Read Online Deadly Dye and a Soy Chai: a Danger Cove Hair Salon Mystery (Danger Cove Mysteries Book 5) by Traci Andrighetti, Elizabeth Ashby - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Traci Andrighetti, Elizabeth Ashby
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before. But what?
Gia stomped into the salon. "Who's gonna drink that tea I'm making?"
"I will." With her around, I could use a calming beverage. "I wish you hadn't come in when you did. Lucy was about to tell me something important."
She rolled her eyes. "What? The Swedish meatball said he'd still marry her if she went to jail?"
"His name is Sven Mattsun," I replied. "And it wasn't about him."
Her eyes narrowed. "Do you think it had something to do with Miss Appleby?"
"I think so, but I can't imagine what."
Gia slipped her hands into her front pockets. "Actually, I've been thinking about something she said last night when she called 9-1-1."
"What?" I asked as I again surveyed the contents of Lucy's counter.
"Don't you think it's kind of weird that she told the 9-1-1 operator that there'd been 'an accident'?"
At the time, I hadn't paid much attention to what Lucy was saying. But now that Gia mentioned it, "accident" did seem like an odd word to use. "She was probably just guessing about what had happened. I mean, none of us could've anticipated a possible murder."
"But if I were guessing, I would've said that Miss Appleby had stopped breathing. After all, she was as old as Methuselah and as blue as a bottle of blue Curaçao."
The teapot began to whistle, to my relief.
"That thing's obnoxious," Gia exclaimed as she tramped into the break room.
I put my hands on my hips and thought about how I had to yell at Lucy to get her to realize that Margaret was blue. Clearly, she'd been too shocked to process everything that was happening.
But how did Margaret turn blue?
I stood behind Lucy's salon chair and mentally retraced her steps. She said that she'd used all the dye on Margaret's hair before putting her under the dryer. Then she must've taken the bowl and brush to the sink on her way outside to talk to Sven, because they weren't at her station when she came running back inside. So, if Margaret had swallowed dye, it would have had to happen after Lucy went out back. But that wasn't possible, because we didn't have any more blue dye in the salon.
The only other possibility I could think of was that the killer had brought dye into the salon and forced Margaret to drink it while Lucy was outside. Since she was arguing with Sven, she wouldn't have heard the commotion.
But why blue dye? Was it simply to frame Lucy? Or was there some significance to the color?
"Your Majesty," Gia announced as she placed a teacup and saucer on Lucy's station.
That's when I noticed it, and a piece of the puzzle fell into place.
"I have a doctor's appointment to get to," I said, hurrying toward the break room. "I'll be back in time to get ready for the lighthouse fundraiser."
"What about the tea?" she called.
"You drink it." I grabbed my bag from the table. "It works wonders for sallow skin."
" Disgraziade !" she yelled as I ran out the door.
I smiled at the "disgrace" insult and tapped a number on my phone before jumping into the Ferrari, which, incidentally, is a pretty awesome feeling. The call went straight to voice mail. "Amy, forget the hair dye," I gushed as I started the engine. "I need you to find everything you can on Barbicide."
* * *
The exam room door opened, and a heavyset male with snow-white hair entered holding a file. "Hello. I'm Dr. Windom."
"Thanks for working me in to see you today," I said, pulling the patient gown over my thighs.
"Don't thank me. Thank my receptionist," he said thoughtfully as he took a seat on a stool and began to scan my patient intake forms.
From what I could tell, Seth Windom was in his late seventies, if not even older, so I was kind of surprised that he was still practicing medicine.
"The problem is your left knee, correct?"
"Mm-hm," I replied with a twinge of guilt. It was true that I had a trick knee, but at the moment, this was just the trick part without the knee.
"All right, then," he began, tossing my file onto the counter. "Let's take a look." He rolled his
Gia stomped into the salon. "Who's gonna drink that tea I'm making?"
"I will." With her around, I could use a calming beverage. "I wish you hadn't come in when you did. Lucy was about to tell me something important."
She rolled her eyes. "What? The Swedish meatball said he'd still marry her if she went to jail?"
"His name is Sven Mattsun," I replied. "And it wasn't about him."
Her eyes narrowed. "Do you think it had something to do with Miss Appleby?"
"I think so, but I can't imagine what."
Gia slipped her hands into her front pockets. "Actually, I've been thinking about something she said last night when she called 9-1-1."
"What?" I asked as I again surveyed the contents of Lucy's counter.
"Don't you think it's kind of weird that she told the 9-1-1 operator that there'd been 'an accident'?"
At the time, I hadn't paid much attention to what Lucy was saying. But now that Gia mentioned it, "accident" did seem like an odd word to use. "She was probably just guessing about what had happened. I mean, none of us could've anticipated a possible murder."
"But if I were guessing, I would've said that Miss Appleby had stopped breathing. After all, she was as old as Methuselah and as blue as a bottle of blue Curaçao."
The teapot began to whistle, to my relief.
"That thing's obnoxious," Gia exclaimed as she tramped into the break room.
I put my hands on my hips and thought about how I had to yell at Lucy to get her to realize that Margaret was blue. Clearly, she'd been too shocked to process everything that was happening.
But how did Margaret turn blue?
I stood behind Lucy's salon chair and mentally retraced her steps. She said that she'd used all the dye on Margaret's hair before putting her under the dryer. Then she must've taken the bowl and brush to the sink on her way outside to talk to Sven, because they weren't at her station when she came running back inside. So, if Margaret had swallowed dye, it would have had to happen after Lucy went out back. But that wasn't possible, because we didn't have any more blue dye in the salon.
The only other possibility I could think of was that the killer had brought dye into the salon and forced Margaret to drink it while Lucy was outside. Since she was arguing with Sven, she wouldn't have heard the commotion.
But why blue dye? Was it simply to frame Lucy? Or was there some significance to the color?
"Your Majesty," Gia announced as she placed a teacup and saucer on Lucy's station.
That's when I noticed it, and a piece of the puzzle fell into place.
"I have a doctor's appointment to get to," I said, hurrying toward the break room. "I'll be back in time to get ready for the lighthouse fundraiser."
"What about the tea?" she called.
"You drink it." I grabbed my bag from the table. "It works wonders for sallow skin."
" Disgraziade !" she yelled as I ran out the door.
I smiled at the "disgrace" insult and tapped a number on my phone before jumping into the Ferrari, which, incidentally, is a pretty awesome feeling. The call went straight to voice mail. "Amy, forget the hair dye," I gushed as I started the engine. "I need you to find everything you can on Barbicide."
* * *
The exam room door opened, and a heavyset male with snow-white hair entered holding a file. "Hello. I'm Dr. Windom."
"Thanks for working me in to see you today," I said, pulling the patient gown over my thighs.
"Don't thank me. Thank my receptionist," he said thoughtfully as he took a seat on a stool and began to scan my patient intake forms.
From what I could tell, Seth Windom was in his late seventies, if not even older, so I was kind of surprised that he was still practicing medicine.
"The problem is your left knee, correct?"
"Mm-hm," I replied with a twinge of guilt. It was true that I had a trick knee, but at the moment, this was just the trick part without the knee.
"All right, then," he began, tossing my file onto the counter. "Let's take a look." He rolled his
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