Read Online Murder Unleashed by Elaine Viets - Free Book Online

crest of red hair. Pete, her green Quaker parrot, was a tad on the tubby side. Peggy had him on a diet. Instead of the cashews he craved, the little bird sat on Peggy’s shoulder and resentfully crunched a celery stick. Margery had a no-pets policy, so Helen politely ignored Pete.
    “Did you see the news?” Peggy said. “There’s a category-three hurricane due to land in two days. It’s supposed to be headed straight for South Florida. They think it might hit Lauderdale hard this time.”
    The evening sky was a glorious show of peach and hot pink. It looked peaceful as a painting. A light breeze stirred the palm trees.
    “I can’t believe a major storm is coming,” Helen said. “It’s so quiet.”
    “Hear that?” Peggy said. “Someone believes the weathercasters.” The ominous sound carried on the evening air—hammers pounding on plywood. Floridians had started boarding up their homes.
    “I know there’s a hurricane coming,” Margery said. “I can see it in my dancing tree. It’s my storm indicator. Look at it, over by the pool gate.”
    All the Coronado trees were bending in the breeze. But one palm tree was whipping around in weird circles.
    “That circular movement is the first sign of a hurricane,” Margery said. “It will get worse as the storm gets closer, until that tree is doing the shimmy and the others are bent flat. I’d better clip those coconuts tomorrow. They go through windows like cannonballs.”
    There was another uncomfortable silence while everyone imagined what the Coronado would look like after a hurricane. Pete the parrot moved restlessly along Peggy’s shoulder, mumbling to himself. Helen wondered if he hated his diet, or if he could feel the approaching storm. Peggy petted him with one finger until he settled down.
    Margery lit another cigarette, then said, “I’ve rented apartment 2C.”
    “Awwk!” Pete said. Peggy and Helen groaned.
    “Which crook do you have in there now?” Peggy said.
    The apartment was notorious for attracting scam artists. No matter how much Margery checked out the tenants, they were always involved in something shady.
    “They’re not crooks,” she said. “I have two women. Grown-ups, in their fifties. Good, responsible tenants with references. They clean houses free for older people. They work for a foundation that benefits seniors.”
    “Oh, no, not more do-gooders,” Helen said. They’d lived with a sanctimonious couple who turned out to scam mom-and-pop businesses.
    “No, these two are legit,” Margery said. “I even called their organization and talked with the director. They’re paid by the foundation to clean homes for seniors. Keeps older people independent and out of the institutions.”
    “Are they going to clean your house?” Helen said.
    Margery bristled. “I’m not that old. I can take care of myself.”
    Oops, Helen thought. I’ve stepped in it this time.
    “Do they drink?” Peggy said quickly. A previous pair of teetotalers in 2C had been a real pain.
    “Yes. I made sure. They like booze. They also smoke,” Margery said. “They’re not on bizarre diets and don’t belong to any cults. They dress like normal people.”
    “That will make them weird down here,” Helen said.
    “I mean normal for South Florida. They wear shorts to everything but funerals.”
    “Sounds like you’ve finally picked some winners,” Peggy said, and Pete squawked his approval.
    “I’ve got a good feeling about this pair,” Margery said. Her cell phone rang. She snapped it open and answered it.
    “I should have known,” she said, smiling. “No, no problem, Phil. I don’t mind being Helen’s answering service if I get to talk to you.”
    Margery grinned wickedly, and handed the phone to Helen. She strolled into the far reaches of the yard, away from her flirtatious landlady.
    “Hi,” Phil said. His voice was flat.
    “You sound tired,” Helen said.
    “I am,” Phil said. “I was in meetings all day. I have to be up at four