Read Online Chilled in Chattanooga (A Trixie Montgomery Cozy Mystery Book 4) by Deborah Malone - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Deborah Malone
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She reached up to straighten it, now it leaned the other way. “Why were you watching us? You could get in trouble for that.”
A Cheshire Cat grin spread across her face. “Yeah, well everyone around here is a little jumpy and I heard you mention poisoning someone.” She tugged at my hand. “Let me go. I should tell my supervisor about this. Come to think of it, I might just bypass my supervisor and go straight to the police.”
“Go ahead, we don’t have anything to hide.” I let go of her sleeve and gulped, that wasn’t exactly true. I suspected it wouldn’t bode well for me with Detective Sams if she discovered what we’d been discussing. Too late to worry about that now. “Wait!”
She scurried off like a squirrel chased by a dog. Dee Dee stood totem pole still with her mouth agape.
“My goodness,” I turned toward Dee Dee, “what do you think she really heard?” I sat back down before my legs gave out.
Dee Dee found her voice. “I don’t know, but there’s nothing we can do about it now. Let’s get back to our list.” With her bottom turned heavenward she retrieved her pen and tablet. She sat, scooted around for comfort, and placed the tablet on her lap with aplomb. “Shoot.”
I stuck my finger and thumb out and pulled an imaginary trigger. “Bang.”
“Funny, Trix. Very funny.” She tried to keep a straight face, but failed miserably. Her laughter echoed in the large, open lobby. “Thanks for the comic relief. We needed that. Just hope nobody was spying on us.”
“That’s for sure. All right, who do we have on the list so far?” My shoulders relaxed a bit and my breathing settled to almost normal. I had a feeling it would be short-lived.
“We have Bodene Tate and Lori Wilson,” Dee Dee said.
“There’s Tippi ‘with-an-i’ Colston.” I gave Dee Dee the queen’s wave. Tippi’s a gorgeous redhead. The problem is she knows it and she holds her nose just a little higher than most. I tried being friendly with her, but she didn’t warm up any.” I recalled something about her I’d forgotten until now. “Hey, I just remembered she was outside Annie’s door when I was in the hallway. I need to tell Detective Sams about this.”
“Yeah, that might take the investigation in another direction – away from you. Why don’t you call her now?” Dee Dee reached in her bag and pulled out her phone. It always amazed me how fast she could find something in her mammoth bags. “Here, you can use mine.”
I rummaged around in my purse for the detective’s business card. I finally located it on the bottom. I handed it to Dee Dee. “Can you read the number; I don’t have my reading glasses on?”
Dee Dee reached for the glasses she’d pushed up on her head and pulled them down into place. “Here ya go – 555-4582.”
I punched in the numbers and put it on speaker phone so Dee Dee could hear. After two rings a woman answered. After I asked for Detective Sams, she informed me that the detective was away on business and asked if I wanted to leave a message. I’d be sitting on pins and needles until she called back.
I handed Dee Dee her phone. “Write down George Buchanan as well.” It was painful to remember the scene where Annie berated him. “I believe if I was George I’d want to kill her.”
“Why?” Dee Dee asked with raised eyebrows.
“It was terrible Dee. Annie had asked each of us to write a paper. She read them out loud and then critiqued them. After she read George’s paper she said “this is an example of how not to write” and then shredded it. Everyone just sat there in shock. Poor ole’ George didn’t take it so well. He threw back his chair, threatened Annie, then fled the room.”
“Sounds like another candidate for a person of interest. I swanny, I don’t know why the detective focused on you. I’m putting a star by his name, too.”
Dee Dee tapped her pencil on her tablet. “Getting back to George. When you tell Detective Sams about Tippi,
A Cheshire Cat grin spread across her face. “Yeah, well everyone around here is a little jumpy and I heard you mention poisoning someone.” She tugged at my hand. “Let me go. I should tell my supervisor about this. Come to think of it, I might just bypass my supervisor and go straight to the police.”
“Go ahead, we don’t have anything to hide.” I let go of her sleeve and gulped, that wasn’t exactly true. I suspected it wouldn’t bode well for me with Detective Sams if she discovered what we’d been discussing. Too late to worry about that now. “Wait!”
She scurried off like a squirrel chased by a dog. Dee Dee stood totem pole still with her mouth agape.
“My goodness,” I turned toward Dee Dee, “what do you think she really heard?” I sat back down before my legs gave out.
Dee Dee found her voice. “I don’t know, but there’s nothing we can do about it now. Let’s get back to our list.” With her bottom turned heavenward she retrieved her pen and tablet. She sat, scooted around for comfort, and placed the tablet on her lap with aplomb. “Shoot.”
I stuck my finger and thumb out and pulled an imaginary trigger. “Bang.”
“Funny, Trix. Very funny.” She tried to keep a straight face, but failed miserably. Her laughter echoed in the large, open lobby. “Thanks for the comic relief. We needed that. Just hope nobody was spying on us.”
“That’s for sure. All right, who do we have on the list so far?” My shoulders relaxed a bit and my breathing settled to almost normal. I had a feeling it would be short-lived.
“We have Bodene Tate and Lori Wilson,” Dee Dee said.
“There’s Tippi ‘with-an-i’ Colston.” I gave Dee Dee the queen’s wave. Tippi’s a gorgeous redhead. The problem is she knows it and she holds her nose just a little higher than most. I tried being friendly with her, but she didn’t warm up any.” I recalled something about her I’d forgotten until now. “Hey, I just remembered she was outside Annie’s door when I was in the hallway. I need to tell Detective Sams about this.”
“Yeah, that might take the investigation in another direction – away from you. Why don’t you call her now?” Dee Dee reached in her bag and pulled out her phone. It always amazed me how fast she could find something in her mammoth bags. “Here, you can use mine.”
I rummaged around in my purse for the detective’s business card. I finally located it on the bottom. I handed it to Dee Dee. “Can you read the number; I don’t have my reading glasses on?”
Dee Dee reached for the glasses she’d pushed up on her head and pulled them down into place. “Here ya go – 555-4582.”
I punched in the numbers and put it on speaker phone so Dee Dee could hear. After two rings a woman answered. After I asked for Detective Sams, she informed me that the detective was away on business and asked if I wanted to leave a message. I’d be sitting on pins and needles until she called back.
I handed Dee Dee her phone. “Write down George Buchanan as well.” It was painful to remember the scene where Annie berated him. “I believe if I was George I’d want to kill her.”
“Why?” Dee Dee asked with raised eyebrows.
“It was terrible Dee. Annie had asked each of us to write a paper. She read them out loud and then critiqued them. After she read George’s paper she said “this is an example of how not to write” and then shredded it. Everyone just sat there in shock. Poor ole’ George didn’t take it so well. He threw back his chair, threatened Annie, then fled the room.”
“Sounds like another candidate for a person of interest. I swanny, I don’t know why the detective focused on you. I’m putting a star by his name, too.”
Dee Dee tapped her pencil on her tablet. “Getting back to George. When you tell Detective Sams about Tippi,
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