Free Judy's Death (Cara Daniels Cozy Mystery Book 2) by Gillian Larkin

A Cara Daniels Cozy Mystery
    Book 2

 
 
    Judy’s Death

 
    Chapter 1

 
    Cara Daniels stared at the blond-haired
vision that had just appeared in front of her. The young man grinned and gave
her a little wave.
    Cara leant back on her chair, folded
her arms and said, “So, are you my angel?”
    The man nodded. “I certainly am. I’m
very pleased to meet you, Cara. What a lovely home you have. It’s small but
cosy.” He pointed towards her computer. “What are you working on? According to
my records, you design websites and solve online problems. Are you designing a
website now? Can I have a look?”
    Cara’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t look
like the other angel I met.”
    The man smiled. “I know. You met
Edward, didn’t you? He looks like Santa.” His smile dropped. “Oh! Did you want
me to look like Santa? I can do that if you like.” He pushed his floppy hair
back, his smile returned. “Although, I do like this look, I look like someone
out of a boy band, don’t you think so?”
    Cara said, “I don’t know what to think
yet. I’m not convinced about this whole business of me working with an angel to
save someone’s life. I know I helped Gran a few weeks back when she prevented a
murder.”
    “You didn’t just help, you stopped the
murder going ahead,” the man pointed out.
    Cara’s frown deepened. “I’m beginning
to think that I imagined this whole angel thing. I’ve had a lot of work to do
lately, I think I must have experienced a hallucination.” She rubbed her tummy.
“And my health isn’t as good as it should be. I really should see a doctor at
some point.”
    The young man suddenly flapped his
hands at her. He grinned and said, “Did you have soup today?”
    “No. Why?”
    He put his hands down and looked
disappointed. “That’s a shame. I’ve been working on a joke about soup.”
    “A joke? I don’t want to hear a joke! I
want to stop having these crazy hallucinations!” Cara closed her eyes tightly.
    The man said, “I’ll tell you anyway. If
you’d have had soup for lunch you could have blamed that for giving you
so-called hallucinations.” He paused. Cara opened one eye. He stood taller and
said, “Then I could have said, ‘You must think there’s more soup than
supernatural about me’. Ha! Do you get it? It’s a bit like that line from
Christmas Carol when Scrooge doesn’t believe in ghosts and he blames gravy!”
    Cara’s other eye opened.
    The man wagged a finger at her. “You
can laugh at that joke later. I can tell by your face that you’re not convinced
I’m real. Let me tell you what I know about you, Cara Daniels. You are thirty years
old. You live alone in this apartment. You were married but your husband left
you for someone else a few years ago, a younger woman.”
    Cara winced.
    The man continued, “You work online.
Oh, I’ve already said that. You spend a lot of time alone. You’re anti social.”
    “I am not!” Cara butted in. “I speak to
the postman, sometimes.”
    “You have a kind heart and a generous
spirit, but you are wasting those traits. Edward says that you have potential
to be a great soul saver.” He walked closer and nipped her arm. “And I am
real.”
    “Ouch!” Cara rubbed her arm. “What’s
your name then?”
    “My angel name is …” he began, and then
said something incomprehensible.
    Cara blinked. “All I heard was
something-something-tron. Haven’t you got another name?”
    He looked over her shoulder and out of
the window. “I’ll pick a human name.” He thought for a moment. “Robin. I like
that.”
    Cara turned her head. She tutted when
she saw the little bird of the same name perched on a nearby tree. She turned
back to Robin and said, “Did you just make that up? Hey! Weren’t you wearing a
blue T-shirt a second ago?”
    Robin nodded and grinned. “I changed it
to match my little friend’s chest out there. Do you think I’m real yet?”
    Cara shrugged.
    Robin moved to the middle of the