Free Shake Down Dead by Diane Morlan Page B

she like?” I decided that
first-hand information was better than old microfiche newspaper
articles any day.
    “Like I said, I didn’t run with her
group.” Bonnie Sue twisted her straw-colored hair. “They sort of
ruled the school. Whitney was the leader, probably because her
father was the richest. My friend Pam, got stuck going to their
parties and she hated it. They all thought they were so cool. Pam
didn’t drink or anything and hated to go with Whitney, but her
mother made her.”
    “Why would her mother make her do
that?” I asked. I needed to get more information about this Pam
person.
    “Because she was Whitney’s cousin.
Their mothers are sisters. Pam’s parents are just regular working
people, not highfalutin bankers or anything. But Whitney’s father
liked Pam and made Whitney take her to all sorts of
places.”
    “And Pam didn’t like that?” I hoped
she’d keep talking.
    “Oh, heck, no. She wanted to hang with
her own friends. Whitney hated Pam because her friends liked Pam,
too. Whitney was such a snob. Oh, gee, I shouldn’t be talking that
way about someone who’s dead, I mean deceased.” She started
shuffling papers on her desk and I realized she had said more than
she meant to. I thanked her and reminded her to have Lt. Jacobs
call me.
    I slid into the front seat of Megan’s
car. I was a little relieved that Jacobs hadn’t been there. I
didn’t want to go over last night and finding Whitney’s body again.
I guess I’d have to do it eventually. Tonight I could kick back and
relax.

    13
    First thing Monday morning I took off
again in Megan’s fancy car. I did a few errands, and then stopped
for a quick bite at the Taco Shop.
    After lunch, I was driving down Main
Street when I realized that Herman Motors Used Cars was right
around the corner. On a whim, I pulled in and got out of Megan’s
car. “Ms. Penny! Did you go and buy a new car?” asked Tom, the
salesman I had talked to last week.
    “No, Tom, I just borrowed this car from
a friend. Looks like I’m going to need to decide on a different
vehicle sooner than I thought.”
    “Why’s that, Ma’am?”
    Just then my phone rang. I excused
myself and turned to answer the phone.
    It was Lt. Jacobs, wanting to
reschedule our appointment. We decided to meet at his office at
three o’clock.
    “Are you going to be there this time,
Lieutenant?” I teased. “Don’t want to be stood up twice in one
week.”
    “I’ll be here, Jennifer,” he said with
a chortle. See you in a couple hours.”
    I walked back over to Tom and said,
“Did you hear about Whitney Wentworth?”
    “Ya, I sure did. That’s a shame, isn’t
it? Such a cute young thing. I bet her mother is just sick at
heart.”
    “I’m sure she is,” I replied, realizing
that I hadn’t even stopped by to give my condolences to Henrietta
Wentworth. “It was my car they found her in.”
    “Really?” Tom took a step back from me.
“And how did she get in your car?”
    “Obviously, someone put her
there.”
    “Ya, I suppose so. Well, then,” he said
clapping his hands together, “Guess you need a vehicle then,
doncha’?”
    I guess the lure of earning his
commission overruled his suspicion of me. “Yes, I do. I’d like to
check out that Blazer I test drove last week.” I looked around the
lot, puzzled that it wasn’t in the front row of cars.
    “Oh, sorry, Ms. Penny, I sold that the
other day. I think I told ya’ it wouldn’t last long. Follow me. I
have something else that might fit you even better.” He pointed to
the end of the first row of cars. “It’s just right for your coffee
roasting business. The color is cappuccino frost.” I could see that
he was proud of remembering my business.
    Looking over I saw what he meant.
Parked next to a black sports car was a light brown Chevy Equinox
that looked like a cross between an SUV and a station wagon.
Although it sure wasn’t anything like the yellow station wagon my
mother used to drive.
    It was three