Read Online Last Resort of Murder (A Lacy Steele Mystery Book 9) by Vanessa Gray Bartal - Free Book Online

Sven said. “Exthcuthe me, I need a minute.”
    He walked away from the table and Lacy
turned to Jason. “What was that about? Have you been drafted onto this police
department?”
    “Habit, I guess,” Jason said. “Or
maybe morbid curiosity. Did you believe him?”
    “His grief and shock seemed
genuine.”
    “Those can be easily faked. What
about what he said about Jill? Did that ring true? You said you had a run in
with her yesterday.”
    “That part was weird. Jill didn’t
seem like a good person, and the list of people who might want to kill her
could be endless,” Lacy said. “I wonder why Sven would say such wonderful
things about her?”
    “Two possibilities: Either he’s one
of those people who can’t bring himself to say anything negative about the
deceased or he killed her and is trying to cover by pretending to like her.”
    “I can’t see him killing anyone. He’s
like a big, blond teddy bear.”
    “That’s right, he’s big, and I
don’t think he got that way from exercise alone. Maybe he had ‘roid rage.”
    “It doesn’t seem like ‘roid rage
would end in poison, though, do you think? That seems more calculated than
bashing someone’s head in because you’re broiling with a Hulk-sized dose of
testosterone,” Lacy said.
    “Here’s what’s bothering me: I
can’t claim to be an expert in poisons, but I have done some rudimentary
studies. Cyanide causes the red complexion and almond smell, but the grin is
more associated with strychnine. Why would someone use both poisons?”
    “To make sure they took?” Lacy
said.
    “That seems like overkill, no pun
intended.” While they talked, he finished his food. Lacy tried not to stare
longingly at his plate. She was half relieved and half remorseful that he
didn’t try to make her eat something. As far as her diet went, he had moved
from disapproval to denial. “Are you still up for skiing?”
    “Do you think it’s okay? I don’t
want to be callous,” Lacy said.
    “It’s not like we knew the woman.
Plus, it will help take our minds off it.”
    “Okay, let’s ski,” she said. Which
one of them was more surprised over the genuine enthusiasm and excitement in
her tone? She couldn’t tell.

Chapter 8

 
    “What are you wearing?” Riley
asked. She was feeding baby Lucy, the second feeding since Lacy returned her
earlier that morning. Lacy still hadn’t gotten over her shock that Riley was
doing anything with her bust besides shoving it into an overpriced push-up bra.
A year ago if someone had told her that her little sister would jump into
round-the-clock nursing with both feet, she would have had laughed herself
hoarse.
    “A snow suit,” Lacy said.
    “Why?” Riley asked in the same tone
one might use to ask why a person had covered himself in blood and jumped in a
shark tank at feeding time.
    “Because I’m going skiing, and it’s
cold,” Lacy said. She had no idea what Riley was getting at.
    “Are you going skiing in 1974?”
    “What’s wrong with wearing a
snowsuit?” Lacy asked. She looked down to survey herself. She was well
insulated from the cold, as well as the inevitable spills she would take
throughout the day.
    Her mother emerged from the
bathroom. “Honey, where did you get that?”
    “In Grandma’s closet,” Lacy said.
    “I think it was your dad’s from
high school,” Frannie said.
    Riley snorted a laugh.
    “I don’t understand the problem.
What do people wear to ski if not snow suits?” Lacy asked.
    “They wear ski clothes,” Riley
said.
    “They sell clothes just for
skiing?” Lacy said.
    “Duh, Lacy. They sell clothes for
everything. Didn’t the bright yellow hue of that hideous getup tip you off? You
look like The Magic School Bus in
human form. Any minute I’m expecting Mrs. Frizzle to pop out of your hair and
talk about taking a field trip. Why didn’t you borrow my ski clothes?”
    “I didn’t know you had them,” Lacy
said. She still wasn’t convinced that her snowsuit was so