Murder at Moot Point Read Free Page A

seminars,” he said finally. “When you’re trying to help little kids through some of life’s shit it’s teddy bears. But for tough agents from LA, I’m not sure what’s best.”
    Charlie managed a grin to thank him for not leaving her alone just yet. None of the people she’d met tonight fit her expectations. This man was no exception. She leaned toward the welcome warmth of the fire. “What I can’t help thinking of is how unsad her husband was about the whole thing.”
    â€œProbably hasn’t hit him yet. Men of that generation grieve different, but they grieve.”
    â€œHe felt up my ass while you were hauling hers out from under my car. That’s grief?”
    Now he grinned. Even his teeth were big. “You one of those feminist types?”
    Charlie stared down the challenge in his drawl and sat a little straighter. She heard the hardness in her voice that her mother hated. “I was not speeding down the road, Sheriff. I was pulling to a stop in front of the Earth Spirit. I can almost rationalize not seeing Mrs. Glick on her bike because I was so relieved to have finally found Moot Point and my client. I’d been nervous driving for nearly an hour on a strange road, unable to see … but I’ll be damned if I can believe Mrs. Glick and her Schwinn wouldn’t have felt like more than a bump in the road.”
    There was still a sympathetic twinge to his grin but he rose and yawned. “Get some sleep. It’ll all shake down when the investigation gets in gear. Complimentary packets of coffee over by the sink, teakettle and cups in the cupboard. Since you don’t have a car I’ll pick you up for breakfast in the morning.”
    â€œDo all suspected killers get such thoughtful treatment in Moot County?”
    â€œJust tough little agents named Charlie, with gravelly voices and brassy coils.” He gave her a fatherly wink and moved down the hall to the door with the stealthy tread of a cat burglar. Which didn’t seem possible for a man who must weigh over two-fifty.
    It was too late to call her mother and she didn’t know if she needed a lawyer yet. Charlie fell into the oversoft bed, so exhausted from a day of driving and its inexplicable aftermath she was sure she wouldn’t be able to sleep, not sure she hadn’t left reality behind her when she crossed the Moot County line.
    The next she knew she was coming straight up out of the bed, yelling no silently in her head as loud as she could, heart pumping panic to the tips of her toes and the ends of her hair, and daylight seeping around the curtain at the small window. By the time Charlie stood in the shower washing away the terror, she’d forgotten the dream that had caused it. By the time Sheriff Wes arrived she was dressed in loose forest green pants with a leather jacket dyed to match and had her “brassy coils” tied back with a scarf. All this dampness gave them a life of their own.
    â€œYou were right about the view.” She handed him a mug of instant motel coffee and took hers to the deck outside that had been a blank wall of darkness and fog the night before. What greeted them now was endless sky filled with sun and puffy clouds, and rollers eight deep washing onto a nearly white beach about fifty feet below the railing.
    Charlie took a closer look at the law. “Did you get to sleep at all last night?”
    He studied her face for a drawn-out moment and turned to stare at the sea. Last night he’d worn a sport coat and tie while his deputies were in uniform. This morning he wore jeans and sneakers and dark patches under his eyes. Finally he drained the mug, which in his hand looked like a Chinese teacup. “Tell you one thing. I need breakfast. Let’s head for Rose’s.”
    Rose’s was in the village of Moot Point, which was on the other side of the headland from the Hide-a-bye. The road took them up along the