Read Online Fat-Free and Fatal (A Kate Jasper Mystery) by Jaqueline Girdner - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jaqueline Girdner
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staring at me, wide-eyed with apparent curiosity. Of course they weren’t psychic like Barbara.
“Kate’s boyfriend’s mother is living with them,” Barbara explained. “She beat on Wayne—”
“So, did either of you see anything suspicious last night?” I asked Meg and Alice, changing the subject abruptly.
Alice pointedly shifted her gaze to Barbara. Damn. I guess the sight of Barbara kneeling next to a recently killed corpse might have seemed suspicious.
“I didn’t kill Sheila,” Barbara stated for the record, returning Alice’s gaze. “But I know it looks like I might have.” Alice’s face began to soften. “And I’m scared,” Barbara added. “That’s why we’re trying to figure this thing out.” She waited a beat, then asked, “Won’t you guys help us?”
Alice and Meg both nodded solemnly. Barbara could be persuasive. There was no doubt about it. My insides knotted up. She had persuaded me too, persuaded me that she hadn’t killed Sheila. Was it true?
Of course it was true, I chided myself. I ate my whole-wheat roll and listened absently as Barbara asked questions to which Meg and Alice seemed to have no good answers. The reason Barbara was so persuasive, I reassured myself, was that she was telling the truth.
“I just didn’t notice anything else,” Alice summed up. “Did you, Meg?”
Meg shook her head.
Barbara sighed. “Are you guys going to hold a class next Monday?” she asked.
Meg and Alice looked at each other. I guessed that they hadn’t talked about the possibility of further classes yet.
“I know it sounds weird,” Barbara continued. “But I think it would be a good idea to hold the second cooking class as originally scheduled. Assuming this whole thing isn’t over with by then.” She paused for a moment, her eyes half-closed in thought. “Maybe we could learn something important if everyone who was there the first night would come again on Monday.”
“Maybe,” agreed Alice quietly. She tapped her fingers on the table. “Maybe if we pretended we already knew who did it, like in the movies—”
“Wait a minute, you guys—” I began.
But Alice kept talking, her voice rising with enthusiasm. “We’d have to set it up now, make sure everyone would come.” She turned to Meg. “How about it?” she asked.
“Um,” said Meg, her voice as thin as she was. “I don’t know.” She sniffed. “I mean, I don’t even have the sign-up sheet anymore. I think the police took it.”
I saw the blush that started in Barbara’s neck and rose through her cheeks. I sighed in relief. If she was this obviously guilty over taking the sign-up sheet, I would have to have noticed a larger sign of guilt if she had really killed Sheila.
“I think I can get everyone’s phone numbers,” Barbara said, her voice too high.
“Really?” asked Alice. She looked at Barbara, her head tilted quizzically.
“I have a friend with connections to the police,” Barbara explained.
I raised an eyebrow at her myself.
“Felix,” she specified.
Damn. I had forgotten about Felix, Barbara’s reporter boyfriend. He was going to be ravenous for information once he found out about the murder.
Meg and Alice were looking at each other again. “Okay?” asked Alice.
Meg nodded slowly. “Okay,” she agreed.
“We’ll do it,” Alice announced. She grinned widely, reminding me suddenly of Barbara, and raised a glass of Calistoga water.
“I propose a toast,” she said. “To success.”
Meg and Alice had to leave soon after the toast. I dropped them off in front of their building, then turned to Barbara before driving back into traffic.
“Well?” I prompted.
“I don’t know,” she whispered sadly. “I didn’t get anything psychic on either of them.” She rubbed her forehead roughly. “Just more garble.”
I pulled out into traffic, thinking about Alice and her relationship with Dan, grateful that Barbara’s psychic powers were down for the moment. I didn’t
“Kate’s boyfriend’s mother is living with them,” Barbara explained. “She beat on Wayne—”
“So, did either of you see anything suspicious last night?” I asked Meg and Alice, changing the subject abruptly.
Alice pointedly shifted her gaze to Barbara. Damn. I guess the sight of Barbara kneeling next to a recently killed corpse might have seemed suspicious.
“I didn’t kill Sheila,” Barbara stated for the record, returning Alice’s gaze. “But I know it looks like I might have.” Alice’s face began to soften. “And I’m scared,” Barbara added. “That’s why we’re trying to figure this thing out.” She waited a beat, then asked, “Won’t you guys help us?”
Alice and Meg both nodded solemnly. Barbara could be persuasive. There was no doubt about it. My insides knotted up. She had persuaded me too, persuaded me that she hadn’t killed Sheila. Was it true?
Of course it was true, I chided myself. I ate my whole-wheat roll and listened absently as Barbara asked questions to which Meg and Alice seemed to have no good answers. The reason Barbara was so persuasive, I reassured myself, was that she was telling the truth.
“I just didn’t notice anything else,” Alice summed up. “Did you, Meg?”
Meg shook her head.
Barbara sighed. “Are you guys going to hold a class next Monday?” she asked.
Meg and Alice looked at each other. I guessed that they hadn’t talked about the possibility of further classes yet.
“I know it sounds weird,” Barbara continued. “But I think it would be a good idea to hold the second cooking class as originally scheduled. Assuming this whole thing isn’t over with by then.” She paused for a moment, her eyes half-closed in thought. “Maybe we could learn something important if everyone who was there the first night would come again on Monday.”
“Maybe,” agreed Alice quietly. She tapped her fingers on the table. “Maybe if we pretended we already knew who did it, like in the movies—”
“Wait a minute, you guys—” I began.
But Alice kept talking, her voice rising with enthusiasm. “We’d have to set it up now, make sure everyone would come.” She turned to Meg. “How about it?” she asked.
“Um,” said Meg, her voice as thin as she was. “I don’t know.” She sniffed. “I mean, I don’t even have the sign-up sheet anymore. I think the police took it.”
I saw the blush that started in Barbara’s neck and rose through her cheeks. I sighed in relief. If she was this obviously guilty over taking the sign-up sheet, I would have to have noticed a larger sign of guilt if she had really killed Sheila.
“I think I can get everyone’s phone numbers,” Barbara said, her voice too high.
“Really?” asked Alice. She looked at Barbara, her head tilted quizzically.
“I have a friend with connections to the police,” Barbara explained.
I raised an eyebrow at her myself.
“Felix,” she specified.
Damn. I had forgotten about Felix, Barbara’s reporter boyfriend. He was going to be ravenous for information once he found out about the murder.
Meg and Alice were looking at each other again. “Okay?” asked Alice.
Meg nodded slowly. “Okay,” she agreed.
“We’ll do it,” Alice announced. She grinned widely, reminding me suddenly of Barbara, and raised a glass of Calistoga water.
“I propose a toast,” she said. “To success.”
Meg and Alice had to leave soon after the toast. I dropped them off in front of their building, then turned to Barbara before driving back into traffic.
“Well?” I prompted.
“I don’t know,” she whispered sadly. “I didn’t get anything psychic on either of them.” She rubbed her forehead roughly. “Just more garble.”
I pulled out into traffic, thinking about Alice and her relationship with Dan, grateful that Barbara’s psychic powers were down for the moment. I didn’t
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