Free A Dubious Delivery (A Seagrove Cozy Mystery Book 9) by Leona Fox

frame. It was so wrong. Too gaudy, too big, too ornate. The painting begged for a thin neutral frame. Or even a wide neutral frame, just not this gold monstrosity.
    "What are you doing in my room?"
    Sadie froze. Marnie was behind her, but there was no way to hide the fact she'd found the painting and unwrapped it.
    "The real question is what is this doing in your room?" Sadie turned to face Marnie and gestured to the painting.
    "That is my property," Marnie said. She was tight-faced, and the skin around her lips was ringed in white.
    "Funny, I thought this was Cyrus' property." Sadie stood up and picked up the painting in its wrapper.
    "Shall we go ask him?
    "You leave him out of this," Marnie said and lunged for the painting.
    Sadie jumped back. The backs of her knees hit the edge of the bed, and she sat down abruptly.
    Marnie grabbed the painting and tried to tug it away, but Sadie held on tight. There was tearing, and Marnie stepped away with nothing but wrapping paper in her hands.
    “Darn it,” she said. “Give me my painting.”
    She reached across Sadie’s lap, hooked her hand over the frame nearest Sadie and tugged. Marnie was at least half a head taller than Sadie, and probably a good deal stronger. Sadie moved her hands so they cupped the corners closest to Marnie and held on with everything she had. Then she slid the painting back until Marnie’s hand was trapped between the sharp edge of the frame and Sadie’s stomach.
    Marnie wrenched her hand free and rubbed her palm where it had been pinched by the edge of the frame. Sadie got up and headed toward the door, but Marnie grabbed her arm and swung her around.
    “I’m well within my rights to keep this painting,” Sadie said. “It was in my container, and I paid to have it shipped from Italy.”
    “You didn’t pay the bribe,” Marnie spat.
    “No, but every crate I ship is paid for by the pound. This ugly frame probably cost me a hundred dollars. I think that makes it mine.”
    Sadie did not really believe this, but she wanted to keep Marnie emotionally off balance until she got the painting out of the room.
    “If you want this painting, you can buy it from me,” Sadie said.
    “I’m not going to buy it from you,” Marnie said. “It already belongs to me. Possession is nine-tenths of the law.”
    “You don’t really believe that, do you?” Sadie asked.
    “Because I’m pretty sure that’s another urban legend.” She wrenched her arm free of Marnie’s grasp and tried skirting around her to the door.
    Marnie blocked her, putting her own back against the door so it couldn’t be opened.
    “You are not getting out of here with that painting,” Marnie said, “so you might as well just give it to me.”
    There was a window on the far side of the bed and Sadie headed for it, wincing inwardly as she stepped onto Marnie’s clean bedclothes. She slid the painting under her left arm and, keeping that side to the window, unlatched the window, and pushed it up with her right hand. There was about a four foot drop to the flower bed that ran along the perimeter of the back lawn. She was trying to figure out the best way to get out of the window when Marnie jumped up on the bed with her, grabbed the painting and tugged it out of Sadie’s grasp.
    “Oh no,” Sadie said, and lunged for it.
    That was a mistake, because she missed, fell into Marnie, and they both ended up on the floor with Sadie on top. Neither of them moved for a moment while they caught their breath.
    “Finally,” Marnie said, “get off,” and tried rolling out from underneath Sadie.
    Sadie looked around for the painting and discovered it on the floor near the dresser. She lunged for it, snatched it up and jumped back onto the bed, grabbing the pillow as she went by. She tossed the pillow out the window and was just about to drop the painting on top of it when Marnie yelled “No!” Sadie felt Marnie’s fingers wrapped around her ankle.
    Sadie braced for the yank she knew must be