Free Cinnamon Toasted by Gail Oust

being me. If so, you’d be guilty of obstruction of justice.”
    I surged to my feet, angrier than I’d been in ages. I felt a hot rush of blood heat my cheeks. “Now, just a frickin’ minute, Mr. Law and Order. I told you exactly what happened. You can take it or leave it.”
    McBride was studying me like I was a crawfish in Biology 101. “I realize MellyPrescott is … was … your mother-in-law, and you might harbor a certain loyalty, but we’re talking a man’s death. I’m just trying to get my facts straight.”
    “Chip Balboa’s death was an accident, a tragic accident.” I started for the door, then stopped and turned. “Stop trying to make it into something it’s not.”
    His expression stony, McBride slipped my signed statement back into a folder. “Forthe time being, we’re calling Chip Balboa’s death ‘suspicious.’”
    “We? Who’s ‘we’?”
    “The medical examiner and Georgia Bureau of Investigation, that’s who.”
    Stunned, I digested this in silence. What could possibly make them think Chip’s accident wasn’t a simple fall down a flight of stairs but a possible homicide instead?
    “Sorry to lay this on you, Piper, but things aren’t always what they seem.”

    I left McBride’s office with his words ringing in my ears.

 
    C HAPTER 9
    “H OW WAS M ELLY when she got back to your place last night?” Reba Mae bit into her Italian sub with gusto.
    “Hard to tell.” I unwrapped my sandwich and popped the tab on my Diet Coke. Reba Mae and I were enjoying lunch on a park bench in the town square. Actually, the impromptu picnic had been Melly’s idea. Watching the shop for an hour or so, she said, would help take her mind offher troubles. And if she needed anything, I’d be close by.
    “What did CJ have to say?”
    “He dropped her off, but didn’t come in. When I asked Melly how her meeting went with McBride, she refused to talk about it and went straight to bed. She didn’t even want dinner.”
    “I’m worried about her.”
    “Me, too.” It was comforting to know that worry had company. That’s the beauty of having a BFF.
    “Mmm,Pizza Palace subs are the best.” Reba Mae broke off a piece of her roll and tossed it to a gray squirrel rummaging through fallen leaves for acorns.
    “Agree,” I said. “I love the combination of capicola, mortadella, Genoa, and provolone, but Tony’s special dressing is what sets them apart.”
    “I’d ask him for the recipe, but I know better.”
    “I’ve been experimenting with a mix of my own—basil,thyme, oregano, garlic, a dash of salt and pepper, olive oil, balsamic vinegar. Next time, I’m going to add a tiny bit of rosemary.”
    “Sounds like a winner.” Reba Mae wiped her fingers on a napkin. “You never said how your session with McBride went. You holdin’ out on me?”
    I took a bite of my sandwich, washed it down with a swig of Coke. “Pretty straightforward. Not much to tell.”
    “Did he everget hold of Chip’s ex-wife—whatshername? How’d she take the news?”
    “Name’s Cheryl. If he did, he didn’t mention it.”
    “Sounds like McBride. The man can be as closemouthed as a clam.”
    “Unlike his right-hand man, Sergeant Blabbermouth,” I said. “McBride did say something that gave me pause.”
    By her raised brow, I knew I had Reba Mae’s undivided attention. “Out with it, honeybun,” she ordered.“It’s not nice to leave a friend danglin’ by a thread.”
    I brushed crumbs from my capris. “Just as I was about to leave his office, he said, ‘Things aren’t always what they seem.’ What do you suppose he meant?”
    “McBride’s a sneaky buzzard. I don’t think he’d leak a secret if you threatened him with Chinese water torture.”
    “When I arrived at his office, he was talking to someone at the GeorgiaBureau of Investigation. I can’t help but think McBride was trying to tell me something, you know, without coming right out and saying it. Does that make any sense?”
    Reba Mae