Read Online Bound To Die: A Cozy Mystery (Strawberry Shores Mystery Book 1) by Mak K. Han - Free Book Online

really thought about boys since I left the city. My last boyfriend wasn't all that great.”
    “What didn't you like about him?”
    I rolled my eyes. “Ugh. The list is endless...”
    “If you're not comfortable talking about him,” Harold said quickly, holding up his hands. “We can back off. Just making conversation.”
    “It's okay,” I said. “He lied a lot. He told me we'd be together forever. But he was also super interested in the bedroom stuff. He'd get rude if I wasn't in the mood.”
    “Yeah, that's lame,” Harold said.
    “But the real big one was that he lied a lot. He'd tell me whatever I wanted to hear, so long as in the end he got his way.”
    “That bugged you.”
    I nodded. “Yeah. That bugged me.”
    “If it makes you feel any better, I'm not interested in bedding you.”
    I looked at him. There was static in my head. He doubled back quickly. “Well, I mean, I wouldn't turn it down if I had the opportunity.”
    I blushed. “Thanks. I guess.”
    “It's good, though. I'll back off, if you're still getting over that last relationship.”
    No static.
    “Thanks, Harold. What did you bring for dinner?”
    We ate. We talked. The sun dipped below the horizon and soon the stars came out, speckling the night sky like diamond dust. By eight, Harold had his arm around my waist. As he walked me home, it was around my shoulders. On my doorstep, he gave me a kiss goodnight.
    After an excited hour long three-way call with Alex and Emily, I went to bed feeling like Cinderella. My memory was ablaze with the memories of the evening I spent alone with Harold Friedman.
    I'd soon find out we weren't as alone as I'd thought.

Chapter 16

When I came home after work, I found Alex sitting on my doorstep. She looked concerned.
    “Hey,” I said. “What's going on?”
    Alex cleared her throat and stood up. “I came over earlier to see if you were home. I found this taped to your door.” She handed me a photograph.
    At first I wasn't sure what I was looking at. The picture seemed to be of two people, and seemed to have been taken at a distance. Both people were facing away from the camera but the more I looked at it, the more I recognized the two people.
    “That's me and Harold,” I said flatly.
    “And that's the Strawberry River in the background.”
    My heart skipped a beat. “This was taken last night, while Harold and I were on our date.”
    Alex made a spinning gesture with her pointer finger. “Turn it over.”
    I did. On the back, scrawled in Sharpie, read: BROOKS IS DEAD. LET IT BE.
    “It's a threat,” I said. “The killer knows I'm trying to figure out who killed Mr. Brooks.”
    Alex looked up at me. I'd never seen her this way before. Alex was usually the first to mock danger but in this instant the blood was gone from her face and her eyes were trembling. “I called Emily. She should be here in a couple of minutes. I think we should go to Sheriff Caldwell with this. Emily didn't give me a definitive answer but I think she'll probably agree with me too.”
    It took very little effort to convince me that Alex was right. As soon as Emily arrived, we hopped in her car and drove down to the station.
    The Strawberry Shores police station was a small, trailer-sized building. Stepping in, we found Sheriff Caldwell lounging in his chair with his polished black boots on the table. The room smelled like whiskey. A radio behind him played Johnny Cash's “Ring of Fire.”
    “Solving cases, I see,” Alex muttered as we entered.
    “You talkin' about the Brooks case? I got some pretty solid leads,” he said. There was a fair amount of static when he said this. “You just leave it to me.”
    “Well, we might have a clue for you,” I said, handing him the picture.
    The Sheriff looked it over, front and back. “What's this?”
    “Last night, Harold Friedman and I went for a walk in the park,” I explained. “That's us. We didn't know someone was taking pictures of us. We think it was the