Free A Healthy Homicide by Staci McLaughlin Page B

I’d been planning to eat dinner before calling Jason, but after that little display, I wasn’t hungry anymore. I’d call Jason first. Talking to him always got my appetite revving.
    I shut the door to my room, changed into a T-shirt and pajama pants, and lay across my bed, on my belly, to dial. Jason answered right away.
    “I was about to call you,” he said warmly. “How was the rest of work?” I could hear traffic in the background.
    “Nice and boring. It was the ride home that was interesting.”
    “What happened?”
    I flipped over on my back and leaned against the pillows, shifting from side to side until I’d made a comfortable hollow. “I stopped by Carla’s spa. A friend of hers was posting flyers about a Celebration of Life for Carla tomorrow.”
    “You must mean Patricia. She brought a flyer by the Herald’ s office as I was leaving just now. I’ll be covering the event for the paper.”
    “Great. Guess I’ll see you there. I’m planning to stop by.”
    “An even better reason to go,” Jason said softly.
    I felt my insides heat up and started mentally sifting through my closet for what I’d wear tomorrow night, forgetting for a moment that I’d be attending a memorial service, not going on a date.
    “You still there?” Jason asked.
    “Yep, sorry. Anyway, while I was chatting with Patricia, Carla’s niece showed up.”
    Jason whistled. “This isn’t the elusive Erin I’ve heard so much about, is it? I can’t find her anywhere.”
    “The same. And she brought along her boyfriend, who Carla didn’t approve of, according to Patricia.”
    “Did you catch his name?”
    “Ricky’s his first name, but that’s all I know.” I rested my head on the headboard and studied the water stains in the corner of the ceiling. The stains had first appeared after a good rain last week, and the landlord had promised to find and patch the leak. So far, I hadn’t seen any signs of repair. I guessed I needed to remind him.
    Jason brought me back to the present conversation. “I talked to Patricia briefly when she dropped off the flyer. I tried to dig for info about Erin, and she mentioned that she and Carla had butted heads the past few weeks. Carla had even said something about Erin moving out.”
    “Interesting. Maybe Carla asked Erin to move out, and Erin didn’t take the news too well.” I sat up and opened my nightstand drawer. I rummaged around for a pen to write myself a note about the landlord. “Did Patricia know anything about Carla having a boyfriend?”
    “I asked, but she made some excuse about hanging more flyers and rushed off without answering.”
    I gave up on the pen search and flopped back down on the bed. “Patricia’s husband was with her tonight. I wondered if maybe he was the boyfriend, but he seems the type who would ask his wife’s permission before cheating on her. More likely, Patricia is embarrassed that her friend was dating a married man, and didn’t want to admit it to you.”
    “I plan to ask her again tomorrow.” I heard rustling sounds over the phone, and then Jason spoke again. “I’ve got to get to this city council meeting. Any chance you’d like to join me?”
    I considered the offer. As much as I liked hanging out with Jason, I’d had a long week, and my pajama pants were awfully comfy. “Will there be any chairs thrown this time? Any nude protestors?”
    Jason chuckled. “Not twice in a row. That last meeting was a rarity. Tonight’s topics are replacing the stoplight at the edge of town and the contract for the new trash collector. Not exactly nude-worthy stuff.”
    “Forget it, then. No offense, but even with you there, it’s not worth getting dressed for.”
    Jason gave an entirely different type of whistle this time. “You’re not dressed? I can always skip the city council meeting. I could be at your place in five minutes.”
    I felt myself blush and was glad he couldn’t see it. “Oh, stop. I’m wearing pajamas.”
    “Don’t tell