Free A Rip Roaring Good Time by Jeanne Glidewell

but you've got to admit he had a point."
    "Yes, unfortunately, he did. And apparently he lost the battle with Mayor Dunn."
    "Yep! He nearly always does when pitted against Bradley. The mayor is not one to take 'no' for an answer," Wendy said. "However, this murder is extremely personal for Chief Smith. He's currently embroiled in a bitter divorce, but still, he just lost a stepson he loved as if Trotter were his own blood. I detested Trotter Hayes, but I can understand why the chief would be intent on getting the perpetrator behind bars as soon as possible. I would be too, if the victim were my child, even a seedy stepchild like in this case."
    "Same here, Wendy. But I still think he should realize that someone of Lexie's character wasn't involved in the murder and let her go without further investigating of any motive she might have had to want Trotter dead," Stone said optimistically. "Smith can't possibly despise her to that degree."
    "I'd agree with you, Stone," Wendy said ruefully. "But then we'd both be wrong. Don't think for a second he's forgotten the time we threatened to file a lawsuit against Trotter, because of ─ well, you know. And I imagine he's held that against Mom all along, too."
    "Oh, good Lord," Stone repeated, dropping his head into his hands, which were resting on the kitchen table. "I'd forgotten about that incident too!"
    * * *
    We sat in the kitchen nursing our cups of coffee as one hour lead to the next. We could hear voices and even laughter as a number of detectives were reexamining the crime scene in the parlor. There didn't appear to be an overabundance of gravity amongst the investigating team. Of course, it stood to reason they might have very little use for the victim themselves, or possibly even for their boss, the victim's stepfather.
    Three hours later, Detective Johnston finally called to inform Stone that Lexie was being held in custody while the investigation continued. Wyatt said he'd tried to get the detectives to let her go home if Lexie promised not to leave town, but his effort had failed. According to him, the other detectives thought it best to let the chief make that decision since the crime involved the death of his stepson, not theirs.
    Chief Smith was not present at the police station because he obviously had other pressing matters. He was at the coroner's office, where Nate had taken his son's body. Wendy was also called to the coroner's lab to assist in the autopsy, which the police chief had demanded be performed immediately.
    Even though he was no doubt grieving tremendously, he was apparently not going to let any grass grow under his feet in his eagerness to apprehend the person responsible for his loved one's murder. Unfortunately, according to Wendy, who had returned from the lab an hour after she left the inn, Chief Smith was convinced he already had the killer behind bars.
    Wendy told us her boss, Nate, had sent her home from the coroner's lab soon after the procedure began. Nate told her Chief Smith had insisted she not be involved in the autopsy. He believed having her assist in the thorough postmortem examination while her mother was being held as the prime suspect was a conflict of interest, Wendy explained. "Apparently, the chief thinks I'd skew the autopsy report in Mom's favor to try to save her from the gas chamber. It's not that the chief wasn't correct that, at the very least, I would be tempted to intervene if it would help save my mother's hide. But regardless, to out and out suggest I'd so such a thing is preposterous. What a freaking a-hole!"
    "The gas chamber?" Stone asked with a catch in his voice.
    "Just a figure of speech, Stone," his stepdaughter replied. "Actually, in Missouri, they'd give her the needle."
    "The needle?" Stone gasped. And here I'd thought Rip didn't know when to zip it. I decided to steer the conversation away from the manner in which Lexie might be executed before Wendy dug an even deeper hole and pushed Stone headfirst into