Read Online When Magic Is Murder (Sky High Pies Cozy Mysteries Book 4) by Mary Maxwell - Free Book Online Page A

forehead creased with
suspicion. “Seriously?”
    I smiled again, making sure it was
neither bright-eyed nor bushy-tailed. Then I told Dina about the conversation
I’d had with Connie the previous evening.
    “And that’s it?” she said doubtfully
when I finished. “She’d never mentioned it before?”
    “I didn’t even know they were
related until yesterday,” I said.
    She narrowed her gaze. “But I
thought you and Connie were pretty good friends.”
    “We are,” I said. “But we haven’t
discussed every branch of our family trees. When I go to the Lodge, it’s
usually to deliver a special order for a party. Sometimes I see Connie, other
times someone from the catering staff. But when it’s just Connie and me, we
don’t talk about things like cousins and families and whatever.”
    Dina’s icy sneer began to soften.
“Until last night, huh?”
    I nodded. “That’s right. Because
last night it was germane to our conversation.”
    She snickered. “Oh, I love it when
you use big words, Katie.”
    I smiled. “Conversation isn’t such
a big word.”
    “Oh, jeez,” she said, actually
laughing. “I wasn’t talking…you know something? Let’s just cut to the chase,
okay?”
    I nodded.
    “Are you planning some type of
investigation into the death at the Lodge?”
    “I don’t know if I’d call it an
investigation, but Connie asked me to make sure her cousin isn’t somehow
involved.”
    Dina considered my response. Then
she sighed loudly, put her elbows on the table and cupped her chin with both
hands. “Oh, Katie! What would I do without you being unpredictable and
meddlesome? You’ve got a way of keeping things especially interesting for me.”
    I blurted a laugh that caused heads
to turn at a nearby table. After apologizing to the guests for the outburst, I
looked at Dina. “Me? Unpredictable and meddlesome? I don’t exactly follow you
there, Detective Kincaid.”
    “That probably sounded different
than I intended,” she said. “And you’ll have to forgive me; I was up all night
trying to identify the victim.”
    “Any luck?”
    She shook her head. “I know what he
weighs. I know he had a pretty bizarre collection of stuff in his pockets. And
I know he likes to wear too much cologne.”
    “That’s all good preliminary
information,” I said. “Would you be interested to learn where he got into a
fight the night before last?”
    Dina’s mouth quivered slightly.
“What was that?”
    “The guy was at Bier Haus two
nights ago,” I said.
    Her eyes brightened with interest.
“Did you see him there?”
    “No, but I have it on good
authority that he was in the bar with a woman,” I explained. “And, apparently,
she started flirting with Jasper and his coworker, and…well, that’s when all
hell broke lose.”
    Dina flipped to a blank page in her
notepad. “Who told you about this?”
    I filled her in on what Zack had
mentioned during dinner at Luigi’s. Then I explained that Connie had confirmed
the story; Jasper and a Lodge employee named Shane Scott had been in an
altercation with a guy at Bier Haus.
    “Ah, so that’s what she was
talking about,” Dina said, absentmindedly tapping the pen against her chin.
    “Who?” I asked.
    “Connie Larson. When I spoke with
her this morning, she told me that Jasper recognized the vic because they’d
been in an argument of some kind.”
    “And it sounds like it started with
a woman,” I added.
    A mischievous smile materialized on
Dina’s face. “Innocent until proven guilty,” she said firmly. “Until I talk to
all of the involved parties, I’ll reserve judgment about who started what with
whom.”

CHAPTER
13
     
     
    I watched Dina go out the front
door, considering her remark for a few seconds. Then I looked to see if
Reverend Tuttle was still at his usual table.
    A robust 72-year-old lifelong
Crescent Creek resident with a fondness for long walks in the mountains, gospel
music and Bible study classes, Reverend Tuttle was one of