Free Death of a Crafty Knitter by Angela Pepper Page B

day. What is it you do? Besides run around town looking pretty and stumbling over bodies?"
    Ignoring his compliment again, I answered, "I run a gift shop downtown. Glorious Gifts."
    "And is the store as glorious as… your smile?"
    Just then, Tony came down the stairs noisily.
    "What's going on?" he demanded gruffly. "You two look awfully comfortable on that love seat."
    "I believe it's a fainting couch," Kyle said. "Not a love seat. Technically."
    Kyle's correct identification of the furniture didn't take the dirty look off Tony's face—the dirty look that implied I'd invited a known axe murderer to be my prom date.
    "I'm just giving your rookie my statement," I said. "Save the monster-dad face for when your daughter starts dating."
    "Your tow truck is here." Tony nodded to the window at the corner of the room, overlooking the front driveway. Sure enough, a tow truck was unhooking my rescued car at that moment. I hadn't noticed the flashing lights.
    Kyle let out a low whistle. "Nice wheels."
    "That one comes with real bullet holes," I said nonchalantly.
    "I'll walk you out," Tony said firmly, nodding for me to follow him to the front door.
    "Not yet. I'm helping with the case." I turned to Kyle. "There's a laptop charger inside her bedside table, but no laptop in the house. I'd bet you good money the killer took it. If she did internet backups, there will be mirror images of the files dating back at least a few months. Even if the killer got her laptop and deleted everything on the hard drive and current backup, we can still get access to those mirrored files, and there might be a clue—"
    I didn't get to finish my thought, because Tony had grabbed me by the elbow and practically lifted me to my feet.
    "Tony Baloney," I protested, using the nickname he hated.
    "Witnesses can't be wandering around the crime scene willy-nilly." He hauled me toward the front door.
    "I wasn't wandering, I was sitting. On a fainting couch. And I was helping."
    He grunted a disagreeable noise.
    We got to the front door, alone because Kyle hadn't followed. Tony picked up the kicked-down door and moved it out of the way, onto the porch. In addition to the tow truck, more police cars were parking in the front yard.
    The open door had been cooling the house, but I was still warm in my zipped-up jacket, and the fresh air felt good. I stepped out onto the porch, where Tony stopped me by grabbing me at the waist.
    "What do you think you're doing?" he asked as he pulled me to face him.
    "Getting my car. Do I have to pay, or is the department going to pick up the tab?"
    "I meant what were you doing with my rookie?"
    Softly, I said, "I used to play This Little Piggy with your rookie's toes. I'm not going to date the boy, okay? Not that it's any of your business."
    He gave me a stern look, but the softness in his dark brown eyes betrayed his true feelings.
    "I'm seven years older than you," he said.
    "Exactly. And nothing happened between us."
    He took a step back. "Nothing?"
    "Except for a few days, nothing."
    "Stormy."
    His tone when he said my name felt too intimate. I pushed past him and walked down the steps to solid ground. The heads of everyone standing in the snowy front yard turned our way. The cold air was bracing, bringing the situation into crisp focus.
    What was I doing?
    A woman had been murdered today. It was the first of January, and now all of this was happening. So much for the new year.
    I turned back to Tony. "Good luck with your investigation. I look forward to hearing about it on the news when you catch the killer. I just hope you figure out the whole mess before someone else gets hurt or shot at."
    "Mind your own business and you won't get shot at, Stormy."
    I clenched my fists. "Are you saying it's my fault I've got those bullet holes in car?"
    "I'm saying maybe you should stick to running your gift shop, and let us, the police, do our jobs."
    I glared at him. He used to love getting my perspective on cases when he first started