Free The Longest Yard Sale by Sherry Harris Page B

tired-looking CJ. I hoped the apartment didn’t still smell like Seth.
    CJ trudged by me and over to the couch. He flopped onto it, making no attempt to kiss me in the process. I was grateful since only an hour ago I’d been kissing Seth. I may need to rethink trying to date more than one guy at a time. I’d done it in high school, but the older, wiser me understood the consequences, especially when one of the guys was CJ, although we weren’t really dating. I blew out a huge breath.
    â€œWhat was that for?” CJ asked.
    Trust him to notice the breath. “I guess I’m surprised to see you.”
    â€œYou left me multiple messages. I thought you might have information for me.”
    â€œCarol’s a suspect,” I said.
    CJ narrowed his eyes. “How do you know that? Have you been talking to one of my guys? The ones who all promised they wouldn’t discuss this case even with their own families?”
    Rats. I couldn’t very well tell him Seth had been over. And sadly, his reaction confirmed my fears. “You know your guys don’t like me, so why would they talk to me?”
    â€œThen how?”
    â€œI was over at DiNapoli’s.” I had a pizza box in the recycling bin that would corroborate my story. “It’s just the gossip in town. Toss the newcomer under the bus.” Even though Carol’s business had been open three years, in an area where people traced their families to the Mayflower if not the Vikings, Carol was a newcomer. Just as I was.
    â€œYou sounded more certain. You made a statement instead of asking a question.”
    And that is why CJ was such a good cop. Sometimes I wondered if he was wasting his talents being a chief of police instead of a detective. “I was married to you, a cop, for twenty years. There was a dead body in Carol’s store. I assumed she was a suspect. I guess I was hoping you’d deny it. And don’t give me any of that ‘I can’t confirm or deny’ crap.”
    CJ managed a grin.
    I continued, “Beyond the fact the dead guy was in her store, I bet her fingerprints are all over that frame because she bought it at Ellington’s yard sale.”
    â€œHanging around with cops might lead you to think you know more about investigating than you do.”
    â€œI never said I knew anything about investigating.”
    â€œIt also might lead you to conclusions that may or may not be true.”
    â€œThere’s a piece of pizza left if you want it.” Feeding CJ a piece of Seth’s pizza seemed awkward, but he looked like he could use some food.
    â€œOnly one?”
    Arrgh. “Carol was over.” Another verifiable statement as long as the subject of pizza didn’t come up. I suspected that, if it did, Carol would cover for me and then grill me about what was going on.
    I went into the kitchen and heated the pizza in the microwave. I rustled up a salad. CJ wasn’t a big fan of salad, but he needed more to eat than one piece of pizza. “Do you want a Sam Adams Summer Brew?” I asked. I had one six-pack left. Octoberfest was the seasonal beer, but I liked the Summer Brew better.
    â€œSure.”
    I poured the beer into one of the special Sam Adams glasses I’d bought at the brewery. According to them, it was the perfect beer-drinking glass because of the shape, the thickness, and the laser etching on the bottom. I put it all on a tray and placed it on the trunk in front of CJ.
    â€œBianca. Your favorite,” CJ said.
    Another thing to be grateful for and feel uncomfortable about. CJ would have been shocked if I’d brought out a slice of meat lovers pizza. It’s probably the last on my list of kinds of pizza I’d order. Not that I wouldn’t eat one if someone else ordered. I turned on the Red Sox game but hit mute in case CJ wanted to talk about the case. I flipped through a magazine while he ate. It felt comfortable, not that different