A Dead End (A Saints & Strangers Cozy Mystery Book 1) Read Online Free

recognize you. You have your mother’s cheekbones. I’m Phyllis Chilton,” the woman replied. “I live across the street, number fifty-three.”
    “Nice to meet you, Phyllis.”
    “Find anything good in there?”
    “Like what?” Kit asked. “Buried treasure?”
    Phyllis snorted. “Doubtful. If Ernie had treasure, it would’ve lasted five minutes before he spent it all.”
    “I guess that explains why his house was in foreclosure.”
    “The man liked betting on the Eagles more than he liked paying his mortgage.”
    “So where did he go?”
    “Nobody knows for sure.” Phyllis shrugged. “Can’t say anybody cared either. He wasn’t known for his sparkling personality.”
    “Well, I hope I’m an improvement then.”
    “There’s your other neighbor now,” Phyllis said, making a cuckoo sign with her finger. “Thora’s a sweet girl. Helluva a green thumb, too. If she gives you any advice about your garden, take it.”
    Kit looked toward the house on her right. The sweet girl looked about eighty years old with cropped white hair and stooped shoulders. Thora waved and slowly made her way over to them.
    “Well, hello,” Thora said. “I wasn’t sure when we’d actually get to meet you.”
    “Sorry, I’ve been busy with school and getting settled. I’m Kit Wilder.”
    “I’ve got your bling right here,” Thora said in her gravelly voice and slapped her knee, laughing. “What a show. I loved that hunky co-star of yours. What was his name?”
    “Charlie Owen,” Kit said. “He played Jason, my boss and love interest.”
    Thora clapped her hands together. “Oh, what was it like, lip-smacking with him? What a dreamboat.”
    Kit resisted the urge to tell her that Charlie’s breath regularly smelled of the garlic and onion bagel that he’d wolfed down for breakfast that morning followed by a cup of black coffee. During their brief, real-life fling, Kit had put the kibosh on his garlic bagel habit.
    “He was great to work with,” Kit said with a polite smile. Until he wasn’t.
    “I wouldn’t leave this carpet here if I were you,” Thora said.
    “Yes, Phyllis mentioned the wrath of Peregrine.”
    Thora and Phyllis exchanged wary glances. “Don’t get off on the wrong foot with her,” Phyllis warned. “She’s not an easy person to live next door to at the best of times.”
    Kit stared at the tangle of carpet at her feet and sighed. She didn’t want to annoy her neighbor on day one. Politeness dictated that she should wait a month at least.
    “Great. So who do I need to call to get rid of this mess?”
    “I cannot believe Kit Wilder is about to sand her own floors,” Jordan said, his angular face filling Kit’s iPhone screen. Jordan hadn’t believed that Kit was actually doing the work herself and had demanded a visual.
    “Please don’t report it to the tabloids,” Kit warned. “Not even for fun.” She could envision the headlines now — Desperate Actress Takes Job in Construction to Make Ends Meet.
    “You’re overthinking this, Kit Kat,” Jordan advised. “People love to see celebs get their hands dirty. It makes you seem relatable. Go ahead and give your fans a good HGTV moment.”
    Kit surveyed the lighting in the room. With the natural sunlight streaming in through the open windows, the room did have an appealing glow.
    “Okay, I’ll do it,” she agreed. “We both know it won’t be the most unflattering photo ever posted of me.”
    She was referring to the slew of paparazzi pictures over the years that depicted her in various unattractive guises such as leaving the gym dripping with sweat, on a morning coffee run with her hair unbrushed, and her favorite one — chewing food in a restaurant.
    “You should wear the gift I sent you,” Jordan advised. “It’ll come in handy when the dust starts flying.”
    “Your gift,” she echoed, remembering the package that had been waiting for her. “What’s in the box, Jordan?” Now her suspicion was aroused.
    “I may have