Away in a Murder by Tina Anne Page B

smiling.
    “No, Marlowe just stopped by this morning to let me know that Frankie and I are both suspects in Al’s murder. Frankie, show Marlowe your arms. Do you have scratches?”
    Frankie just looked at me and rolled up his sleeves. Marlowe looked at his arms. No scratches.
    “So, Frankie didn’t do it. Or maybe I killed Al in a struggle and Frankie moved the body,” I said. “That’s possible.”
    “Mom, don’t help,” Frankie said. Or whined.
    “I still think you’re too smart for that,” Marlowe said. “I have to get back to work. Thanks for the cereal. By the way, if I can make it, Misty, I’d love to attend the parks premier Christmas party with you. I’ll even dress up.”
    Both Frankie and Pete looked at me. They looked excited.
    “Of course. I wasn’t going to dress up, though,” I said. “It’s a Christmas party.”
    “We’ll get you a costume. You’d make a cute elf or even a Mrs. Clause,” Pete said, his eyes glowing.
    Missed your calling, I thought.
    “Ok, it’s a date,” I said. “If you can make it. I mean a dead body might turn up again.”
    “Even that won’t stop me this time,” Marlowe said closing the door behind him.
    “Better not stop you,” I thought to myself.
    After Marlowe closed the door, Frankie pulled out the notebook they had been working on last night. He sat down at the table.
    “We found out some interesting things about people last night,” Frankie said.
    “Like what?” I asked.
    Pete started to clear the table and then unload and load the dishwasher.
    “Pete, you don’t have to do that,” I said.
    “Yea, I do. You two talk, I’m listening.”
    Of course, why I would argue with anyone cleaning my house for me is beyond me. Maybe I should take my temperature.
    “Gotta love the internet. Found pictures of a scantily dressed Melanie with Al Learner. Apparently they were an item once,” Frankie said.
    “And she has long brown hair,” I said. I explained to Frankie what Marlowe had told me about finding hair on Al’s body.
    “I’ll add that to the notebook. Also, I found out that Nigel’s dad was a PR guy too. He once worked with some pretty big names. Including the elusive Misty Breeze. By the way I looked her up too. Very pretty. Her music wasn’t too bad either. Too bad she died so young.”
    “Back to Nigel,” I said. I was getting sick of hearing about Misty Breeze.
    “Ok, so Al ran a story about Nigel’s dad sleeping with his female clients. Especially the elusive Misty Breeze. Al claimed the guy had sex with her when she was under aged. Al ruined both the guy’s career and his reputation.”
    “No. I knew them both then. It never happened.”
    “Mom, she died of a drug overdose. She was probably an addict and no one knew. Who’s to say she didn’t have sex with the guy?” Frankie said.
    “I am,” I said. I was getting defensive. Misty Breeze was innocent and scared when she was alive. I still felt the need to defend her some times. However, I had to drop the Misty Breeze discussion and get back to the present.
    “So, it’s really not looking good for Nigel,” I said. “Damn.”
    “Hey, anyone is better than us. Too bad he’s so good at his job,” Frankie said.
    “Pete, when are you taking the bar?” I asked.
    He stopped wiping down the counter and faced me. “Tomorrow. Why?”
    “I was hoping you would be able to assist us by getting information as a lawyer. But, that won’t work yet,” I said.
    “And it will take a while before I’ll hear the results. In the mean time, I don’t want to do anything that could jeopardize my practicing here in Florida.”
    “No, you don’t. Because then I can charge you rent.” I smiled at Pete.
    “Hey, to live in such a beautiful place, I’d pay rent,” he said.
    “I was just kidding,” I said. “The property is paid off. Frankie and I just split the other bills.”
    “Ok, I’ll do that. As soon as I’m working again.”
    “Can we get back to the murder,” Frankie