Read Online Murder Is Private by Diane Weiner - Free Book Online Page B

Susan lost no time in making her case. “Lynette, see. He kissed you. I know he still has a thing for you.”
    “On the cheek, Mom. People do that with friends. You need to curb your imagination.”
    “Do you think the anonymous call was legitimate?” replied Susan, not totally convinced that Kevin only felt friendship towards her daughter.
    “Not sure,” said Lynette, pondering her question. “Why didn’t he call sooner, I wonder? He didn’t tell us much. All he confirms is that it was a man.”
    “Do you think it was Derrick, Celia’s husband? He found out shortly before the murder that his wife was having an affair, and he can be violent, we’ve seen that,” said Susan.
    “Things aren’t always what they seem, Mom. Kevin’s working on the alibi. We have no eye witnesses or physical evidence connecting Derrick to the crime scene.”
    “ We ? Sounds like you’ve been helping Kevin.”
    “The department is stretched thin with spring breakers on the loose, so I’ve been giving him a hand. Nothing official. We’re going back to the bar tomorrow. It’s been tough finding a witness to corroborate Derrick’s story.”
    “I have to get out of these wet clothes before I catch a cold,” Susan said abruptly. She went upstairs and changed into yoga pants and a t-shirt. She did a search for Derrick Watkins her laptop, and came across a newspaper article detailing a fire in a condo that he shared with Cecilia.
    According to the article, the cause of the fire was undetermined. It said that both occupants escaped, but that the ground floor of the condo had been destroyed. Neighbors reported hearing shouting, and the next door neighbor was quoted as saying, “It felt like furniture was being shoved against the wall. My living room was shaking from all the commotion.” Interesting, thought Susan. Maybe they were fighting and Derrick tried to kill her by setting the apartment on fire.
    Susan went downstairs hoping Audrey had some information.
    “How did you find out about that?” Audrey asked her when Susan mentioned the fire. “It happened years ago. We all thought Derrick caused the fire. Luckily, Celia didn’t have a scratch on her. Derrick had a burn mark from his wrist to his elbow. I say he got what he deserved.”
    “Hey, Mom! Audrey!” Evan came in the kitchen door, sweaty in his running clothes. Audrey grabbed a bottled water from the fridge and handed it to him.
    “Lucky you didn’t get rained on,” said Susan. She left Audrey to prepare dinner. Someone––probably Lynette––had warned Audrey that cooking was not one of Susan’s strengths. Susan plopped down on the sofa and opened the cozy mystery she’d been enjoying, but had trouble focusing. She couldn’t stop thinking about that fire in the Watkins’ condominium. Why had Derrick gotten burned, but not Celia? If he’d wanted to kill her, why did he start a fire while he was in the house? She read some more.
    Evan, freshly showered, sat down next to her.
    “Evan, if there was a fire and two people were in the same room, why would one get a severe burn from wrist to elbow, while the other escaped unscathed?”
    “Did they get out at the same time?”
    “From what I understand, yes. Neighbors heard noises like they’d been fighting.”
    “If the burn covered only that area, could be that the burned person was holding an appliance that caught fire.”
    “The cause of the fire was undetermined. If an appliance malfunctioned, they’d know that, right?”
    “Yes, they probably would. If they were fighting, maybe one person hit the other with something hot, or threw something hot. Boiling water? Grease?”
    “Thanks Evan. That might be the explanation.” Susan was puzzled. Why did Derrick get burned if he threw hot liquid at Celia? She could have been defending herself. The article didn’t say that though. There was a knock at the front door, followed immediately by the sound of a key turning.
    “George, hi!” said Susan as her