A Matter of Wife and Death (A Sibyl Potts Cozy Mystery, Book 4) Read Online Free Page A

with caffeine. “You’re an ugly fool,” my sulfur-crested cockatoo squawked at me as I walked in the door.
    I pulled a face at him and took him outside. “You’re depriving a village of an idiot,” he said, as I firmly shut the back door on him.
    I switched on my coffee machine, and leaned over it to inhale the heavenly scent of coffee. I had the beginnings of a headache, but nothing that two Nurofen, three cups of coffee, and six large spoons of sugar all up wouldn’t fix.
    I propped myself up on the cushions on my sofa and sipped my coffee. Aha. I sighed blissfully as my caffeine levels rose to the required minimum. My bliss turned to irritation as I thought about my rude, trash-talking cockatoo. He had been such a lovely cockatoo before my horrible ex-husband, Andrew, had taught him to say rude things. What’s more, Andrew had plotted to murder me, and was managing to delay my property settlement from his jail cell.
    My stomach clenched when my phone rang. I jumped and spilled some coffee on my jeans. “Is anyone else dead?” I blurted into the phone.
    “Hello,” a disembodied voice said. “Does your roof need cladding? We have a special on at the moment and can offer you a very good deal. Our product is visually attractive and has timeless appeal, and comes in a range of colors.”
    I groaned. Not another sales call. I tried to interrupt two or three times, but then hung up.
    The phone rang immediately, and this time, I checked the caller I.D. before answering. Cressida.
    “Hello,” I said politely. “I hope this isn’t bad news.”
    “No,” came Cressida’s voice. “Blake’s here, and he’s arrested someone for the vandalism. Do you want to come up?”
    I arrived in the sitting room at the boarding house at the same time as Mr. Buttons.
    “Who did it?” Mr. Buttons asked.
    “Quinten Masters,” Blake said. “He goes by the name, The Environmentalist, online. The guy runs a website that’s dedicated to this sort of thing.” Blake looked around before continuing. “He has a popular blog about the destruction of wilderness areas. The guy’s one of those protesters we keep hearing about, just like I suspected.”
    “Did Quinten confess or make any statements?” I asked.
    Blake shook his head. “None at all. He lawyered up right away, but that’s not all too surprising. He’s young and has a clean record. Hitting him with the vandalism charges won’t be tough, but trying to connect him to a murder is another matter entirely. At this stage in the game it is, at least.”
    “Are you sure his motive for the damage to Greg’s car involves the wilderness preservation and all that?” Mr. Buttons asked, producing a spray bottle and a cleaning rag from a plastic bag and scrubbing at a dirty mark on the window.
    “We’re not positive, but we can’t see any other possible motive. He has a popular blog with thousands of followers. My tech guy was telling me that Quinten Masters posted about the vandalism earlier today and said that Greg had gotten what he deserved, but deleted the post once a few people commented to complain about his attitude. Luckily, when someone deletes information in the digital age, there are always ways to retrieve it.”
    “So, if these people are trying to stop Greg’s destruction of the wilderness area, why would they be personally attacking him instead of tying themselves to trees or something more productive?” I asked. “He’s not the only one in the company.”
    “That’s a good question, Sibyl,” Blake said. “I wish I knew the answer. All I was told was that the blog has been mentioning Greg for the last couple months at least, saying he’s the one responsible for the company’s plans to destroy the wilderness area. If these crimes are related to this whole environmental issue, I have a feeling HOOW and this website have been playing a large role in what the perpetrator or perpetrators have been doing.”
    “It seems possible, but overly