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Love Can Be Murder

Love Can Be Murder

Titel: Love Can Be Murder Kostenlos Bücher Online Lesen
Autoren: Stephanie Bond
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grades are still available. And they wouldn't necessarily raise suspicion if someone was using them for illicit activities."
    She drank from her glass, trying to digest the implication of his words. "You think something horrible is going on at the museum?"
    "I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I've got a few missing girls, one of whom we have on good authority was headed to the museum. And we have a blond hair found in the museum, which might or might not belong to one of the women. And we have your ex-husband coming out of the museum with the scent of this chemical on him. And then he was murdered."
    Penny swallowed a bite of salad past her tightened throat. "You think Deke might have been murdered because he found out something illegal was going on at the museum?"
    "I don't know, there are just too many pieces of the puzzle missing. I wish we could get into the house to see the crime scene, maybe get a look at Deke's files."
    She frowned. "That's not likely to happen. I have extra keys somewhere to get in, but I've heard that Sheena has practically barricaded herself inside. Which surprises me because I thought she'd be all over the media."
    He worked his mouth from side to side. "Maybe there's a logical explanation for all of this. Maybe the hair doesn’t belong to Jodi Reynolds. Maybe Giselle Taylor didn't make it to the museum after all, or went and then left on her own volition. Maybe Deke was murdered by his girlfriend, or by some psycho who likes crowds."
    B.J.'s words when they'd first met came back to her. I go where the crowds are—festivals, concerts.
    Penny kept eating, wishing she could make sense of everything going on, including the push-pull feelings she was having for B.J. He was so believable in his role as protector...was he too good to be true?
    "What do you know about the woman who runs the museum?" he asked.
    "Hazel Means? Salt of the earth. She and I have been friends for years." Penny flushed. "I confess that I've always been a bit fixated on the Archambault mansion. It reminds me of the big manor houses of Gothic novels I read growing up. Hazel has been nice enough to humor my interest."
    "You mentioned someone else working there—a handyman?"
    "Tilton Means, Hazel's son."
    "How old is he?"
    "Mid-thirties, maybe. He's mentally disabled."
    "To what extent?"
    "He's communicative and productive, and he drives, but he doesn't like to socialize. He works for the two local funeral homes when they need him."
    B.J. was instantly alert. "So at least one person at the museum has access to cadavers."
    A chill slid down her back. "But that could also explain the existence of the chemical, right? What if Tilton spilled it and Deke just happened to be around it, or stepped in it?"
    B.J. nodded. "Or if Tilton was doing some kind of painting or work on one of the machines we saw, that could also explain the presence of the chemical." He made a rueful noise. "Which is why I can't go to the police until I do some more checking around."
    She wet her lips. "So what are you thinking—worst-case scenario?"
    He shook his head. "My mind doesn't even want to go there."
    Hers either. Hair in the torture equipment...missing women...a chemical to preserve organs...and Deke dead. Was Deke involved in some kind of depravity? Without the moral guidance of his father, had Deke, as he had feared, succumbed to an evil buried deep within him? It was when he had begun to change, when his personality had gone from congenial to conceited, and when his stress level—and temper—had rocketed higher. Had he been conflicted about something he'd been doing?
    Other than Sheena?
    "So we still don't know who made the voodoo doll," B.J. said.
    "Right."
    "Did Deke have a maid or someone who ran his errands, dropped off dry cleaning?"
    "There's no maid," she said dryly, remembering the mess in the entryway—Sheena's shoes, the unread newspapers. "I used to run most of his errands," she admitted sheepishly. "And when I couldn't—" She stopped as an alarming realization occurred to her.
    "What?"
    "When I couldn't run Deke's errands, Steve Chasen did."
    "So Chasen had access to Deke's suits."
    "Right."
    "And he's cozy with Deke's mother."
    Penny frowned. "I can't imagine anyone being cozy with Mona the Stone, but if that's who he was talking to on the phone yesterday, they seemed friendly. But why would Mona be friendly with the man who murdered her son?"
    "Maybe she doesn't know he did it. Maybe he murdered Deke and told Mona he

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