Free The Lady Who Sang High: A Reed Ferguson Mystery (A Private Investigator Mystery Series - Crime Suspense Thriller Book 7) by Renee Pawlish Page B

that for me.
    “It’s terrible what happened to Jude.”
    I nodded and murmured, “He seemed like a nice guy.”
    “You met him?”
    “Just once, my first day here.”
    “He was a nice guy.” Something akin to sorrow flashed across his face, which made it much less forgettable, and then after a moment, he turned all business. “You don’t need to worry about being safe here. We’ve got state-of-the-art security. What happened to Jude was just a fluke. Wrong place at the wrong time.”
    “Yeah, but he was killed in the alley. Was there security out there?”
    “Unfortunately, no,” he said. “It was probably someone who hoped to get in the back door and rob us, and maybe Jude confronted him and was shot.” He pointed at me. “You found him, right?”
    “Yes.” I wondered where he was going with that.
    “You probably surprised the killer and he ran off.”
    Was this his hypothesis or had Spillman told him that? She hadn’t seemed thrilled to see me here after Jude was killed, and I doubted she would tell me the details, so I’d have to ask Jodie about it.
    “So you think it was just a robbery gone bad?” I asked.
    He looked at me, surprised by the question. Or my bluntness. “What else could it be?”
    “I don’t know. Did Jude have any enemies or money trouble? Something that would get him killed?” Whoa! Real subtle, Reed , I chided myself.
    “You sound like a detective.”
    I thought fast. “I read a lot of mysteries.”
    That seemed to mollify him.
    “I can’t believe this happened. Especially now.” He seemed in a mood to talk. “I don’t know if anyone told you, but with the legalization of recreational marijuana, we’re growing by leaps and bounds. And we’re looking for more investment money.” His eyes scanned the plants, and he grimaced. “Jude’s death might scare people away.”
    “Why is that?” I went for dumb again, hoping to keep him talking.
    He gazed at the plants, thinking about something. “What was Jude doing?” he muttered to himself. I waited but he didn’t say more. He suddenly looked back at me and shook his head. “Anyway, if you have any questions, let me know. Or talk to Jodie. She’s in charge of things around here.”
    “Do you work here in the warehouse?”
    “Not really. I like to check on things, but Jodie’s the real grower. I haven’t been here that long, so I don’t know much about what she does with the plants. I handle the business side.”
    “Okay, I’ll direct my questions to her.” I paused, then mentally circled back around what he’d said about Jude, that he was a nice guy. That didn’t fit with what others were saying about him. “I’m sorry about Jude. You really liked him, huh?”
    “He was a good guy,” he said, his tone flat. I couldn’t tell if that was due to sadness or insincerity.
    “How’d you meet him?” I asked.
    “We worked together at a previous job. Then he left to start this business and I didn’t hear from him for a while. Then out of the blue, he called and asked me if I wanted to invest. It seemed like a good opportunity, and here I am.” He smiled again.
    “You got that right.” I tried for just the right tone of envy. “I wish I had money to invest.”
    “Don’t worry, we take care of our own.” He clapped me on the shoulder. “I better let you get back to work before Jodie gets mad at me for keeping you from your job.”
    With that, he strolled off down another row of plants.
    I halfheartedly started to sweep again, my mind on our conversation. Heath liked Jude? Or was he just being respectful of the dead? Or he didn’t want to bite of the hand that was feeding him, proverbially speaking? Bill and Ivy had worked at Blue Light long enough that I’d bet they knew if Heath was being straight with me. I’d have to figure out a way to ask them what they thought.
    “But with more finesse next time,” I muttered to myself.

CHAPTER TWELVE
     
    I glanced at my watch: almost four o’clock. I