Free A Novel Death: a Danger Cove Bookshop Mystery (Danger Cove Mysteries Book 10) by Elizabeth Ashby, Ellie Ashe Page A

relaxed and cozy. It was that, because I couldn't imagine a nicer place to spend my days than in a bookstore, and especially this one, which was practically my childhood home. But then I remembered the folder of things to sign, submit, and send off to get my name on all the official paperwork. And the bills that needed to be paid. And the new release orders.
    And how I was still down one author for my author readings. Well, two authors, actually.
    Ugh.
    I checked my email to see if any of my panicked emails to Seattle PR people had been returned, but so far no one had a book to sell—at least not in Danger Cove.
    Katya took a dinner break, and I took advantage of the lull to pull out Cal's book and read a couple pages. He was filming a movie in the countryside outside of London and dropping names like crazy, and my mind was wandering off. Thankfully, the phone rang, and I had a good excuse to put the book back under the counter.
    "I'm returning a call from Meri Sinclair. This is Karen Dale."
    "Ms. Dale, thank you for calling me back. I would like to talk to you before you leave town, if you have time," I said.
    "Well, I'm here until after the funeral, and I've already seen all the sights. Can you meet for breakfast tomorrow?"
    We agreed to a time, and then I picked up Cal's book. I needed to do some homework if I was going to question Cal's publicist about his death. And maybe Cal had already given us the answers.

CHAPTER EIGHT
     
    Karen Dale and I sat at a corner table at The Apple Tree restaurant. I ordered my regular dark coffee with cream. She ordered a mimosa. We'd also ordered food, though I only did so I'd have an excuse to stay and question Karen for longer. My stomach was still too jumpy to consider much beyond dry toast.
    "This whole thing is just such a nightmare," she said, reaching for a pack of cigarettes and then sliding them back into her purse when she remembered we were inside.
    I could sympathize with the stress from Cal's murder, though I didn't know him as well as she did.
    "I'm really sorry about Cal. Were you two close?"
    She snorted and shook her head. "God, no. You met Cal. I'm not sure he had friends outside of his 'buddies' in the movie business. And most of them were probably paid—his agent, his manager. You know, his staff."
    Our drinks arrived, and Karen sucked down half that mimosa and waved for another before the waiter made it back to the kitchen.
    "I know this can't be good for you either," she said with a half smile. "The longer this is in the news, the worse for your business."
    "You think so?" I asked. That was my fear, but I was hoping that the more seasoned PR professional would have given me some hope. "The last few days have been pretty busy."
    "That won't last. Those are looky-loos. There for a cheap thrill. You better hope for a quick and tidy resolution. Heard anything from the cops?"
    I shook my head. "No, not really," I said. I didn't share that I was currently on the list of suspects. "Who do you think would want to kill him?"
    "Who wouldn't? Start with anyone who worked for him, married him, or spent time with him—naked or clothed."
    That was going to be a long list. I had started to make an actual list last night while reading Cal's book. Unfortunately, his one nod to propriety was to give people nicknames or refer to them by their initials. So far, he had used the proper names of his ex-wife, Pippa, and son, David, his sister, Lorraine, and Lorraine's daughter, Cecilia. He also dropped a lot of celebrity names, but I was still in the beginning of the book, which covered the early part of Cal's career, so most of those names were of people who were now dead. This conveniently made it easy for Cal to tell stories about them without anyone questioning the factual basis.
    "Did he ever get threats? Do you think the book angered people?"
    "Oh boy. He got threats. But nothing serious. And the book was going to be a gold mine. He had a thousand stories about famous people," she