Read Online Copy Cap Murder by Jenn McKinlay - Free Book Online

exchanged a look and I could tell that Ava had told them quite a lot.
    â€œAva was pretty odd about the whole thing, don’t you think?” I asked.
    â€œShe’s very fragile,” Andre said.
    â€œShe has a nervous condition,” Nick said.
    Viv poured the tea for everyone and we all fussed with our cups until we had them loaded just right. I tend to go heavy on the milk at night, thinking it helps me sleep.
    â€œYou like Ava,” I said to Nick and Andre.
    As one, they nodded in agreement.
    â€œShe was very gracious about showing her art collection to us,” Andre said.
    â€œBut she looked utterly unsurprised when Win’s body rolled out from under the tarp,” I said. “Don’t you find that odd?”
    I snagged the black currant tart and bit into it. Tarts always make things better. It’s a fact.
    â€œI thought it was odd,” Fee said. “She looked as stiff as a mannequin, yeah?”
    â€œIt’s her medication,” Nick said. Andre hushed him but Nick shook him off. “We may as well tell them—if they think she had something to do with it, others will, too, and the police are bound to make it public.”
    â€œFine,” Andre said. He took a long sip of his tea but he was clearly unhappy about sharing what they knew.
    â€œAva has a prescription pill problem,” Nick said.
    â€œAnd you know this how?” I asked.
    â€œShe told us in confidence,” Andre said. “Note that I am stressing
in confidence
.”
    â€œNoted,” Viv said. “Do you think the medication could make her dangerous?”
    â€œNo,” Nick said. “She’s taking an opioid analgesic. It tends to blank emotions, not cause mood swings or violence.”
    â€œWhy did she confide in you two?” I asked. They gave me a hurt look and I added, “I only meant that she just met you and that’s pretty personal stuff.”
    â€œWhen she found out I was in the medical profession—” Nick began but Fee interrupted.
    â€œYou’re a dentist,” she said. “Did she know you were a dentist?”
    Nick heaved a sigh and shoved chocolate roll in his mouth. Andre patted his arm.
    â€œIt’s okay,” he said. “You are a very good dentist. It was all a misunderstanding. I called him ‘Doc’ and she assumed, well, it was just too embarrassing to correct her especially after she assumed Nick could give her a prescription.”
    â€œOh, that would be awkward,” Viv said.
    â€œWe merely prevaricated so as to avoid any social unpleasantness,” Nick said.
    â€œMeaning you let her think you were a doctor but one who didn’t write prescriptions,” I said. “Surgeon?”
    â€œNeuro,” Nick said. “I figured it’s still the head. I told her I’d refer her to one of my colleagues.”
    Nick looked so sheepish, I had to smile. “You know I love you just the way you are, don’t you?”
    He actually blushed a deeper shade of pink and looked a little choked up. Viv and Fee added their praise on top of mine and Nick lost it. He blew his nose into a napkin and waved at us to stop. I glanced at Andre, who was grinning at his mate.
    â€œHe’s adorable when he’s flustered, isn’t he?” he asked me.
    I nodded and then snagged the last black currant tart while no one was looking.
    It was clear that Nick and Andre didn’t think Ava had anything to do with Win’s death. I could let it go then, although I still found her demeanor at the sight of Win’s body very odd.
    â€œWhat about Tuesday Blount?” I asked.
    It was as if I’d hit them all with a freeze ray. Nickpaused with his cup halfway to his lips, Fee stopped chewing her chocolate roll, Viv wrapped her hands around the cozy on the teapot as if to warm them, and Andre hugged his middle as if trying to self-soothe.
    Nick spoke first. “We have never met her. Right,