Read Online Real Estate and Murder (A Port Grace Cozy Mystery Book 1) by Emily Page - Free Book Online

said Georgia. “How about you go home a little early today? I can handle the phone calls for the next few hours.”
    Cynthia brightened right up. “Thanks! You’re sure?”
    “Go on home. You deserve a break.”
    As soon as Cynthia was gone, Georgia called Ryan.
    “I just talked with Cynthia, and I’m even more convinced she and Bruce were having an affair,” she told him. “But she still seems smitten. I’m not sure he broke it off with her or that she would want to kill him. She doesn’t like Victoria at all, and she seems to think Victoria liked Bruce’s money more than Bruce.”
    “You starting to lean toward the wife?” said Ryan.
    “Yeah, but there’s still the alibi problem with her, too,” said Georgia, rubbing at a headache. “I’m really starting to question the whole alibi. It seems so weird. I don’t see why Cynthia would accept drinks with Victoria, unless she had ulterior motives. But who’s lying, and why? And how do we prove it?”
    “Delia and Cynthia are definitely lying about something,” said Ryan.
    “What do you mean?”
    “I looked into Delia like I said I would,” said Ryan. “Delia’s Facebook profile says she went to the same high school as Cynthia. They are also listed as Facebook friends. Not that big of a deal. Doesn’t necessarily mean they knew each other. Plenty of people’s so-called friends on Facebook are barely acquaintances.”
    “But?”
    “But I kept digging. I found a copy of Cynthia’s resume and cover letter that she sent to get the secretary job in Bruce’s emails, and she used Delia as a personal reference to help her get the gig.”
    “So they were both lying about hardly knowing each other?” said Georgia, her head spinning.
    “Yep, and that’s not all. A Google search of Delia’s name gave me a review she posted for a hotel a few towns over. The review talks about what a great time she and her boyfriend had there.”
    “So she has a boyfriend. So what?”
    “The boyfriend is a mystery man. Her Facebook relationship status is listed as ‘It’s complicated,’ and her few posts about him are cryptic. Whenever she posted any little blip suggesting his existence, her friends had a commenting frenzy, but she never answered any of their questions.”
    “Weird.”
    “Yeah,” said Ryan. “I’m not sure how it ties in just yet, if it does at all, but it’s definitely worth a second look, especially since she’s angling for Bruce’s job. Maybe she got her mystery boyfriend to get him out of the way.”
    “And just a second ago, I was sure it was Victoria,” said Georgia. “My head hurts.”
    “We should do something fun tonight—relieve some stress.”
    “Want to come over to my dad’s for pizza, beer, and a movie?”
    “You are a classy lady, Miss Mason,” said Ryan. “Sounds like a blast. You sure Bill is down?”
    “Positive. Maybe we’ll watch the Godfather . He’ll like that.”
    Bill was in fact thrilled to hear that Ryan would be coming over.
    “That kid makes me laugh,” he said.
    “He’ll be here in half an hour. I should probably go ahead and order the pizza,” she said, pulling off her heels and wishing she’d stopped by her house to change into something more comfortable.
    It was too late now. She needed some time to talk with her father before Ryan arrived.
    “What do you want on it?” she said.
    “Oh, I’ll eat anything; you know that. Just get what you and Ryan like.”
    When the pizza was ordered, Georgia sat down on the living room couch and looked at her father sitting in his easy chair, Mittens curled up on his belly.
    “Dad, how well do you know Delia Schultz?”
    “The young blond agent at the office?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Why? Is this about the investigation?”
    “Yes,” said Georgia, deciding it was best not to expound.
    “I hired her. She was there about a year before I retired, but I don’t know much about her except that she’s got real talent and she’s very driven. Don’t know much