A Dead End (A Saints & Strangers Cozy Mystery Book 1) by Keeley Bates Page A

Thora’s eye made Kit nervous. “Just kidding,” she said feebly. Kit decided to hold off on asking about Chris the mechanic. Somehow, it didn’t seem like the right moment anymore.
    After Thora returned to her house for a nap, Kit carried on attacking her garden in light of Thora’s helpful tips. Murderer or not, the older woman knew her way around a flowerbed.
    An unfamiliar black car pulled into the driveway next door and Kit recognized Romeo’s profile at the wheel. Quickly, she smoothed her hair and wiped the dirt from her face with the bottom of her shirt. She looked like a hot mess, but there was nowhere to hide.
    “Didn’t expect to see you here,” Romeo said, sauntering over to where she kneeled.
    “I could say the same to you.” She flashed him a megawatt smile, hoping her Julia Roberts-style mouth distracted him from the rest of her grungy self.
    “I’m interviewing Peregrine Monroe.”
    “By yourself?” Kit asked.
    “I’m a pretty big boy,” Romeo replied with amusement.
    “It isn’t that,” she said, dusting off her knees as she stood. “Let me come with you. It’ll give you an air of legitimacy.”
    “I think the badge and gun help with legitimacy,” he said, showing her his concealed weapon.
    Kit rolled her eyes. “You really don’t get it. You’re an outsider.”
    “Some think you are, too,” he commented.
    “Fair enough, but I’m better than no one.”
    “Older women love me.”
    “Not this one. Peregrine Monroe is not going to take a shine to you. Trust me.”
    Romeo studied her for a moment. “Kit, seriously…”
    “How’d you do with Cecilia Musgrove?” she inquired. His dark eyes shifted to the flowers and Kit had her answer. “Big surprise there. My mother would eat you for lunch so you’d at least be an appetizer for Cecilia.”
    Romeo pulled a handkerchief from his suit pocket and handed it to Kit. “Okay, fine, but clean yourself up first. You can’t go dripping sweat in the lady’s house. Your DNA will be everywhere.”
    “Are you expecting another crime to be committed?” She swiped the handkerchief and wiped her face and the back of her neck. When she finished, she noticed that Romeo was staring at her.
    “What?” she asked, touching her face. “Did I squish a mosquito or something?”
    “No,” Romeo said. “That was just much sexier than I thought it would be.”
    Kit blushed and tucked the handkerchief in her back pocket. “I’ll wash it before I give it back.”
    He glanced appreciatively at her backside where the handkerchief protruded from her pocket. “First time in my life I ever wanted to be a handkerchief.”
    Kit yanked out the handkerchief and swatted his arm with it as they strode up to Peregrine’s door. His knock was loud and firm. Kit wouldn’t have been surprised if the entire block heard it.
    The door opened and Peregrine eyed them warily. “Yes?”
    “Ms. Monroe, we met before. I’d asked you a few questions about the last time you saw Ernie Ludwig.”
    “Do you need something, Detective? I’m afraid I’m rather busy.”
    “Packing for Sedona?” Romeo asked casually. “I think it’ll be hotter than hell there now.”
    Kit tried to disguise her shock. Romeo knew about Sedona?
    Peregrine opened the door stiffly. “Do come in. I suppose I can spare a few moments.”
    They stepped inside and she immediately offered them iced tea. Kit gratefully accepted. She was beyond parched from her gardening work.
    “I’m glad to see you’re sprucing up the front yard,” Peregrine said, a note of approval in her voice. “It was in dire need of a green thumb.”
    “I don’t know how green my thumb is,” Kit confessed, “but Thora seems to have adopted me as her protégé.”
    “If that’s true, then consider yourself lucky,” Peregrine said. “The woman is a gardening marvel.”
    “Not like Ernie Ludwig, huh?” Romeo asked, turning the conversation toward the real reason for his visit.
    “No, not at all like him,”