Drop Dead Beauty Read Free

work,” he said wistfully. “I’d suggest we go for a walk in Discovery Park or something.”
    “That would be nice. Maybe next time?” She smiled up at him.
    “As far as first dates go, I think this went pretty well, don’t you?” he asked.
    Sadie looked up into Zack’s smiling face and he bent to kiss her. Suddenly the breakfast burrito in her stomach roared to life. Before she could stop herself, she threw up all over his shoes.
    “I’m so-o-o sorry!” Sadie exclaimed sorrowfully. “I don’t know where that came from.”
    “Your stomach, apparently,” Zack said dryly. “If you weren’t feeling good this morning you could’ve just said so.” He cringed, looking at his shoes. “I would’ve understood. Really.”
    Zack reached into the backseat of his car and pulled out a couple of warm water bottles. He handed her one to drink and used the other to rinse off his shoes. Sadie swished a mouthful of water in her mouth and spat. Then, while Zack continued to clean his runners, she climbed into the passenger seat of his car, feeling disconcerted and ashamed. The last time she’d felt this embarrassed it had involved a prom date and the unexpected arrival of her period. It was nice to know that at thirty she wasn’t above humiliating herself in front of men.
    “I must be coming down with the flu or something,” she told Zack as he slipped into the driver’s seat. “I wasn’t feeling great first thing this morning and went back to bed.”
    “Hey, it’s okay,” he said, looking over at her and winking. “As long as it wasn’t the company you found repulsive.”
    As Zack drove Sadie back home she checked her phone and noticed she had multiple texts from her good friend, Maeva, wondering how the breakfast date had gone. Although Maeva was a psychic by trade, her abilities didn’t allow her to read much into Sadie’s love life. That was probably a good thing.
    When they pulled into her driveway things became awkward again. They should’ve ended their date with at least a kiss, but instead Sadie got a friendly pat on her knee. What the knee rub lacked in passion it made up for in good intentions.
    “Thanks for breakfast,” she said. “Sorry about throwing it up all over your shoes.”
    “Rest today. I’ll call you tomorrow,” he promised. “Feel better.”
    Once back inside her house Sadie locked the door behind her and then slumped onto her sofa.
    “How’d it go?” Petrovich asked.
    Sadie jumped.
    “Could you announce yourself or something instead of just appearing out of nowhere?”
    Petrovich ignored her complaint.
    “Must’ve been some kind of hot date,” he commented. “The guy doesn’t even come inside afterward.”
    “It was fine. He has to work.” She looked up at him. “Not that it’s any of your business.”
    He put his hands up. “You’re right. So what did he have to say about me?”
    Sadie raised her eyebrows. “We were on a date. What makes you think we talked about you? You didn’t want anyone to know you were here, remember?”
    Sadie rubbed at her sternum where acid was bubbling up from her stomach.
    “Oh c’mon, you mean you didn’t even ask Bowman about the case? You could’ve asked his opinion without telling him where I was.” Petrovich began to pace. “I need help here, Sadie. I need you to be my ears and find out what everyone is saying. You gotta help me find out who really did this and—”
    Sadie’s office phone rang from her den down the hall and she was grateful for the interruption.
    “Hold that thought,” she told Dean and ran down the hall to pick up the business line.
    She answered the call in her most businesslike tone.
    “Scene-2-Clean. How can I help you?” She dug in her desk drawer and found an old roll of antacids and popped one in her mouth.
    “I’m Harrison and I manage an apartment block up by Northgate Mall. Last week they found a body in one of our apartments. Tenant was killed by her boyfriend but nobody knew about it