Free This Old Murder by Valerie Wolzien Page B

slightly incredulous.
    “Mark Stern. He doesn’t have to have the same last name to be my cousin. Mark’s father is my mother’s brother,” Mike explained. “And don’t call me Mikey,” he told Mark.
    “So why are you two here? Why aren’t you out doing crowd control? What’s going on?” Dottie asked.
    “We have a bigger problem than crowds,” Mike said.
    Mark looked as though he might burst if he didn’t speak up. “Yeah, somebody may have killed Courtney Castle!” he blurted out.
    “Killed?”
    “Don’t talk to these guys. They’re idiots,” Dottie ordered the women under her breath.
    Josie ignored the good advice. “Where? When? Who says?”
    “He doesn’t know anything. And he should learn to keep his mouth shut,” Mike answered, scowling at his cousin.
    Despite the seriousness of Mark’s statement, Josie found that she wanted to smile. Mike sounded just like his father. “Where is your father?” she asked. “Is he with the body?”
    “There is no body,” Mike answered.
    “I thought you said Courtney had been murdered.” Jill joined the conversation.
    “It’s all those rice cakes,” Dottie said. “She just wasted away. Poor thing.”
    “Mike, what the hell is going on?” Josie asked. This was turning into a very long lunch hour. Little had been accomplished this morning. They needed to make up for it this afternoon. “We have to get back to work. Has there been a murder or not?”
    “That Bobby Valentine . . . he’s the show’s director, right?”
    “He’s the producer,” Josie said. “What about him?”
    “He found a note in Courtney Castle’s dressing room.”
    “And it said she was killed!” Mark sounded excited.
    “What is this? Some sort of game?” Dottie asked.
    “We really don’t have time for this!” Josie insisted. “Do you think you could start at the beginning? What exactly did the note say?”
    “And did anyone think to ask Courtney who killed her?” Dottie’s question was sarcastic.
    “The note said ‘Kill Courtney Castle,’ ” Mike answered. “And Courtney Castle has disappeared.”
    “Disappeared? You mean she’s just vanished?” Annette asked.
    “How could she have disappeared?” Josie added.
    “She’s not in her trailer, which is where her producer says she should be. And she’s not anywhere on the property,” Mike answered seriously.
    “So maybe she went for a drive,” Josie suggested.
    “Her truck is still parked out front,” Mark explained.
    That diverted Josie. “Since when does she drive a truck? What happened to the silver Porsche?”
    “Apparently she drives a truck for the show—” Mike began.
    “You mean that truck is just a prop?”
    “I don’t know what you’d call it. I just know what that Valentine guy told us. She came in the truck, and if the truck is still here, she is, too.”
    “You just said she isn’t here,” Dottie reminded him.
    “Or maybe she hasn’t left of her own accord,” Jill suggested, lowering her voice and opening her eyes wide. “Maybe someone killed her and took the body away.”
    “Nope. Not a chance. We’ve had a police line around the block since early this morning. No way anyone got through with Courtney Castle—or with her body. Dad is double-checking with all the guys, but I can tell you that our line was—and is—impenetrable.”
    “And Mikey . . . Mike . . . and I have searched every square inch of this property as well as all the vans and trucks out front. She’s not here,” Mark asserted.
    “Then she’s not dead,” Josie suggested.
    “Yeah, it’s a hot day. Maybe she went for a swim,” Dottie said.
    “Or maybe she got into a boat and rowed off for a bit,” Annette said.
    “Yeah, there have been lots of kayakers around all morning. Maybe that’s what she did,” Jill added.
    Josie knew they were trying to be helpful, but she was aware of the logistics of what the women were suggesting. “You’re sure she didn’t drive away or go for a jog on the