Read Online Death of a Dapper Snowman by Angela Pepper - Free Book Online

guys from seeking me out.
    If someone said something untrue about my father, they were going to find out about my stormy nature.
    What was Tony thinking?
    If anyone knew my father’s true character, it was Tony. They’d cracked so many cases together, and Tony knew that my father was passionate about justice and fairness, no matter what.
    Some cops would rough a suspect up, or “accidentally” trip them to get out their aggression, but not my father. He left the judge and jury work to the judge and jury, as it should be. He rarely drew his gun, and he certainly didn’t lash out at people in anger, let alone murder a neighbor in cold blood.
    I shivered as the chill from the snowy bench seeped into my body.
    The idea that my father could be a suspect in Mr. Michaels’ death was absurd. It was so crazy, in fact, that I wouldn’t even worry one more minute about it.
    I got up from the bench and went into the veterinarian clinic to pick up the cat.
    “How’s the patient?” I asked.
    “Who?” The redheaded assistant stared at me with wide eyes.
    “The Russian Blue cat? Male? He had the full spa treatment done today, if you know what I mean?”
    “Oh!” She dashed off and returned with a sleepy eyed Jeffrey, wobbling on his feet inside his pet carrier.
    I reached for the carrier eagerly.
    She flinched away from me, as though I was cursed. Apparently, word of the murder had reached the veterinarian clinic. I glanced around to see who was talking about me, but we were alone in the reception area.
    I reached for the carrier again, and she flinched once more.
    “I’m not contagious,” I assured her. “Discovering icicle corpses is not a disease.” She didn’t even smile, so I quickly added, “I’m so sorry about Mr. Michaels, of course. The poor man. Did you know him?”
    “No. I don’t think he had any pets.”
    “Poor man. Such a shame,” I said.
    Her posture softened each time I showed some sadness over the death of Mr. Michaels, so I kept going. The chill from the bench had made my nose run, and I sniffed as though I might start crying again at any moment.
    She handed me a tissue and leaned across the counter to say, “And such bad timing. After he had just reconciled with his daughter.”
    “Mr. Michaels had children? He was never even married, as far as I know.”
    “He had a secret daughter. One of our other clients was in getting her dog’s nails trimmed, and she told me that Mr. Michaels just found out he had a daughter. All grown up, and he never even knew. Isn’t that something?”
    “That’s shocking. Any idea who this daughter is?”
    The redhead shrugged.
    Right about then, Jeffrey decided he’d had more than enough of the boring human conversation. He stuck his gray paw through the door of his cage and caught me with his claws.
    I let out a yelp of surprise and jerked my free arm up.
    The redhead dropped to the floor, where she huddled, cowering with her arms held over her head, like I was about to murder everyone I’d come across that day.
    “Everyone’s so jumpy today,” I said.
    She straightened up. “Sorry. I guess I’m on edge. Anyone could be next.”
    “Well, keep your eyes open and lock your doors,” I said. “But don’t be paranoid about strangers. Most murder victims are killed by someone they know.”
    Her mouth dropped open. My attempt to provide reassurance and comfort had been neither reassuring nor comforting, by the look of it. So much for the truth.
    Jeffrey dug his claws into my hand deeper, reminding me that my primary obligation was to him, not this redheaded stranger who smelled like disinfectant.
    I gently removed Jeffrey’s claws from my skin and then gently held his paw as I leaned forward to look into his cage.
    “Sorry, little man. I bet you want to go home, right?”
    He blinked back at me with jade green eyes that weren’t quite focusing on my face. He curled his paw around my finger like we were holding hands. My heart melted like a pat of butter