Free Black and Blueberry Die (A Fresh-Baked Mystery Book 11) by Livia J. Washburn Page A

had feelings for Danny herself.
    Had Danny returned those feelings, or was he just embarrassed because Aurora had a crush on him...if indeed she did?
    “I want to see some of the other places,” Phyllis said.
    “The other places involved in the case, you mean?”
    “That’s right. Danny’s shop, and the house where they lived.”
    “The murder didn’t take place at either of those.”
    “I know,” Phyllis said. “I just want to get a little better feel for the people involved.”
    Sam nodded and said, “Makes sense, I guess. You know where to find them?”
    “Mr. D’Angelo won’t be back in his office yet, but I should be able to get the addresses from his secretary,” Phyllis said as she took out her phone. “Danny mentioned that his shop is on Highway 377, south of the traffic circle, so I guess you can head in that general direction while I’m doing that.”
    “Will do,” Sam said.
    He exited from the freeway just past Ridgmar Mall and took the looping ramp that put him onto U.S. Highway 183, headed southbound. A couple of miles ahead was the Weatherford Traffic Circle, a relic of the 1950s, where U.S. 377 split off and headed south-by-southwest toward Granbury. There were several red lights along the way to slow them down, and by the time they reached the circle, Phyllis had the addresses they needed.
    As Sam watched the traffic and navigated the sometimes confusing circle, he said, “You know, in England they call these roundabouts. This one’s not too bad, but I always hated the one in Waco. Took the wrong turn off of it more times than I like to think about. Then I always had to wander around until I could find my way back and try again.”
    “I thought you had a GPS in your head,” Phyllis said with a smile.
    “Naw, not back then. GPS hadn’t been invented yet.”
    That made her laugh out loud. Then she started watching the street numbers. A moment later she pointed and said, “There.”
    The building that housed Lone Star Paint and Body had started out as white stucco, but time, weather, and exhaust fumes from the heavily traveled highway had turned it a dirty gray. It looked like a typical garage with two big doors opening into the bays where work was done, with a smaller door leading into an office to the left. The business sat on a good-sized lot, the rear portion of which was enclosed by a high chain link fence with a locked gate in it. That area was paved with gravel. Several cars were parked back there, probably vehicles that hadn’t been picked up yet by their owners. Maybe the paint jobs on them were still drying, Phyllis thought.
    There were three parking spaces in front of the office, all of them empty at the moment. Sam pulled the pickup into one of them. He and Phyllis got out and walked toward the nearest bay. The rolling doors at the front of both bays were lifted. A white crossover was in the farthest one. In the closer one was a shiny black pickup with a raised suspension and oversized tires. The smell of paint was strong in the air, along with a few other chemicals. It was almost overpowering.
    Someone was banging on something on the other side of the pickup. Phyllis and Sam walked around the back of it and found a man in white coveralls down on one knee by the front fender, his body twisted around so he could reach up inside the wheel well and hit something with a rubber mallet.
    He saw them and stopped what he was doing, untwisting from the awkward position and standing up. As he set the mallet on the black pickup’s hood, he smiled and said, “Hi, folks. If you need to see about getting some work done, we’ll have to go in the office. Customers aren’t really supposed to be out here. Insurance regulations, you know.”
    He was tall and broad-shouldered, with tousled blond hair and a handsome face. Phyllis couldn’t tell if his beard stubble was fashionable or if he just hadn’t bothered to shave for a few days. She thought he looked like a California surfer, or at