Ring Around the Rosy Read Free

tall girls seemed to do. Self-assured.  
    Something told him she didn’t take
crap from anybody. She couldn’t — not with the kind of job she had. He’d
learned from the reporters he knew it was a dog-eat-dog world. Yet, something
about her screamed femininity. She looked soft and cuddly all at the same
time.  
    What was Susan’s role in all this?
And what made the killer seek her out, call her? If, in fact, it was the
killer. More likely just a crank call, but he had to follow every lead. Still,
the caller said something about strawberries.   No one but the killer knew that. Too bad Susan couldn’t understand
everything the caller said.
    Damn it, they had 48 hours before
the case ran cold.
    And damn, if it didn’t look like
Susan was flirting with him with the sexy way she shook her hair out. So
casual, yet so alluring. Like she didn’t even know she was doing it. What a
beauty when she let it loose. Too bad she gathered it back up. And those dark
eyes, they had to be the darkest brown he’d ever seen. Sure was distracting.
    Damn it, he couldn’t let a witness
get to him like this. Yet, he couldn’t stop thinking about her.
    Those daggers she threw at him
hurt almost as much as the slap. Dave put his hand to his cheek. He had to
admit, she packed quite a wallop. He chuckled. Pretty and a temper, too. Why
didn’t that surprise him?
    He never had a witness slap him
before.
    Hell, maybe he even deserved it,
taunting her like that. He hadn’t really considered her a suspect, but it was
part of the job. He had to check all avenues. What he would’ve liked was to ask
her out. Damned if he knew why. Something about the way she looked after she
slapped him. Contrite? Scared? Maybe. Satisfied, too. She had spunk. He’d give
her that. He had to quit this. He didn’t have time for such nonsense.
    Take her out. What was he
thinking? It was against his policy to become involved with a witness. Even if
it wasn’t, he didn’t want or need a relationship. But something about her…
    He shrugged. For a minute, he
thought about giving her back the bracelet, but decided against it. She had an
attitude. Let her stew for a while. He still couldn’t believe she had the guts
to slap him.

 
 
 
 
    Chapter Two

 
 
    Susan’s mouth watered the minute
she pushed open the door of Meliti’s Market. She loved this place. Loved the
yeasty smell of fresh-baked bread and the sweet, fruity scent of pastry and
pies mixed with the aroma of garlic, onions, pepperoni, and spicy tomato sauce.
An Italian restaurant couldn’t smell any better.
    She turned down the volume on the
transistor police radio attached to her belt. Her dates hated it. Few asked for
a second date. Not that she cared. If they couldn’t understand the importance
of hearing about a breaking story and arriving first on the scene, then she
didn’t need them.
    Besides, it was hard enough to
break into this business without the complication of building a relationship,
too. She was tired of “Fluff pieces.” While writing about ground breakings paid
her bills, it wasn’t the type of work she dreamed about. She hated
appointments. She wanted the spontaneity, adventure, and excitement of real
journalism. She wanted a real assignment.
    Chasing fire trucks and police
cars was the blood and guts of reporting. The crime scene investigation, like
last night — that’s what quickened her pulse, made the adrenaline flow. That’s
what made her feel alive. Ernie, her editor, even said he loved her story. But
if one of the other reporters had gotten theirs in on time with even half as
many details, hers never would have made the paper, no matter how good.
    Bringing her mind back to grocery
shopping, Susan pulled out her list.
    At the bakery section, old Mrs.
Meliti chatted with her for a few minutes. The sweet, portly, gray-haired old
woman, everyone referred to as a little pudge, spoke with a loud, grating voice
that carried throughout the store. The woman had a