Free The Sweet Taste of Murder: An Angel Lake Mystery by CeeCee James Page A

He pointed toward the front door. “I told him he better hurry, man. Those first ten minutes of Zombies Bride are smoking. He just said he left something in his car.”
    “And then what happened?”
    “He went back into the theater. I didn’t see him again.”
    Brad closed the pad and reached into his pocket for a card. “Thank you for your time. Give me a call if you think of anything else. Here’s my number.”
    The kid thumbed the card and nodded. Elise wondered how long before that card ended up in the trash.
    They turned to go.
    “Interesting.” Elise grabbed the door. “Twenty minutes unaccounted for. And a motive.”
    Brad raised an eyebrow. “Easy there, detective. First, just gather the facts. Now, come on. They’re probably ready for us at the dealership.” He eyed her sweaty hair. “Let me guess. You ran here.”
    “Yeah, I’ll meet you over there.”
    “Hang on. I can give you a ride.”
    “No, you go ahead.” She showed him the Fitbit. “I’m training for the Key Center half-marathon.” She laughed. “And, it hasn’t been going well. But I’m trying.”
    He smiled at her and swung into his car. As he drove by, he blipped his siren making her jump. She could see him laughing and shook her fist at him.
    A soft, happy feeling filled her as she bent to check her laces. It had been a long time since she’d had felt silly and free to have fun like that.
    Elise switched on her favorite playlist. Her bare nails caught her eye, and the almost-memory whisked right around the edges of her mind. She tried hard to claim it but it skittered away. “Just think about something else. It’ll come back.”
    Unbidden, another thought overtook her mind as she jogged along the sidewalk. Her soon to be finalized divorce. Her feet echoed her thoughts as they pounded against the pavement. Eight more days. Eight more days. She still hadn’t heard from Mark since they’d separated, and that surprised her. They’d been solely communicating through their lawyers.
    Their marriage hadn’t started that way. That first year had actually felt like a real life fairytale. He’d been so attentive, so loving. Every morning had started with a kiss, his darkly whiskered face lightly scratching against hers. And the way that man could move in bed. She’d lay there gasping when they were through. He’d always laugh and tease that she was booting him out now that his job was finished.
    The memory made her smile. They had good times, but did she ever really know him?
    A red and yellow spatter of color waving in the weeds reminded her of all the flowers he used to bring home. Guilt flowers, she knew now. He’d acted so sorry when she’d said she was divorcing him, and promised everything to get her to stay. But part of her wondered if it was because his firm looked down on divorce and he was due for a promotion. No matter what, she knew she’d never be able to trust him again. And what kind of life was that for her? Or for him?
    When the dealership came into view, she felt a wave of relief to be able to the put the memories away. Picking up the pace, she sprinted the last few blocks.
    She didn’t see Brad’s car as she jogged through the lot. She continued to the showroom’s cement steps and into the shadow made by the huge awning. After stretching a moment, she sat down and examined the time on her Fitbit. She was getting better.
    “Hey, looking good.” Brad’s deep voice came from the top step where he was leaning against the pillar.
    She jumped. “I didn’t see you there. Where’s your car?” He pointed to the rear of the building. She continued, “Who are we supposed to meet here?”
    “The dispatcher said it was the new receptionist. A gal named Violet Wagner.”
    “Oh, the one that replaced Sylvia.”
    “Yep. And Eric.” He stood resting with his leg up on a step.
    “Eric? Is his mom Crystal?”
    “Yeah. You know him? He’s the car salesman and manager here.”
    “You’d think there’d be more