Free Rear-View Murder: A Gemma Stone Cozy Mystery by Willow Monroe Page A

sarcastic remark, Gemma said, “Nick, I was wondering if you would do me a favor.”
    Back in the bedroom, with Nick still on the line, Gemma noticed that Holly was thumbing through a catalog of precious stones. Opal’s ring lay on the little table beside her. It glowed warmly in the lamp light. Every once in a while, Holly picked it up, studied it and then placed it back on the table. Gemma sat down on the side of her bed and picked up the ring, gazing at the exquisite piece of jewelry.
    “Sure,” Nick said.
    “Could you use your journalistic super powers to find out something about Opal for me?”
    “I could probably do that,” Nick said and Gemma pictured him reaching for a pen and the little notebook he always kept at hand. “What do you need to know?”
    Gemma wasn’t sure how long it took to get toxicology reports but surely something would tell them whether Opal was pregnant or not. “I need to know if Opal was pregnant.”
    Nick was quiet for a moment. “I’m not even going to ask what put that in your head, but I’ll do my best to see what I can find out.”
    “Thank you,” Gemma said, genuinely happy she didn’t have to explain. “You’re a good man, Charlie Brown.”
    Nick laughed. It was a way Gemma had teased him all through their school years. She realized she hadn’t said that to him in a while. That reminded her they’d once been lovers, engaged to be married, and that reminded her of the emotional turmoil she’d experienced at the loss of her parents and her decision to break off their engagement. Could they get back there again, to a time before that awful night? She wasn’t sure. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to do that. Gemma was sure that even though they remained friends, there would one day be repercussions from her decision.
    “I’ll call as soon as I know something. It might be in the morning before I can get through to anyone,” Nick told her. “But rest assured, Lucy, I’m on the case.”
    Now it was Gemma’s turn to laugh.
    “And, when you get back, Buddy has another car for you to look at.”
    “No. Just...no,” Gemma protested. “I don’t even want to talk about that right now.”
    Nick was laughing again.
    “I’m hanging up now,” Gemma almost had to shout over his laughter and ended the call.
    “Nick is a good man,” Holly reminded her when she dropped her phone onto the bed.
    “I know,” Gemma said, lying back across the bed.
    “Do you think you’ll ever get back together?” Holly asked, resting the catalog in her lap for a moment.
    “I don’t know,” Gemma said. “Part of me wants to try again, but another part of me is so scared. What if something happens to him? What if we start a family and then something bad happens? You know how quickly it can be wiped out.”
    “What if he meets someone else and you don’t have the choice any longer?” Holly asked, giving her a level look.
    “I’ve thought of that, too,” Gemma said, toying with the edge of the comforter.
    They were both quiet for a while and then Holly said, “Let’s order a pizza.”
    Gemma shook off her melancholy and smiled, but her smile was weak. “Okay, sounds good.”
    The pizza was delicious, hot and very cheesy and just the way Gemma liked it. The two sat side by side on Holly’s bed, the pizza box between them, pillows tucked in behind them.
    “Been a long time since we did this, huh?” Gemma said.
    “Too long,” Holly said, wiping her mouth with a napkin.
    And then she sat up and reached for one of her many books on stones she almost always carried with her. “I really haven’t studied opals all that much, but let me show you what I found.”
    “It’s my birthstone,” Gemma announced.
    “I know that. But listen to this. Opals are known as the eye stone. They’re like lightning in a rainbow,” Holly began.
    Gemma turned the ring in her fingers watching the flash of fire even in the low light. “I can see that.”
    “In the ancient world it was