Free A Story to Kill by Lynn Cahoon Page B

straw fedora, and paused as they met. “Good afternoon, Miss Latimer. I’m leading the team over to the library. I promised Daisy I’d show her the college’s collection of Shakespeare papers, and the rest just decided to come along as well.” He grinned and looked back at the retreat guests. “I have to say, they’re a determined lot. I expect to be reading all their published books next year.”
    Cat scanned the group: Everyone was accounted for, and it was free writing time anyway. “Sounds like a plan.” She looked at Rose. “Call the house if you need Shauna or I to come walk you back later.”
    â€œYou could just send that handyman who took us gambling the other night. What an alpha! I swear I’m changing the hero in my next book just to honor him.” Rose poked me in the stomach. “You want to be the heroine? That way you could have your happy ending without even having to work for it.”
    â€œThanks, but I’m kind of a do-it-yourselfer when it comes to things of the heart.” Cat started to walk through the small crowd when a hand reached out and grabbed her sleeve, stopping her.
    â€œDo you know who the other lady is that checked into your place?” Sara Laine stared at Cat with unblinking eyes.
    She straightened herself and wanted to push Sara’s hand off her jacket, but Cat held calm. “Linda Cook, Tom’s wife? She came to collect the remains, but I guess with an ongoing investigation, she has to stay around.”
    â€œShe needs to leave.” Sara jerked on Cat’s sleeve for emphasis.
    Cat unpeeled her fingers from the cloth. The girl was beginning to act certifiable. “Look, before you go ripping up my jacket, you need to just chill. Linda’s going to be around until the police release Tom’s body. If you have a problem with that, you’re more than welcome to leave.”
    Sara narrowed her eyes. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Then you could go into Dean Vargas’s office and tell him I was unreasonable. I bet you’d even dab at fake tears to get him to look at you.”
    â€œWhat are you talking about?” But Sara just turned around and ran to catch up with the rest of the group. Man, this hospitality career was going to be harder than Cat had imagined. Not only had she dealt with a murder, she had not just one but two loonies sign up for the inaugural session. This didn’t bode well for the rest of the sessions. She really needed to screen the next group better.
    When she reached home, she hurried into the kitchen and found it empty. A note sat in the middle of the table. She picked it up and read Shauna’s neat handwriting aloud. I’ve gone into town to shop. I won’t forget your junk food list.
    Cat grabbed a small bag of kettle chips and a soda out of the fridge. The house was empty. Even Seth’s truck was missing from its normal spot out front. She was alone and itching to get some words down on the page.
    She headed up to the third floor and locked herself into her office. Seth had set up a visual security system that monitored the front and back door. It only came on when someone entered the house, so she’d have plenty of time to rejoin the group when they arrived back from their library trip. But all of the crew had carried their laptops, so Cat was certain they were going to take some writing time at the majestic building. Writing by a window in the stacks had always made Cat feel like a real author, even when she was an undergraduate English major. The library had instilled a sense of calm in her as she pecked away at the keyboard and wrote her first novel.
    The novel that had never been picked up, even though Michael had praised her for her lyrical prose. The next book she’d written in secret, just for her enjoyment. When that one had been finished, she’d shipped it off to several potential agents who had asked to see her next