Murder in the Pearl District (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Series Book 5) by Dianne Harman

15
     
    “Sophie, I hope you’ll excuse me, but
I really am exhausted, and I need to call Mike and tell him what I’ve learned
about some of the possible suspects in Donatella’s murder. I value his
judgment, even though I don’t think he’s going to very happy about my getting
involved trying to catch the killer.”
    “Why would he be upset?
You solved Jesse’s murder, and from what Jesse told me, several others as well.
He must be used to you getting involved by now.”
    “It sounds good on paper,
but it doesn’t quite work out that way. You see, when I told him I was staying
an extra day or two with you, I promised him I wouldn’t get involved in the
murder investigation. He worries about my safety. As a matter of fact he makes
me keep a gun in my purse and wants Rebel to be with me at all times. That’s
why I took Rebel to the restaurant. I noticed you were a little surprised when
I put him by the back door initially and then when I brought him into the
office, but I promised Mike that Rebel would be with me. I suppose I can’t put
off calling him any longer, and if I wait much longer he’ll be asleep. See you
in the morning. Come on Rebel, time for bed.”
    Kelly sat down at the desk
in the sitting room and called Mike. She knew it would be much easier if she
could just get his voicemail, but this was one time she needed to talk to him
and looked forward to any advice he could give her.
    “Hey, lady, how are you?
Before you answer, I want to tell you first how much Lady and I miss you. I
really don’t want to do this again. Secondly, you know that five extra pounds
I’m always fighting? Well, with the caramel sauce I think it’s now ten pounds.”
    “Oh, Mike, I miss you just
as much, and I wish you were here. Don’t worry about the caramel pounds. I’m
sure it looks good on you.”
    “Wish I thought so. Tell
me how it went at the restaurant.”
    “It’s a new learning curve
for me. Actually, it went well. Mike, there’s something else I need to talk to
you about, but before I begin, will you promise me you’ll withhold judgment and
trust me when I tell you that I didn’t do anything deliberately to get involved
in the investigations of Donatella’s death?”
    Mike was quiet for a
moment. “Kelly, I have a feeling I am definitely not going to like what you’re
about to tell me. Just answer one question for me. Are you safe? Actually, I’ll
make it three questions. That was the first one. The second one is I want to
know if your gun is with you, and thirdly, is Rebel with you?”
    “The answer is yes to all
three questions. Mike, you have to believe me when I tell you what happened at
the restaurant today was not something I ever expected would occur. I think
what I learned may be very important in solving the case and catching
Donatella’s killer. I met five people today, and believe it or not, all of them
may have had a reason to murder Donatella.”
    “I’m sorry. It’s been a
long day, and I admit that I’m a little slow on the uptake tonight. I thought
you said you met five people today, all who might have had a reason to murder
Donatella. You’ll have to excuse me for finding it hard to believe that all
five of these people just happened to come to the restaurant and you just
happened to find out that they had a motive to kill Donatella? Am I missing
something here? Why in the devil do these things happen to you, Kelly? Have you
become some type of a murder solving magnet?”
    She sighed. “Mike, I know
it’s hard to believe, but I really need to hear what you think about what
happened today. Could you please just listen to me?”
    “Sure, and could you
please come home now? Oh, never mind, knowing you, that’s not going to happen.
Okay, sweetheart, what have you gotten yourself involved in this time?”
    “I’m not sure I like the
tone of your voice.”
    “I’m not sure I like you
being there,” he countered.
    She told him everything
that had happened during the day and