Citizen Insane (A Barbara Marr Murder Mystery #2) Read Free Page A

. .”
    Dressed in a black suit, hands in his pockets, revealing a gun in a chest holster, and moving toward an unmarked car, was a man I had known for over twenty years. I slapped Peggy hard.
    “That’s not a sexy cop. That’s my husband.”
    “That’s Howard?” She squinted for a better look. “He cleans up nice. You know, it’s really true—he does look like George Clooney.”
    Roz piped up from the back. “Why is Howard here?”
    “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.” Full of fury, I bounded out of the van and slammed the passenger-side door a little too hard behind me. “Sorry, Peggy!” I yelled as I stomped forward, eyes focused on Howard. He stood at one of the two unmarked cars, talking to a uniformed policeman.
    Green Ashe Place was a much longer street than my own White Willow Circle. Bunny’s monstrosity of a house was third from the left. She had one of the largest properties in the neighborhood: over an acre of land graced by an enormous brick front colonial house. Two tall white pillars added a hint of dignified Southern charm to the enviable homestead that sat back nearly two hundred feet from the street. A long macadam driveway made a bee-line to her three-car garage.
    The flashing, rumbling emergency vehicles lined both sides of the street, while the police cruiser blocked access to Bunny’s house. Howard’s car was parked behind a fire engine on the right hand side of the road, not far from where we had stopped.
    The problem was, Peggy was right. Howard always looked incredibly sexy when he wore a suit, sunglasses and a gun. And the FBI badge on his hip really got my juices flowing. The whole hot-guy crime fighter look was new and always robbed me of a breath or two. By the time I reached his side, the wind had practically gone out of my angry sails.
    “Barb! What are you doing here?”
    “I live in this neighborhood remember? What are YOU doing here?”
    “Official business.” He looked at the van. “Is that Peggy?”
    “Yeah. And Roz. And . . . a friend.” I coughed. “Of sorts.”
    “Get back in the van and have Peggy take you home. I’ll come over and see you when I’m done here.”
    He went in for a kiss. I stopped him at the pass.
    “Uh, we can’t go. We have a crazy lady in the car. She showed up on my doorstep all loopy and asking for . . . who was she asking for again?” I tapped my forehead in mock forgetfulness. “Think, think, who was she asking for?” I snapped my fingers. “Oh! That’s right. She was looking for YOU! Why would she be looking for you, Howard?”
    “Bunny Bergen? Is Bunny Bergen in that van?” At the mention of Bunny’s name, every suited and uniformed man within hearing distance looked in our direction.
    I squinted suspiciously. “What’s going on here?”
    Howard grabbed my elbow and moved back while motioning to a blue-jacketed EMT standing beside the ambulance. “Can I get your help over here? Bring a blanket.” He turned to face me. “Barb, tell me what happened.”
    “How’s the fettucini at Fiorenza’s?”
    His body stiffened. He blinked three times then looked away.
    “I went out for dessert with Roz and Peggy last night,” I continued. “You know that yummy lava cake at Scottie’s Pub?”
    He turned back to me, his jaw set hard, but his dark eyes soft, revealing a whisper of emotion. Was it guilt? “Barb, let me—”
    “Parking was hard to find though, so we left the car over by Fiorenza’s.”
    “I can explain.”
    “Which of course, meant we had to walk past Fiorenza’s to get to Scottie’s.”
    “Listen to me—”
    “I always look into Fiorenza’s when I walk by, because, as you know, a person is likely to see a familiar face in there. It’s such a popular restaurant and all.”
    “Do you want to hear what I have to say?”
    “No, Romeo, I don’t. Keep your dalliances to yourself, just don’t go on pretending that this marriage means anything to you.”
    Howard’s face reddened like coals