Free Drowning in Amber (A Marie Jenner Mystery Book 2) by E.C. Bell

come back and do more, we will.”
    He grabbed Crank and hauled him through the open doorway. A few moments later, I heard the downstairs door wheeze shut, and then I was alone again.
    I looked around at the train wreck that Crank and R had left and decided to leave, myself. Maybe this Marie chick could see me, but if she was stupid enough to bring Ambrose down on her, she wouldn’t have the time to figure out who killed me. She’d be trying to figure out who killed her.
     

Marie:
James Breaks In, and All Hell Breaks Loose
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    “I CAN’T BELIEVE it took that long for the police to let me go.” I straggled morosely along beside James as we finally left the cop shop. It was nearly ten o’clock. We were an hour late for our meeting with Honoria Lowe.
    “That wasn’t long,” James said. “You’re lucky they didn’t hold you overnight.”
    “Even with Sergeant Worth’s help?”
    “Even with.” He pulled out his cell phone to call Honoria and let her know we were on our way. There was no answer, and he frowned.
    “Do you think she gave up on us?” I asked.
    “I called her before I came to get you. She knew we were going to be late. I wonder where she is?”
    He walked quickly, forcing me to occasionally do that awkward skip-step to keep pace with him. Damn men and their long legs!
    He’d parked on the street in front of the cop shop, and I was seriously glad to see the car there. My feet were starting to hurt. Terribly. The shoes I’d picked up at the Sally Ann when I was replacing my wardrobe were starting to pinch in all the bad spots, and all I wanted to do was take them off. I minced up to the car, and as soon as I was sitting in the passenger’s seat, I tore them off and rubbed furiously.
    “Your feet hurt?” James asked. Talk about stating the obvious.
    “I kind of wish I’d picked runners instead of shoes with heels,” I said.
    “So, why did you?”
    “Why did I what?”
    “Pick shoes with heels?” He put the car into gear and pulled into traffic. “I’ve never seen you wear heels before.”
    I looked down at the shoes, so I didn’t have to look at him. I’d picked the stupid shoes because I thought they made my legs look nice. But there was no way in the world I was telling him that. I just rubbed out the cramps and ignored the heck out of him.
    “Tell me what you found out,” he said, as he turned onto Jasper Avenue and headed west. “You did get to talk to some people before you were arrested. Didn’t you?”
    “A couple,” I said. “But they didn’t tell me anything. Wouldn’t even tell me if they knew Eddie.” I sighed. “I did talk to one of Eddie’s friends, but she said she didn’t think Eddie knew anybody named Honoria.” I shrugged. “Doesn’t mean Eddie doesn’t know her. Just means he didn’t tell Noreen.”
    “Noreen?” he asked. “Eddie’s friend?”
    “Yep.” I shrugged again. “Sorry. I didn’t get much.”
    It felt like I got nothing, to be honest, but James just took note, without any comment. I didn’t know what to make of that. He usually had a comment.
    We made it to 104 th in excellent time and parked on the street next to the park. Being that close to the park again made me seriously twitchy and jumpy.
    “Can’t we park somewhere else?” I said, as I pulled my stupid shoes back on my feet and tried not to groan in pain. “I don’t want any of them to see me.”
    He didn’t argue. Just put the vehicle back into gear, pulled down the street, and around the corner.
    “Is this good?” he asked.
    I looked around and could see no one I recognized. “I think so,” I said, and we got out of the car and walked back to Honoria’s apartment door.
    I kept James between me and the park side, feeling ever so happy that I could use him to hide me from whoever was in the park. It looked pretty empty, but that didn’t mean there was no one there. It just meant I couldn’t see them.
    As James studied the bank of