Read Online Coughing & Donuts: A Mercy Mares Cozy Mystery by Ava Mallory - Free Book Online
Authors: Ava Mallory
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First on the list, find out how the guard died. Next was to find out everything I could about Eli.
I figured that most of that information would be public record and I probably wouldn't have to beg too much, but stranger things have happened and it wouldn't surprise me, if I'd been blocked from accessing any information about him or anyone else in town.
Since I had the night off and sleep wasn't even a remote possibility, I thought it was as good a time as any to begin my research. What does an almost completely computer illiterate woman do when they need to research something, they ask someone to do it for them, of course.
I dialed the number after taking a moment to look at her photo on my phone.
“Hi, Mom.” Diana answered her phone on the first ring.
“How's it going?” I asked, not wanting to be rude and dive right in to what I needed her to do for me. That would come next.
“Fine. Hey, did Ruby tell you about Barney?” With all the commotion, I'd forgotten all about Barney. Poor guy! He was an old dog I'd acquired from a nursing home, I'd worked at in Nebraska. He was old, lazy and just as cute as a button. The purebred Pug was so quiet, I often forgot he was around, unless he was hungry or someone knocked on my door, which was often, back in Lake Villa where I lived.
“No, what happened to him?” I felt like a bad pet parent.
“Uncle Hank's mom isn't doing well and he might have to go to New York to see her. Aunt Ruby wants to go with him, but she wasn't sure what she was going to do about Barney.”
This was the first trip I'd taken since Barney came to live with me. Ruby and Hank loved dogs and volunteered to keep him for me, so I wouldn't have to board him, but now I felt terrible for leaving him with them in the first place.
“Shoot. Can you call around and see if I can board him someplace?” I asked.
“No, I can keep him.” Diana answered. I didn't know how she was going to accomplish that because she was a full-time student and had a full-time job as an account manager for a rental car company.
“What about work and your classes?” I asked.
“Mom, Spring break starts Friday and I can take a few days off. It's no big deal. How much trouble can Barney be?” Diana loved dogs, but it had been years since she'd lived with a dog. My ex-husband was allergic to pet dander, so it wasn't exactly an ideal experience for anyone involved. Eventually, the marriage fizzled and the dog got sick and had to be put down. That was like losing a family member. I just couldn't put my daughter or myself through that again, so we never brought another dog into the home.
“Maybe, we can go hang with you for a couple of days and duck and dodge from the police and the media.” She laughed, knowing full-well that the last thing I'd want is to have her mixed up in a murder investigation.
“You are no fun.” She teased. “Seriously, Mom, we can hang out with you and just do nothing. Don't you want to see your only child?” She always knew exactly what to say to get her way, but I couldn't be angry about it because she was the world's best daughter. She never gave me more headaches than absolutely necessary for a young girl with growing pains and she never once snuck out of the house, opting instead to play the 'I'm going to spend the night at this girlfriend's house or that girlfriend's house'.
“Okay, but I'm afraid I'm not going to be much fun. The schedule they gave me is hideous and I'm kind of under investigation right now.” I braced myself for her response. I'd tried to fill her in on the details along the way, but hadn't yet had a chance to mention the incident from earlier this morning.
“They're investigating you? I thought Aunt Ruby said that once they saw the footage, this would all blow over. What happened now? No, don't tell me. I'm going to go get Barney and we'll see you in a few hours. Text me the address.” She hung
I figured that most of that information would be public record and I probably wouldn't have to beg too much, but stranger things have happened and it wouldn't surprise me, if I'd been blocked from accessing any information about him or anyone else in town.
Since I had the night off and sleep wasn't even a remote possibility, I thought it was as good a time as any to begin my research. What does an almost completely computer illiterate woman do when they need to research something, they ask someone to do it for them, of course.
I dialed the number after taking a moment to look at her photo on my phone.
“Hi, Mom.” Diana answered her phone on the first ring.
“How's it going?” I asked, not wanting to be rude and dive right in to what I needed her to do for me. That would come next.
“Fine. Hey, did Ruby tell you about Barney?” With all the commotion, I'd forgotten all about Barney. Poor guy! He was an old dog I'd acquired from a nursing home, I'd worked at in Nebraska. He was old, lazy and just as cute as a button. The purebred Pug was so quiet, I often forgot he was around, unless he was hungry or someone knocked on my door, which was often, back in Lake Villa where I lived.
“No, what happened to him?” I felt like a bad pet parent.
“Uncle Hank's mom isn't doing well and he might have to go to New York to see her. Aunt Ruby wants to go with him, but she wasn't sure what she was going to do about Barney.”
This was the first trip I'd taken since Barney came to live with me. Ruby and Hank loved dogs and volunteered to keep him for me, so I wouldn't have to board him, but now I felt terrible for leaving him with them in the first place.
“Shoot. Can you call around and see if I can board him someplace?” I asked.
“No, I can keep him.” Diana answered. I didn't know how she was going to accomplish that because she was a full-time student and had a full-time job as an account manager for a rental car company.
“What about work and your classes?” I asked.
“Mom, Spring break starts Friday and I can take a few days off. It's no big deal. How much trouble can Barney be?” Diana loved dogs, but it had been years since she'd lived with a dog. My ex-husband was allergic to pet dander, so it wasn't exactly an ideal experience for anyone involved. Eventually, the marriage fizzled and the dog got sick and had to be put down. That was like losing a family member. I just couldn't put my daughter or myself through that again, so we never brought another dog into the home.
“Maybe, we can go hang with you for a couple of days and duck and dodge from the police and the media.” She laughed, knowing full-well that the last thing I'd want is to have her mixed up in a murder investigation.
“You are no fun.” She teased. “Seriously, Mom, we can hang out with you and just do nothing. Don't you want to see your only child?” She always knew exactly what to say to get her way, but I couldn't be angry about it because she was the world's best daughter. She never gave me more headaches than absolutely necessary for a young girl with growing pains and she never once snuck out of the house, opting instead to play the 'I'm going to spend the night at this girlfriend's house or that girlfriend's house'.
“Okay, but I'm afraid I'm not going to be much fun. The schedule they gave me is hideous and I'm kind of under investigation right now.” I braced myself for her response. I'd tried to fill her in on the details along the way, but hadn't yet had a chance to mention the incident from earlier this morning.
“They're investigating you? I thought Aunt Ruby said that once they saw the footage, this would all blow over. What happened now? No, don't tell me. I'm going to go get Barney and we'll see you in a few hours. Text me the address.” She hung
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