Free Ham Bones by Carolyn Haines Page A

There's no doubt she deserved
to die. What we have to prove is that someone other than
Sarah Booth killed her!"
    A commotion at the front of the cafe caused all of us
to stop talking and look up. I held a forkful of delicious
apple pie in midair as I watched an extremely handsome
man walk through the tables.
    We weren't the only people who'd stopped talking and
eating. Booter rose slowly from her chair as if magnetically drawn in the wake of the man, who was making a
beeline for our table.
    His gaze swept over the occupants and settled on me.
As he drew closer, I could see the tension in his face.
Hazel eyes zeroed in on me as he advanced, and I had a
sudden feeling that no matter how handsome the package,
I wasn't going to like what he had to deliver.
    "Sarah Booth Delaney?" he asked, standing to his full
height of over six feet.
     
    "Yes" I wasn't about to back down to a stranger.
"What can I do for you?"
    "Go to prison for the rest of your life." He spoke loud
enough so that everyone in the cafe could hear. The place
was completely quiet. Even Jimbo in the kitchen had
stopped chopping things and was listening.
    "What are you talking about?" I lowered the apple pie
to the saucer.
    "You killed my sister, and I'm here to see that Renata
is avenged" He looked around the cafe. "I want everyone
here to know that this woman is a murderer. I'll spend the
rest of my life making certain that she pays for the heinous
crime she committed."

 

Chapter 7
    Iece rose to her feet. I stood, too, sensing that I might
need to restrain her. She was always ready to jump to
my defense, but I didn't want to see her arrested while defending my honor.
    "I have one thing to say," Cece said. She stood completely motionless.
    "What would that be?" Anger simmered in the man's
eyes, and his voice was a dare.
    "You are one handsome hunk of man!" Cece tilted a
shoulder. "I'm Cece Dee Falcon, society editor of the
Zinnia Dispatch. I'd really like to ... interview you"
    "Cece!" Tinkie and I spoke in unison.
    "Oh, calm down" She stepped around us so that she
was beside Renata's brother. "If I have a few moments
with Colin Farrell, here, I think I can make him understand that you're falsely accused, Sarah Booth" She
smiled up at him. "I'd sure like to give it the old college
try."
    "You're the person who wrote that awful review."
     
    Cece frowned. "That might have been my assistant."
    "Cece!" Tinkie and I spoke in unison again.
    "Oh, hush" She shook a finger at us. "And mind your
own business." She turned to Renata's brother. "What's
your name, shu-ga?"
    "Gabriel Trovaioli." His anger hadn't dissipated at all.
    "Gabriel, I'd be glad to hear your side of the story, but
I have to tell you, Sarah Booth wouldn't hurt a fly. Not
even an insect like Renata"
    I wanted to knock Cece upside the head. She wasn't
helping matters at all.
    "My sister called me the afternoon she died." He
turned angry eyes on me. "She told me she was afraid
Sarah Booth Delaney would kill her."
    "What?" I didn't believe it. I hadn't even been near
Renata. "That's ridiculous."
    "She said you were desperate to get on stage and that
you and Graf had rekindled your love affair. She said
you'd kill her and that Graf would try to cover for you"
    "That's a pretty serious accusation." Millie held a
coffeepot in one hand and looked as if she might throw it.
"If Cece would quit thinking with her crotch, she'd point
out that slander is a serious charge"
    Thank goodness for Millie. She wasn't immune to a
handsome face, but she didn't let a good-looking man
addle her brain.
    "I didn't hurt Renata," I said crisply.
    "Like you'd admit to killing her." He iced me with his
gaze.
    "Mr. Trovaioli, I didn't like your sister. She was an arrogant woman with a mean streak a mile wide. But I didn't
kill her. I didn't even wish her dead"
    He studied me. "You are good," he finally said. "She said you'd been working on your acting, and you're convincing