Free Murder in Cottage #6 (Liz Lucas Cozy Mystery Series Book 1) by Dianne Harman Page B

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sheet, or I would have kept feeding you until you stopped eating! From what I’m
seeing your tummy probably would have burst about that time.” He wagged his
tail and continued eating.
                No doubt about it.
This dog understands everything I’m saying!
                She suddenly remembered
she hadn’t booked any spa treatments for Judy or herself for tomorrow. She
looked at the kitchen clock and thought, Delores should still be at the spa.
                “ Hi, Delores. It’s Mrs.
Lucas. I want to book four spa appointments for tomorrow, two for me and two
for a friend of mine, Judy Rasmussen. I’d like to book facials and massages
with Cindy and Gina for both of us. I can have a massage while Judy’s having a
facial, and then you can reverse them. I’m open on the times. If you have to
stagger us, that’s fine too. Go ahead and check what’s available, and I’ll
wait.” She doodled on the pad of paper next to the phone while she waited for
Delores to come back on the line.
                “That’s great. So you
booked me for a massage at 9:00 and Judy for a massage at 10:30 and facials at
2:00 and 3:00. Perfect. See you tomorrow.”
                She called Judy. “Hi,
hope you’re still planning on coming up tomorrow, because I just booked our spa
appointments.”
                “What time is my first
appointment?” Judy asked.
                “You’re on for a massage
at 10:30. You should be able to easily make it here by then. I have a massage
at 9:00, so I’ll probably be over at the spa when you get here. I reserved
cottage #1 for you. We didn’t have any guests today, so it should be ready for
you when you get here. You can go to Bertha’s office in the lodge and get the
key from her. Judy, do you have a few minutes? I’ve got a lot to tell you.”
                Liz filled Judy in on
everything that had happened at the spa beginning with Bertha discovering
Barbara’s body. She related her thinking about some of the possible suspects
and finished by telling her Roger had gotten her a guard dog.
                “Liz, I haven’t met Roger
yet, but he must really care for you if he got you a guard dog. Is this man
becoming a person of interest in your life?”
                “Could be, Judy, could
be. I like him a lot. I really do want you to meet him. He’s started coming up
here quite often. In fact, he drove up last night and left early this morning.
He had to get back in time for a big trial he has that started today.”
                “Wait a minute. The guy
drove up from San Francisco the night before he’s starting a big trial just to
see you, and then he gets you a guard dog that’s fully trained? Do you have any
idea what dogs like that cost? I looked into buying one once, and we’re easily
talking high four figures, maybe five. That doesn’t sound like a casual
relationship to me. Want to tell me anything else?” she said with a teasing
sound in her voice.
                “Nope, nothing else to
tell. Anyway, I won’t be seeing him for the next few weeks because of his
trial.”
                “If he came up the night
before a big trial, I’d bet everything I own he’ll be back a lot sooner than
you think. For whatever it’s worth, that’s my two cents on the subject. When I
get there tomorrow I want to hear every detail about this murder. I’m sure
you’ve already thought of this, but it probably won’t help your spa business
when the word gets out.”
                “I’m well aware of that.
The coroner told me I should try to solve the crime myself, because he doesn’t
think much of the abilities of the chief of police.”
                “You’ve got to be
kidding! You don’t know anything about private investigating, do you?”
                “Well, I’ve never done it
before, but if