Free Flipped Out by Jennie Bentley Page B

involuntarily, to the open door to the house. I couldn’t see anything, but I could hear the murmur of voices, too far away to be able to make out what Derek and Wayne were saying. “He said it looked like Tony had been stabbed with something. And that some of the tools might be missing.”
    “A botched robbery?” Adam suggested, stopping just short of rubbing his hands together.
    Wilson turned toward him. “What makes you say that?”
    “Don’t you remember what what’s-his-name said yesterday? That houses under renovation are like magnets for thieves? Lots of tools and materials, no security.”
    Wilson glanced at me. “Is that true?”
    “As far as I know, it is. We’ve never had it happen to us, but it makes sense. And Derek’s been doing this job a lot longer than me; he’d know.”
    “So do you think this was a robbery gone wrong?” Adam asked. “That Tommy saw someone break in, and maybe he stopped to talk to them, and they killed him?”
    “Tony. His name was Tony.” I shrugged. “I have no idea. It’s possible. That’s for the police to figure out, I guess.”
    “What are they doing in there?” Adam glanced at the open door.
    “I’m sure they’re just looking at things. Derek should be able to give Wayne the preliminary time and cause of death. The ME in Portland will have to confirm it, but it’s something for Wayne to go on with. And they may be compiling a list of the tools that are missing. If any of them turn up in pawnshops or flea markets, the police may be able to track whoever pawned them. The tools won’t be hard to identify; Derek puts his initials on all his tools.”
    The sound of a car coming up the street caused me to turn and look, and I felt my stomach drop when I recognized the cream-colored Mercedes. It pulled to the curb in front of Tony’s sports car, and after a second, Melissa got out and looked around.
    “Shit,” Adam said, which seemed to sum up the situation admirably. “She won’t be happy.”
    I shook my head. No, she wouldn’t be. She’d be shocked and distraught and miserable. Melissa had been just about as unlucky in love as I had; before I met Derek, that is. Her marriage hadn’t worked out, her relationship with Ray Stenham had gone down in flames, and now, just as she’d found Tony and gotten engaged again, her new fiancé was dead. It be enough to push anyone off the deep end. I didn’t like Melissa much, but I felt sorry for her at that moment.
    “Hello, everyone!” Melissa bathed us all in her brilliant smile. As usual, she looked fabulous in yet another designer skirt and wedge sandals, with sparkly stones—sapphires?—in her ears. “Hi, Avery. What’s going on? What are the police doing here?”
    The smile didn’t waver; I guess maybe she was just expecting me to say that Wayne or his deputy, Brandon Thomas, had stopped by to say hello and meet the television crew.
    “I’m sorry,” I said, feeling a little guilty about my dislike for her when I knew—and she didn’t—that her fiancé had just met an untimely end. “There’s been an accident.”
    “An accident?” She looked at us all standing there on the porch looking at her, and her smile slowly died. She turned back to me. “Derek?”
    As if I’d be standing here, as relatively composed as I was, if something had happened to Derek. I shook my head. “He’s fine. It’s not Derek. It’s Tony.”
    “Tony?” Her voice was strange. Not surprised at all, almost calm. It was probably denial. Or shock.
    “I’m sorry.” I moved to take her arm. “Here. Sit down on the steps.”
    But she shook me off. “I want to see him.”
    “I’m not sure that’s a good idea—”
    “I didn’t ask for your permission, Avery!” She pushed past me and into the house.
    “Melissa, wait!” I ran after her.
    Derek and Wayne were in the kitchen, Wayne crouched next to Tony’s body while Derek leaned against the kitchen cabinets, arms folded across his chest. When Melissa burst