Murder Takes a Dare: The First Marisa Adair Mystery Adventure (Marisa Adair Mysteries Book 1) by Jada Ryker

needed to talk?”
    Clay started to tell her about the argument between Jonah and his grandmother. He stopped when Althea raised her palm and nodded her head. “Oh, you heard it as well. Did you speak to the police officer? According to him, your friend Ms. Adair was the last person to see Jonah alive. Did she tell you what Jonah was so anxious to discuss with her?”
    “Marisa said Jonah was shot before he could tell her.” Succinctly, Althea repeated what Marisa had told her.
    Clay nodded his silver head, digesting Althea’s words. Meditatively, he tapped the table with a manicured finger. “The more I think about it, the more convinced I am Ms. Adair could still be in danger. What if the killer decides she knows too much? We have to do something to help her.”
    Surprised, Althea exclaimed, “I’d give my life for Marisa without a moment’s hesitation, but let’s face facts! We’re just a couple of old people confined to a nursing home. I’m getting stronger every day, I can walk, but I still have to use a cane to get around. We can’t rush around like detectives in a mystery, following clues and questioning suspects.”
    Clay grasped Althea’s thin hand. “I’m convinced Jonah’s murder is connected to this nursing home.”
    “How can you possibly assume any such thing? He had a life outside of this place, and not a very savory one at that. What if it’s something to do with that?”
    Clay silently considered her words, and then shook his head in emphatic negation. “After what passed between Jonah and his grandmother, I’m convinced his murder is connected with the nursing home. He saw something here.” Althea gently slid her hand out from under Clay’s and with one finger traced aimless patterns on the table. “You may be right,” she agreed slowly. She raised her huge, troubled eyes to Clay’s determined face. “But what could he have seen here to make him such a threat to someone that he had to be killed?”
    “I don’t know,” Clay admitted, furrowing his brow. “But we do have some possibilities. One, what if Jonah saw another employee engaging in illegal or illicit behavior? We know it’s not unheard of for hospital or nursing home employees to steal patient’s narcotics or painkillers to sell on the open market. What if he stumbled onto a drug ring? Second, let’s think about any unusual occurrences around here. What about the ghost some of the residents have whispered about seeing gliding through the halls?”
    “Goodness, all of those possibilities are making my head spin!” Althea pounced on his last statement. “That’s pure nonsense about a ghost! Old eyes begin to fail, and elderly minds get fuzzy and confused, by age and by large quantities of medication.”
    Clay leaned over the table, his nose nearly touching Althea’s. “Do you think I’m blind and confused?”
    Althea’s eyes widened. “You saw this supposed ghost?”
    “One night, I was unable to sleep. I was reading a book in my room, hoping to get drowsy. I heard a strange noise in the hall. My first thought was it was one of the staff passing through. However, I was feeling restless, so I threw down my book and opened my door a crack to take a look. When I looked out, I saw a silent figure dressed in voluminous folds of white, beginning at the top of the head and cascading down to brush the floor.
    “I’m a very pragmatic man who has never believed in the supernatural. I grabbed my cane, determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. I slipped out of my room, and followed the figure. Although I tried to move as quietly as possible, it must have heard my cane tapping on the floor, for it suddenly darted around the corner. By the time I rounded the corner, the hall was deserted.”
    Apologetically, Althea suggested, “Perhaps you fell asleep over your book, and dreamed the whole thing.”
    Clay reached into his jacket pocket. “Did I dream this?” he demanded, holding out an object for her