into the house for sale next door to you and find a body in the basement."
" Homicidal traditions? I didn't commit any homicides...yet," I said, eyeing his chest like it had a big target on it. "And no one I know wants to move into that house. It's haunted."
The home, once owned by a granny panty thief, had been unable to hold a tenant for longer than a few weeks at a time. This was the fifth time it was for sale in a year.
"Everyone knows you're cursed," Mr. Cabrera pointed out, ignoring my jibe. "Apparently your friends are as well."
" Hey now," Perry said, pulling a pout.
He 'd recently had some lip injections, so his pout was quite something.
" I'm hurt. Cut to the soul," Perry said dramatically. "I might die right here on the spot. Oh, wait. Is this spot already taken? Is this where Mr. Cabrera's girlfriend bit the dust last Christmas?" He blinked innocently, his gray-green eyes sparkling. "It seems to me I heard that Nina wasn't the only one around here who is cursed."
Folding his arms across his chest, Mr. Cabrera harrumphed .
" Perry has a good point," I said, finger-combing my wet hair. "Most of the deaths in this neighborhood have belonged to your lady friends."
Mr. Cabrera 's curse involved his lady loves who tended to, ah, expire while dating him. Some by natural causes and some...not. This curse was why Brickhouse Krauss kept breaking up with him every few months—she was staying one step ahead of the Grim Reaper.
Technically, the woman who died in this house wasn 't Mr. Cabrera's girlfriend at the time, but he'd been wooing her in hopes of making Brickhouse jealous, therefore the death was attributed to his curse.
" You weren't dating Joey Miller, were you, Mr. Cabrera?" Perry asked, wiggling his dirty blond, perfectly-shaped eyebrows. He took his manscaping seriously. "That might explain some things. Like your taste in shirts."
Perry, who was openly gay and had been since middle school, loved to tease Mr. Cabrera about his sexuality. At first, my grumpy meddling neighbor took it personally and went on the defensive. Now, however, he tended to tease right back.
His unruly eyebrows rose. "I may have passed along a compliment to him a time or two. He had a fine way with a circular saw. A true talent."
" Aha!" I accused playfully.
" Now, now, Miz Quinn," Mr. Cabrera said calmly. "As you well know, Ursula and I are doing just fine right now. This death," he waved toward the back yard, "is all on you and your curse."
It was true I had a bit of a reputation. I had an uncanny knack for finding dead bodies—people who 'd been murdered—and for helping to solve their cases. At this point the police should just put me on the payroll.
Six months had passed since I'd seen any kind of dead body, and until today I had started to think my own curse was finally broken...
My curse, apparently, had been taking an extended vacation.
"That," I waved outside, "isn't my fault. I barely even knew him."
" Perry and Mario knew him," Mr. Cabrera said. "They're your friends, therefore you're guilty."
" And you've finally lost your mind," I said.
" Aha!" Perry pulled a bottle of gin from the box. He kissed the label before practically skipping toward the kitchen. "Who wants a G and T?"
" I do," Mr. Cabrera and I said at the same time.
It had been one of those days.
Dark clouds skimmed treetops as they sped eastward. It looked like the worst of the weather had passed. The Reaux Construction crew were still out in the elements, huddled together just beyond the deck, corralled by a police officer trying to keep them away from the crime scene. Delphine was the only one who had an umbrella and she wasn't sharing—the rest of them looked water-logged. A Freedom PD homicide detective would be here soon to talk to them.
I had a feeling I knew which one, too. Detective Kevin Quinn.
My ex-husband.
I couldn 't escape the man.
And couldn 't decide if I wanted to.
Lime slices balanced on tall glasses as Perry set the
" Homicidal traditions? I didn't commit any homicides...yet," I said, eyeing his chest like it had a big target on it. "And no one I know wants to move into that house. It's haunted."
The home, once owned by a granny panty thief, had been unable to hold a tenant for longer than a few weeks at a time. This was the fifth time it was for sale in a year.
"Everyone knows you're cursed," Mr. Cabrera pointed out, ignoring my jibe. "Apparently your friends are as well."
" Hey now," Perry said, pulling a pout.
He 'd recently had some lip injections, so his pout was quite something.
" I'm hurt. Cut to the soul," Perry said dramatically. "I might die right here on the spot. Oh, wait. Is this spot already taken? Is this where Mr. Cabrera's girlfriend bit the dust last Christmas?" He blinked innocently, his gray-green eyes sparkling. "It seems to me I heard that Nina wasn't the only one around here who is cursed."
Folding his arms across his chest, Mr. Cabrera harrumphed .
" Perry has a good point," I said, finger-combing my wet hair. "Most of the deaths in this neighborhood have belonged to your lady friends."
Mr. Cabrera 's curse involved his lady loves who tended to, ah, expire while dating him. Some by natural causes and some...not. This curse was why Brickhouse Krauss kept breaking up with him every few months—she was staying one step ahead of the Grim Reaper.
Technically, the woman who died in this house wasn 't Mr. Cabrera's girlfriend at the time, but he'd been wooing her in hopes of making Brickhouse jealous, therefore the death was attributed to his curse.
" You weren't dating Joey Miller, were you, Mr. Cabrera?" Perry asked, wiggling his dirty blond, perfectly-shaped eyebrows. He took his manscaping seriously. "That might explain some things. Like your taste in shirts."
Perry, who was openly gay and had been since middle school, loved to tease Mr. Cabrera about his sexuality. At first, my grumpy meddling neighbor took it personally and went on the defensive. Now, however, he tended to tease right back.
His unruly eyebrows rose. "I may have passed along a compliment to him a time or two. He had a fine way with a circular saw. A true talent."
" Aha!" I accused playfully.
" Now, now, Miz Quinn," Mr. Cabrera said calmly. "As you well know, Ursula and I are doing just fine right now. This death," he waved toward the back yard, "is all on you and your curse."
It was true I had a bit of a reputation. I had an uncanny knack for finding dead bodies—people who 'd been murdered—and for helping to solve their cases. At this point the police should just put me on the payroll.
Six months had passed since I'd seen any kind of dead body, and until today I had started to think my own curse was finally broken...
My curse, apparently, had been taking an extended vacation.
"That," I waved outside, "isn't my fault. I barely even knew him."
" Perry and Mario knew him," Mr. Cabrera said. "They're your friends, therefore you're guilty."
" And you've finally lost your mind," I said.
" Aha!" Perry pulled a bottle of gin from the box. He kissed the label before practically skipping toward the kitchen. "Who wants a G and T?"
" I do," Mr. Cabrera and I said at the same time.
It had been one of those days.
Dark clouds skimmed treetops as they sped eastward. It looked like the worst of the weather had passed. The Reaux Construction crew were still out in the elements, huddled together just beyond the deck, corralled by a police officer trying to keep them away from the crime scene. Delphine was the only one who had an umbrella and she wasn't sharing—the rest of them looked water-logged. A Freedom PD homicide detective would be here soon to talk to them.
I had a feeling I knew which one, too. Detective Kevin Quinn.
My ex-husband.
I couldn 't escape the man.
And couldn 't decide if I wanted to.
Lime slices balanced on tall glasses as Perry set the
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