Read Online Strawberry Cream Murder: A Donut Hole Cozy Mystery - Book 1 by Susan Gillard - Free Book Online Page B

lips pulled back in a sneer.  “At the last minute, she cut me out.  Just like she cut Billy out of the will.  Said she didn’t need me anymore.  Didn’t need a partner.  But oh, yes, she did.  She needed me more than she realized.”
     
    “I needed you too,” Heather said.  “If it was the money, you could have asked me for a raise.”
     
    “It wasn’t just the money,” Michelle said, her voice suddenly pleading.  “I wanted to be a partner.  Wanted to own something, not just work for somebody else.  I didn’t want to have to be the one coming in at 3 a.m.  I wanted to be in charge.”
     
    “Was that you who went through Christa’s desk drawer?”
     
    “No.  That was Christa.  She was looking for antacid tablets.  Not that they would have helped.  All I did was take the picture of her and her loving father off of her desk.”
     
    “Why?  What difference did it make?”
    “I touched it,” Michelle said.  “And I didn’t want my fingerprints on anything the police might examine later.  You know, it was hard being careful enough not to leave fingerprints without looking suspicious.”  She frowned as if thinking over—and admiring—her own cunning.
     
    “I don’t know what to say,” Heather said, as Dave wandered into the kitchen to see what was going on.
     
    Michelle must have seen her glance at Dave, who was now staring at them, head turning from Heather, to Michelle, and back again, as if he could sense that something was very wrong.  “Maybe you should let your dog out,” Michelle said, glancing at Dave.  “People will think you let your dog out, and somebody pushed their way in through the door.  You resisted, and they shot you.  That’s too bad.”
     
    Michelle gave her a sorrowful glance, and Heather knew she didn’t have much time.  “I really don’t want to kill you,” Michelle said.  “But you forced me to it.”
     
    With a jolt of pure fear, Heather realized that Michelle was about to do exactly as she had threatened to do.  “Okay,” Heather said, holding her hands up in what she hoped was a placating gesture.  “Just don’t hurt my dog, okay?”
     
    “I won’t hurt your dog,” Michelle said.  “I like Dave.”
     
    Heather lowered her hands and tried to take a deep breath, but her lungs wouldn’t fill with air.  She lowered her head as if trying to gather her strength.  It was “do or die” time.  Literally.
     
    Slowly she raised her head, looking directly into Michelle’s eyes.  And then, suddenly, she glanced over Michelle’s right shoulder toward the back door.  “Thank God you’re here!” she gasped.
     
    Michelle’s head turned toward the door.  Her gun hand lowered.  And Heather launched herself forward.  She clamped her hand around Michelle’s as Michelle tried to pull away.  They fell to the floor, Michelle underneath her, both women struggling for the gun with all their might as Dave barked at the top of his lungs.
     
    But Heather couldn’t breathe.  She was weakening.  And Michelle was strong.  Desperately, Heather tried to force the gun out and away from their bodies, where—
     
    Boom!
     
    Heather stiffened, feeling the reverberations throughout her entire being.  For an instant, the world seemed to have gone silent.  But then, sound rushed back, and she heard her own gasps for breath, heard Dave’s shrill barking.
    And realized Michelle was no longer struggling.  And that Michelle’s hand no longer gripped the gun.
     
    Heather snatched the gun and forced herself up off the floor.  She backed away, still holding the weapon pointed squarely at Michelle’s chest, where a dark red stain was spreading across her pale blue shirt.
    Tears flooding her eyes and spilling down her cheeks, Heather stumbled back to the computer room, gasping for breath.  Her phone still lay next to the computer.  Hands shaking, she laid down the gun and picked up the phone, fumbling to dial a number she’d never