Free Chocolate Most Deadly (Sky High Pies Cozy Mysteries Book 2) by Mary Maxwell Page A

“And that
outfit! What a freak! Knee-high sandals and a silk robe? Like some kind of
wannabe supermodel!”
    “Well, the most interesting thing
about the last part of our conversation was the fact that Delilah mentioned two
different clubs in her flustered explanation of where she and Tim were going
tonight.”
    “So?” Viveca frowned. “Why are you
surprised? She doesn’t seem like a very organized kind of person.”
    I nodded. “I agree, but don’t you
think there was something jumpy about her whole demeanor?”
    Viveca considered the question. “I
suppose so,” she said eventually. “But that’s the first time we’ve met her.
Maybe she was nervous because I’m Tim’s sister.”
    “Anything’s possible,” I agreed.
“But, whatever the reason, she was pretty flustered.”
    After a few minutes of silence,
during which she kept one hand on the wheel and nervously nibbled on a
thumbnail, Viveca said there could be another reason Delilah was acting so
strangely.
    “What’s that?” I asked.
    “Maybe she had something to do with
the neighbor’s murder,” she suggested. “And maybe all of her—”
    I tapped her arm to interrupt.
“That’s our stop,” I said, pointing at the angular stone-and-glass buildings in
the next block. “We should try and find a parking place so we can go talk to
Detective Caldwell.”
    “Are we meeting him in the lobby or
what?”
    I shook my head. “In the courtyard
between the buildings,” I said. “I’ll give him a quick call as soon as we park.
He’s leaving for an appointment in a few minutes, so we’ll just talk outside
and ask him what he knows about Tim’s case.”
    She took a deep breath. “I cannot
believe this is happening, Kate. My brother’s such a good guy.” She slowed to a
stop as the light turned red. “Did he always get good grades? No. Was he a
terror during high school? Absolutely. Can I see him trying to kill somebody
with poison? Not in a million years.”
    She was so lost in thought that she
didn’t hit the gas when the light turned green. A couple of moments later, the
driver in the car behind us blasted the horn and Viveca shook off the hazy
recollection.
    “Sorry about that,” she said,
waving in the rearview mirror.
    When we finally found an open
parking space and started walking toward the Denver PD building, I called the
number that Trent had given me for Adam Caldwell. It rang six times and dropped
into the guy’s voicemail.
    “Hi, Detective Caldwell,” I said as
we crossed Bannock Street and headed north. “This is Kate Reed again. Viveca England
and I are on the way. We should be there in less than five—” A muted beep-beep-beep signaled an incoming call, so I checked the screen and toggled to the other
line. “Detective Caldwell?”
    “Yeah, sorry about that,” he said.
“I was on the elevator and couldn’t get to my phone.”
    I told him we were on the way and
asked if he still had time to talk.
    “Ten minutes max,” he said. “I’m
due on the other side of the city shortly.”
    “Okay, we’ll hurry,” I told him.
“How will we know it’s you?”
    He laughed. “Don’t worry, Kate,” he
said. “Trent sent me your high school yearbook photo. I’ll be watching for
you.”
    Before I could register a defensive
comment about my hair in the picture, the line went dead.
    “Are we all set?” asked Viveca.
    “He’ll be waiting for us,” I said,
sliding the phone into my back pocket. “But he doesn’t have much time.”

CHAPTER
12
     
     
    Detective Caldwell was standing
near one of three flagpoles when we turned into the courtyard from the
sidewalk. He was talking on his phone and gave us a little wave to identify
himself. When we joined him beneath the fluttering Colorado state flag, he put
the phone in his coat and extended his right hand.
    “Adam Caldwell,” he said in a
strong voice splashed with a faint Southern accent. “It’s good to finally meet
you, Kate.” He smiled, revealing a collection