Free Sweet Taffy and Murder: Sweet Taffy Cozy Mysteries Book #1 by Dana Moss Page A

her mother was still alive, and they were in their apartment on Park Avenue. Someone was helping her mom get dressed for an event. Her father was away on tour. There was music playing, pretty loudly, and Taffy and a friend were singing along and dancing a routine they’d choreographed to the song. It wasn’t Kyla or Macy or Cher dancing and singing with her—she hadn’t met them until high school—but she couldn’t picture the face of this other friend.
    She rolled over, reached for the snooze button, and noticed a marble sitting on the bedside table. It took her a moment to remember where it came from. Then she remembered the rest of the night, and the reason her alarm went off extra early in the first place.
    Ignoring her hangover headache, she dragged herself through the shower. She had to stop by the police station on the way to work.
    At the station, she was greeted by a lanky, buck-toothed Lieutenant. She recognized him as one of the pool players from the bar. His name tag said ‘A. Gravely.’
    “Good morning, Little Lady. Now what can I do for you?”
    “I’d like to speak to Officer Salinas.”
    “You mean, Lieutenant Salinas?”
    He held open the gate that divided the public space from the open office layout. “Right this way.”
    As they passed a young woman with a cute pixie cut entering data at the front counter, he said, “I need that report pronto, Zoe.”
    “On its way, Sir.”
    “Salinas!” Gravely barked. “Pretty girl here to see you.”
    Maria Salinas looked up from her computer. Her eyes hardened when she saw Taffy.
    “Miss Belair, what a pleasure.” Her voice dripped with sugary sarcasm. “How are you feeling after last night? Got quite a set of pipes on you, I must say.”
    Gravely left them to talk and headed toward the chief’s office. Taffy sat down in the chair next to Maria’s desk without being asked and eyed the steaming mug of coffee sitting next to her computer. She could really use a cup, even police station drip, but Maria wasn’t offering.
    “Whatever you have against me, I hope you’ll put it aside and hear what I have to say.”
    “It better be good,” Maria said, taking a sip of her coffee. The young woman with the pixie cut put some papers in Maria’s In basket.
    “Thanks, Zoe.”
    Taffy waited until Zoe left and then produced the marble.
    “I think Janet Harken’s death was murder.”
    Maria scoffed as she put her mug down. “Murder? Tush-tosh!”
    Taffy blinked, the murder and the marble temporarily forgotten. “What did you say?”
    “The medical examiner concluded the death was accidental. The case is closed.”
    “No, what did you say ?”
    “Not murder, Miss Belair. But thank you for taking the time to come down and share your insights.”
    Taffy stared at Maria Salinas, her mind working through shreds of partial memories. Her eyes narrowed, her brain strained, and then it came to her, and she sat back in her chair, dumbfounded.
    “You’re Maria Salinas.”
    “Bingo. Good thing we already met or I’d be blown away by your sleuthing abilities.”
    “No, you’re my Maria Salinas.”
    Maria met her steady gaze now.
    Taffy couldn’t believe it. She was staring into the eyes of her mostly forgotten childhood friend, the daughter of her mother’s maid, who had been let go after her mother died. Maria and Taffy had practically grown up together. Maria was the one she used to sing and dance with, the one she laughed and cried with. A wave of emotion rolled through her, and she might have cried in that moment if her tear ducts hadn’t shut down all those years ago.
    Maria cleared her throat. “Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way. How’s Nana?” The sarcasm wavered but didn’t completely disappear.
    “ That’s why you’re giving me such a hard time?”
    “Hard times don’t touch Sweet Taffy Belair. She’s a good-time girl. Always looking on the bright, shiny side of things.”
    Maria and her mother had been at the funeral. Taffy