a waste of time.” Elspeth stared into her cup pensively. “How did Paisley die? Maisie is pretty old. She wouldn’t have the strength to kill someone by physical methods.”
    “I’m not sure how she died. I thought it was in the fire, but you know Gus and Striker … they won’t share information with me.”
    “Well, they have their jobs to do.”
    “I don’t think it was Maisie either, but I’m afraid Gus might get wind of what she said at the judges’ meeting, and you know how Gus can be.” Once Gus got wind of a suspect, she was like a dog with a bone—she would not let go until the person was either convicted or cleared. “Maybe if we could find out where Maisie was last night it would help to clear her. It looks like the shop was broken into in the wee hours of the morning. She probably wouldn’t be up that early, right?”
    Elspeth grimaced. “Actually, she does get up early. She likes to paint the morning sunrise. She’s one of those people that doesn’t need a lot of sleep anyway. And she lives alone. You can probably help her best by figuring out who the real killer was.” Elspeth shot me a sideways look. “You are trying to figure out who the killer is, aren’t you?”
    I grimaced. “Is it that obvious?”
    Elspeth laughed. “No, but I know you and I know your investigator’s intuitions won’t let you just sit back. What happened at that judges’ meeting, anyway? How did George get to decide on her getting that last slot? I thought you all voted on it?”
    “We did, but there was a tie and George used his head judge status to decide.