Shopping is Murder (McKinley Mysteries Book 6) Read Free

he just followed through. Lord knows, I know what it’s like to be dragged all over the place.” It was a man who wore glasses that appeared to be dating back to the style of the 80s, their round lenses filling the area from his brow to his cheekbones. But it wasn’t his eyewear that had Sean’s attention, it was his full mustache. It made Sean think of the television show Magnum, P.I. and its lead Tom Selleck.
    Magnum glared at the woman at his side as he spoke. Sean guessed she was his wife. She laced her arms in response to her husband and turned away, jaw locked tight.
    Officer Carr must have been writing down every word as his pen flicked rapidly across the pad he held.
    Sara rubbed the back of Sean ’s hand to get his attention and he realized that Foster had moved on. He and Sara were free to go.
    “Let’s go find your friend.”
    “Wait a minute,” a female voice called out behind them.
    The overbearing smell of perfume, strong enough to knock down a horse, slammed his sinuses. He turned to face a brunette who was retracting her arm from Sara ’s shoulder.
    “You’re not a cop are you?”
    The woman’s accusation sat out there for a few seconds.
    Sara hitched a shoulder and turned to Sean. “Come on, darling, let’s get out of here.” She pulled on his hand and led him out of the room.
    The brunette followed behind, but was stopped by Barry Ramsey at the door. She still needed to give her statement.
    Sara had taken off, and Sean recognized it was more than a driving need to comfort a friend. Her stride was riddled with determination for another reason. He had to get the situation under control before it spiraled further out of his grasp. Just because they had decided to take on cases didn’t mean they needed to get involved with this one.
    He pulled back on her softly, slowing her pace.
    She did eventually stop. “What is it, Sean?”
    “I’d like to talk to you for a moment.”
    Very rarely did he encounter impatience from her, but this was one of those scarce occasions.
    “I know you want to see your friend, but I want to be clear on something before we see her.”
    “You don’t want to get involved in helping her do you?”
    He held up a hand, its purpose to console while he delivered the news. “I don’t think we should.”
    Her arms crossed, transporting him back to the unhappy couple from the room. He didn ’t like the drawn comparison.
    “Sean, I don’t know what’s going to happen. I just know Nicole needs me now. Maybe it sounds silly. We haven’t been in touch in, in over a decade, but we used to be really close. Can you understand that?”
    The doe-like look to her eyes, the appeal in every softened feature of her face, had his defensive wall crumbling down. He conceded with a nod. “I understand.”
    “Thank you.” She went to take a step.
    He held her in place.
    She stopped, her eyes going to his hands on her arms.
    “That woman thought you were a cop. Any idea why?” he asked.
    Her eyes averted from his for a few seconds. “I might have given her that impression. What? I needed to get to the railing and she wasn’t going to budge.”
    “Darling, you do realize that it’s a federal offense to impersonate an officer of the law.”
    Sara leaned in close and kissed his cheek, then his lips. She pulled back, but when she spoke her warm breath blanketed his chin. “I trust my indiscretion is safe with you. After all, you wouldn’t want me to go away to prison, would you?”
    He caressed her face. “And miss your kisses? Not a chance.”

 
     

     
    A Blast To The Past
     
    THE MALL THAT HAD BEEN bustling with life now resembled a ghost town. For what was typically one of the most lucrative days of the year, it would leave some businesses hurting.
    Store managers stood by their display windows and gave eager glances to Sara and Sean as they walked past, but shopping was the furthest thing from Sara ’s mind. She wondered if Nicole was still below but figured, at this