Green Velvet Murder: A Donut Hole Cozy Mystery - Book 16 Read Free Page A

because of that. That’s all,” Heather replied. She jerked her head
toward the house. “You ready for this, bestie?”
    “Define ready,” Amy said, tapping her
lips. “Do you mean terrified? Because then, yeah, I guess I am ready.”
    “Good,” Heather replied.
    She marched up to the low-slung gate,
then clicked it open and hurried up the paved path to the front stairs. She
clomped up them, her heart beating a little faster than usual.
    Amy joined her on the porch, pale
around the lips and breathing hard.
    “Relax, it’s not like she’s a –”
    “Serial killer?” Amy suggested.
“Because isn’t that why we’re here?”
    Heather slapped Amy on the upper arm,
but laughed, anyway. She pressed her lips together and hummed Cry Me a River by
Justin Timberlake.
    “Really?” Amy asked. “JT?”
    “Don’t judge it. Appreciate it,”
Heather replied. She rammed her finger into the metal knob next to the door.
    Karly Belushi’s doorbell screamed
their arrival. The shrill ring had to be the most annoying noise Heather’s ears
had picked up.
    Amy winced. Heather shook her head to
the left and closed one eye.
    “Wow, that seems unnecessary.”
    “Unnecessary should be Karly’s middle
name,” Amy said.
    The door swung inward and the woman of
the hour appeared, outfitted in black velvet. 
    Amy jumped and landed, arms out. “Aunt
Karly,” she said, in a high-pitched voice. “How are you today?”
    “What are you doing here?” Karly
asked, and adjusted her black, mesh pillbox hat.
    A hat, indoors? Bernie’s memorial
service wasn’t for another two days.
    “We’ve come to check on you, Mrs.
Belushi,” Heather said.
    “Miss!” Karly snapped. “I am Miss
Belushi. I never married, no small thanks to Bernadette for that.”
    Amy shrank back a step. Heather moved
forward, then placed her palm on the doorjamb. “Miss Belushi, I wanted to offer
you my condolences and my services,” Heather said.
    Amy gasped. Heather didn’t have her
diploma yet. She wasn’t licensed to investigate in a professional capacity.
    “Your services?” Karly raised an
eyebrow and peered past Heather to Amy. “What’s your problem?”
    “My services, yeah,” Heather said and
drew the older woman’s attention back to her before Amy had a heart attack on
the spot. “I look into these kinds of affairs, casually. In a personal
capacity. I’m not a cop or anything, but I’ve helped a few people clear their
names from the suspect list. Innocents, much like yourself.”
    “Excuse me?” Karly asked and grasped
at her black velvet shirt. “What are you saying?”
    “That you’re a suspect,” Heather
replied, coolly. “It’s only a matter of time before the police arrive to
interview you. If they haven’t already.”
    Karly smacked her lips, opened them,
then shut them again. Oh yeah, the cops had already visited Miss Belushi. “You
get people off that suspect list?”
    “That’s right,” Heather replied, and
plastered up a sunny – albeit strained – smile.
    This woman had the worst atmosphere.
Mean, cold and countless other descriptors which Heather didn’t care to think
about.
    “Okay,” Karly said, at last. “Not that
I believe you’ll get it right since you’re friends with such a useless –”
    “What can you tell me about your
relationship with Bernie?” Heather asked, and waved her hand to cut Karly’s
insult down the middle. How dare she try to bully Amy in the middle of an
interview?
    Karly hiccupped, and a single tear
rolled down her cheek. It ran a track through the layer of thick makeup. “She
was my sister. I loved her. What more is there to say?”
    “Did you and Bernie ever argue?”
    “No, of course not. Bernie was a
gentle soul. She didn’t have the heart to stand up to anyone.”
    Heather nodded once. A clipped off bob
of the head. “I understand. Could you tell me –” Her phone rang in her pocket
and buzzed against her hip. “One second,” Heather said.
    Karly pursed her lips.