Summer Reading is Killing Me (Phee Jefferson Book 2) Read Free Page A

door. She paused
and looked over her shoulder. “I’ll talk to you later, my big hunka chunka burning love.” She
blew Wade a kiss and sashayed out the door.
    “ Hunka chunka burning love? Hmmm…I need to change the name on your
personnel file.” His face turned bright pink, and he busied himself by
straightening the newspaper to put back on the rack.
    “She just said that to tease you. Behind closed
doors, I’m her Sugar Booger,” Wade deadpanned as he headed over to the reading
area to shelve new books.
    “I think I’m the one that just threw up a little.
We’d better get busy unloading all the boxes of books still in my van. We’ll
have to see if they reschedule the Founder’s Day Celebration or cancel it
altogether. In the meantime, I need to supervise Juliet’s detective work before
she gets herself into a pickle.” I snapped my fingers at a sudden thought. I
reached over and picked up the phone to ferret out my first clue. “I know the
perfect person to help me figure out who that girl was.”

 
    CHAPTER SIX
     
    “Stone Street Gallery. Nicolette Simonton
speaking.”
    “ Nic , it’s Phee Jefferson over at the library,” I said. Nic and I knew each other from volunteering with the kids
at the Miller Cove’s Parks and Recreation Department Summer Camp. I did story
hour and crafts with the younger children while Nic taught beginning art to the tweens and teens. “I wanted to ask you a quick
question.” 
    “ Phee ! It’s good to hear
from you. What’s up?” 
    “I had the misfortune of discovering a murder this
morning down at the park. You might have heard about it through the rumor
mill.” 
    “It was all anyone could talk about when I grabbed
my cup of coffee today.”
    “I hoped that you might know who the victim was,”
I said.
    “Me?” Nic sounded
surprised. “I don’t see how in the world I can help.”
    “She was in her early twenties with long blond
hair. Very attractive. She was painting a landscape. She could be here for the
artist’s retreat.” 
    “Petite with long blonde hair past her shoulders?
Sounds like Elody Campbell. She brought me a few
pieces to sell in the gallery. I was thrilled to take her art on commission
because she has talent. Her paintings are amazing.”  
    “Do you know anything about her? Was she attending
the artist’s retreat?”
    “Aren’t these questions for the police to ask? I
don’t mean to sound rude, but aren’t you sticking your nose into something that
isn’t your business?” Nic’s voice tightened. 
    “You’re right,” I said. “I’ll pass Elody’s name on to the police. I was curious about who she
was since I found the body. I appreciate your help.” Nic wouldn’t understand my urge to investigate the murder myself. She probably
thought my interest was a little ghoulish.
    “Not a problem. I wish I could tell you more, Phee , but go ahead and pass Elody’s information to the sheriff. I’ll be happy to help them however I can. Take care
of yourself.” Nic disconnected the phone. Perhaps I
just imagined it, but her voice seemed to have lost its earlier warmth.
    I felt bad for upsetting Nic ,
but then gave myself a small mental kick. The one thing I learned from my
near-death experience last year was that I wasn’t responsible for everyone
else’s feelings. I picked the phone back up and dialed the number for the
sheriff’s office. 
    When Tina answered, I asked to speak to Mark. “You
haven’t found another body, have you? I swear Miller’s Cove is turning into a
veritable hotbed of crime.” 
    “What? No, I wanted to tell Mark the victim’s name
is Elody Campbell.”
    “Thanks, but we’ve already identified the victim.”
Tina lowered her voice, “Mark’s down at the lake. Turns out somebody broke into
one of the cabins and turned it upside down. He’s trying to investigate the
break-in and the murder. Sheriff Dawes is on damage control calming everybody
down before people say a serial killer is on