Free Cut to the Corpse by Lucy Lawrence

again to finish hers.”
    Tenley nodded in understanding. She had a delicate profile, much like Tara’s, and Brenna was struck by the similarity between the two women. Both were young and blond and very kind, both came from wealthy families; but where Tenley’s family was aloof and frequently unforgiving, Tara’s family rallied around her. Brenna couldn’t even imagine how the Morse family would react if Tenley were found in bed with her fiancé’s dead best friend. It wouldn’t be pretty.
    Her mind flashed on Clue and she remembered the stiffness of his body at her touch, the gaping wound in his chest, the metallic smell of his blood. A shudder rippled through her. Who had hated him so much that they felt compelled to stab him right through the heart?
    “I wish I knew more about Clue Parker,” she said.
    “What?” Tenley asked. “Why?”
    “Because I don’t think Tara did it,” she said. “I think it had to be someone who hated him or maybe feared him.”
    “How does that have anything to do with you?” Tenley asked.
    “You heard the Porter sisters. Just because Tara isn’t from around here, she’s suspect number one.”
    “She was also found in bed with the dead guy,” Tenley pointed out. “It doesn’t look good.”
    “I know that, but I also know what it’s like to be wrongly accused,” Brenna said. “And I just can’t bear to stand idly by and do nothing.”
    “Chief Barker is going to be so unhappy about this,” Tenley said.
    “Who said we have to tell him?” Brenna asked.
    “Obviously, you have not lived here long enough,” Tenley said. “Believe me, he’ll find out.”
    “So what if he does?” Brenna asked. “I was there this morning. I’m the one who found them. I’m telling you, Tara was shocked. I really don’t think she did it, and I’m going to help prove it.”
    “How?”
    “By talking to the people who knew Clue the best,” Brenna said. “His ex-girlfriends.”

Chapter 6

    “Well, that narrows it to half of the county,” Tenley said.
    Brenna rose from her seat. Tenley had a point. She had forgotten what a womanizer Clue had been.
    She gathered her bowl of water and glue brushes and put them in the sink in the break room. Then she collected the remaining paper cutouts and carefully tucked them into a manila folder that she stored in the bottom drawer of her faux Louis the XIV armoire.
    The bells jangled on the front door and in walked Matt Collins, the bartender at the Fife and Drum, and an old high school flame of Tenley’s.
    He was tall with broad shoulders and frequently wore his sleeves shoved up past his elbows as if it were a habit to keep them dry from the bar. His thick blond hair was tousled as if the wind had run its fingers through it on his way over to Vintage Papers.
    “Afternoon, Brenna, Tenley,” he said. He looked more at home popping in here than he had a few months ago. He’d been instrumental in helping Brenna find the mayor’s killer, and Brenna had come to view him as a friend. Judging by the way Tenley lit up at the sight of him, however, she had more than friendship on her mind.
    “Just the person I wanted to see,” Brenna said.
    “Really?” he asked.
    “Yes, can you help me lift this chest onto the floor?” she asked.
    “So, you’re just after my muscle,” he said.
    “Yeah, pretty much,” she said.
    He gave a put-upon sigh, which was ruined by his grin. They each took a side and hefted the chest off the worktable and shuffle-walked it over to a spot by the wall to dry.
    “This is going to be really nice,” he said. “Miss Cartwright might land her man yet.”
    “I hope so,” Tenley said. “She’s such a character. I’d like to see her happy.”
    “It’s hard to change the ways of a confirmed bachelor, though,” Brenna said. She was hoping to lead Matt into a discussion about Clue’s love life.
    “That’s true,” he agreed. “There’s a lot to recommend the single life.”
    “What if a guy meets the right