Free Honeysuckle Homicide (Trash-to-Treasure Crafting Mystery) by Rose Pressey Page B

Now how about you leave?”
    He held his hands up in surrender.
    “Come on, Mr. Perkins, how about we talk out on the front porch?” Charity motioned for Ross to join her.
    He glanced back and offered another sheepish grin.
    “I expect that you won’t show up any more,” I said through gritted teeth.
    He winked and walked out. That just made me even angrier .
    After a few minutes in the kitchen, I decided to see what they were doing. When I peeked out the door window, they were both gone. I’d lost my chance to tell Charity that she’d have to find another place to stay. Having her at my house just wasn’t going to work.
    I’d have to ask Charity to leave in the morning. Right now I was going to get ready for my date.
    After a long relaxing soak in the tub, I took my time applying makeup and fixing my hair. I needed the peaceful me time.
    Two hours of pampering and I was ready for my date. Since there was some shade , I decided to wait on the front porch. If it got too hot I’d have to go back inside. I didn’t want my makeup to melt off. I sat on the step where Kent and I had sat earlier in the day. As I daydreamed about the day’s events, something caught my eye.
    There was something in the front bushes by the steps. It was rather large and shiny gold. I knew it hadn’t been there earlier in the day because Kent or I would have noticed it. I stepped over and reached down for the object. The shiny golden plaque was a realtor award and it had Luke Lexington’s name on the front. How had it gotten to the bushes of my front yard? Charity and Ross had been outside not long ago. Then the thought hit me: could this be the murder weapon? It was possible.
    As I stared at the thing, turning it over in my hands, I spotted Kent’s car pulling up in front. Of course panic set in. I didn’t want him to see this yet. I needed time to wrap my head around what I’d found. Not knowing what else to do with it, I shoved it in my purse. Was I seriously taking an award from the murdered Luke Lexington with me on a date with the sheriff? A voice in the back of my head was screaming that this wouldn’t end well. I would have guilt written all over my face.
    “You look beautiful. Are you ready for din ner?” Kent gestured over his shoulder.
    I clutched my purse close to my body. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
    There was one Italian restaurant in town. Lucky for us, the food was pretty good. They had the best garlic bread and salad with a secret blend of dressing. In reality, they probably bought it at the supermarket and pretended it was made in their restaurant.
    Traffic was heavy, but for Honeysuckle that meant a few cars waited at the red light instead of none. Once we reached The Pasta Pot, Kent parked the car and came over to open my door. My purse was still clutched close to my body with a death grip. If Kent noticed the way I was holding my bag, he didn’t mention it. Maybe he thought it was another one of my eccentricities.
    We’d just reached the door when his cell phone rang. He frowned.
    “Aren’t you going to answer that?” I asked.
    “Everyone knows I’m off duty tonight.”
    “That means it must be important or they wouldn’t call.”
    He stopped. “You could be right.”
    I often was right, but I didn’t share that with him. If he was around a woman long enough he’d figure that out.
    He picked up the phone. “Sheriff Klein.”
    Again since it was a one-sided conversation, I didn’t know what was being said on the other end of the line. But by Kent’s expression and body movements it didn’t look like it was good news.
    When he hung up the phone, he looked at me and said, “There’s been another murder.”

Chapter Twelve
     
    This was unbelievable. The latest crime had taken place at Darcy Parish’s office. Did this mean that another realtor had been murdered? Two murders in one week? What had happened to Honeysuckle? I no longer felt safe to even walk down the street by myself. At least