Free A Dead End (A Saints & Strangers Cozy Mystery Book 1) by Keeley Bates

and set the plates down. “Enjoy,” she said before scuttling off.
    “And you go every month?” Kit asked.
    He nodded, sipping his coffee. “I talk about home safety, learning how to say no. Lots of stuff kids are exposed to. It’s important to help kids feel safe talking to cops. A lot of neighborhoods see cops as the enemy.” He glanced around the sleepy Provincetown Pancakes. “Even a place like Westdale.”
    Kit chuckled. “We’re hardly the inner city.”
    Romeo’s expression turned serious. “No, but you both build your same walls to keep outsiders out.”
    “Not so much keep people out as keep them in their proper places,” Kit said.
    “You’re all white, wealthy and descended from Pilgrims. Why bother with assigned places?”
    “Oh ye of little Westdale knowledge. There’s a pecking order even among the descendants,” Kit explained. “The Allertons were considered the saints. They were the religious contingency on board the Mayflower. Their descendants look down upon the Mullins descendants because Mullins was a mere merchant. Not a saint but a stranger. All of them look down upon the Doty descendants because Edward Doty had been not only a servant, but a servant to one of the merchants.” Kit clucked her tongue. “For shame.”
    Romeo chuckled. “Let me guess. You’re an Allerton descendant.”
    “I confess,” she said. “I’m a saint.”
    “And yet you wanted to give up your social status here in favor of playing somebody’s busty sidekick?”
    Kit was both annoyed and elated by his statement. Annoyed because she was the star, not the sidekick. Elated because it meant that he’d checked out the show since their last meeting. And he thought she was busty. Was that a plus? She wasn’t sure.
    “The show was called Fool’s Gold ,” she remarked. “I played Ellie Gold. Charlie Owen played my sidekick.” Of course, now he was the star, even though they hadn’t bothered to change the name of the show.
    Romeo arched an eyebrow. “Somebody’s defensive.”
    “I’m not defensive,” Kit argued and heard the shrill sound of her own voice. She picked up her glass of water and chugged it in an effort to remain calm.
    “Okay, relax,” Romeo said, holding up a hand. “So do you think the murder might have something to do with Ernie not knowing his place? Where was he in the pecking order?”
    Kit shook her head. “He wasn’t in the Pilgrim Society. Not everyone in Westdale is a descendant.”
    “I thought maybe it was a residency requirement,” Romeo joked. “Everyone else has to live in Eastdale.”
    Eastdale was the neighboring town across the Lenapehoking River. In Westdale, it was known as the ‘wrong’ side of the tracks, even though it was an upper middle class town with a desirable rail connection to Philadelphia.
    “Eastdale? Bite your tongue, Detective,” Kit said. “Anyway, I’d be surprised if his death had anything to do with the society. They’re more interested in murder mystery fundraisers than actual murder.”
    Kit glanced down at Romeo’s empty plate and realized that he’d managed to inhale his entire meal without her noticing. She still had two small pancakes left on her plate. He had an appetite, she’d say that for him. Somehow, it made him seem more appealing.
    Romeo wiped his mouth with his cloth napkin. “I think it’s commendable…what you’re doing,” he said.
    “What am I doing?” she asked. “You mean helping with the investigation? That’s for purely selfish reasons, you know that.”
    He inclined his head. “That’s not what I’m talking about. I mean dusting yourself off after a very public fall and coming back to Westdale. Going to college. Not everyone would have made the smart decision.”
    “The jury’s still out on whether it’s a smart decision,” Kit said, “but thanks.”

Chapter Five
    Kit drove her car across the bridge to Eastdale where Ricco’s Auto Repair was located. Although the residents of Westdale owned