Free 4 Decoupage Can Be Deadly by Lois Winston

happened?”
    “I found a dead body.”
    Zack shook his head. “Why does that not surprise me anymore?”
    After I recapped the events of the day, he said. “Were you planning on telling me about the murder, or am I only learning about it because I’m here?”
    “I was going to tell you.”
    “When?”
    “I was hoping to wait until after you jumped my bones.”
    Before Zack could answer—or act on my suggestion (which would have been more than a little awkward in his Boxster)—my cell phone rang.
    “Did you hear the news?” asked Cloris when I answered.
    “What news?”
    “The medical examiner ID’d the body. It’s Philomena.”

 
     
     
     
    SEVEN
     
    Zack definitely lived up to my expectations later that night, almost making me forget about the dead Hyundai and the dead rap star-turned-entrepreneur. Reality set back in the next morning as I drove to work in Alex’s Jeep. At least reality came accompanied by air-conditioning, something I’d suffered without all summer while driving the Hyundai.
    Although the calendar claimed autumn began last week, the scorching temperatures we’d sustained throughout the summer never received the memo. For the first time in nearly five months, I drove to work in comfort, not needing a shower and a change of clothes once I arrived.
    Given that we’d all left work yesterday still unaware of the identity of the murder victim, I expected to find a gaggle of gossiping coworkers congregated in the break room. Instead, I discovered the break room empty except for a freshly brewed pot of coffee and half a cinnamon streusel coffee cake. I poured myself a cup, cut a slice of cake, and headed for my cubicle.
    I’d taken all of one bite and two sips when my office phone rang. “Anastasia Pollack.”
    “Mrs. Pollack, this is Marie Luscy, Mr. Gruenwald’s secretary.”
    “Yes?”  
    “Mr. Gruenwald would like to see you.”
    “Now?”
    “Right now.”
    “I’m on my way.” I placed the handset back in its holder and stared at the phone. Why was Gruenwald even here today? Shouldn’t he be home mourning his mistress’s death? Making funeral arrangements? Who shows up at work the day after his girlfriend is brutally murdered?
    “Good morning,” said Cloris, poking her head into my cubicle. “I see you snagged some coffee cake before the vultures consumed the last crumb.”
    “Huh?”
    “Hey, you okay? You look dazed.”
    I realized I still clutched the phone. I released my death grip and withdrew my hand. “Why on earth would Gruenwald want to see me?”
    “Gruenwald? Our Gruenwald?”
    I nodded. “Since when does the corporate CEO call meetings with staff members?”
    “Since never. He won’t even make time for our editorial director. I once overhead Naomi complain that she had to set up an appointment with him three weeks in advance. And then he stood her up.”
    “His secretary just called. He wants to see me. Immediately.” A boulder the size of Seattle settled in my stomach. “What if I’m being laid off? I’m barely making ends meet now.”
    Cloris placed her hand on my shoulder. “If you were getting laid off, you’d be summoned to Human Resources, not the CEO’s office.”
    “I suppose. What do you think he wants?”
    “Only one way to find out.”
    I forced myself out of my chair and willed my feet to carry me toward the elevator. Cloris followed along for moral support. “Whatever he wants, I doubt it’s good news,” I said.
    “You don’t know that it’s bad news.” She pressed the elevator button. When the doors opened, my feet remained planted until she pushed me inside.
    “You’re not coming with me?”
    “He didn’t send for me; he sent for you.”
    With that the doors whooshed closed, and I was on my own. The last time I’d ventured onto the marble-tiled, mahogany-walled fourth floor, two crazed women were speeding down the Interstate, bent on killing me. The time before that, I’d sneaked into Hugo’s office to figure out