A Treasure to Die For Read Online Free Page A

and is framing you? No, he doesn’t strike me as the kind who would plan that far ahead. His kind kills out of rage. I’m sure you misplaced it somewhere.”
    She came back to the table and resumed stirring her coffee. “Well, I hope you’re right. My prints are all over the file.”
    I hoped I was right too. If it her nail file, she would have the means, as well as motive, to kill Shelia. The only thing missing for a conviction was opportunity, and I wasn’t so sure she didn’t have that too.

CHAPTER TWO
    Shelia’s murder all but vanished from the media’s radar; marijuana sales still trumped local news stories, and Shelia was soon forgotten. Nearly a week had passed since Fred and I stopped at Bonnie’s for morning coffee. A contractor I did odd jobs for had called and offered me a few weeks work hanging drywall in a house he was building in Bailey. As much as I hate drywall, it would pay the bills for a while.
    It wasn’t until Friday that Fred and I saw Bonnie again. The drywall job was finished for the week, and I had been paid in cash. I stopped off at Beau Jo’s for a large Mountain Pie, with pineapple and pepperoni, after picking up some groceries at Safeway before heading home. It wasn’t my favorite pizza, even Fred wouldn’t eat the pineapple, but I knew Bonnie loved it. We could pick out the sweet fruit and give it to her.
    We had just pulled into my driveway when I saw a truck racing down the road. I didn’t think much of it and let Fred out. We were isolated, but not so that we didn’t get the occasional lost driver now and then. I’d never known Fred to chase cars, so I was quite surprised when he ran after the truck, barking. The truck was much faster than Fred, and left him in a cloud of dust. But Fred was smarter. He left the road and ran down the hill, knowing the truck would have to pass by Bonnie’s on the way out. That’s when I noticed my front door wide open.
    Whoever had been in there must have heard us coming up the road and got out before we pulled in. I put the pizza and groceries on the ground and ran after Fred. I made it to the lower road just in time to see a beat-up F150 come barreling down on him. It was the sleeveless guy from the book signing. He had no intentions of swerving to miss my dog. Luckily, Fred had no intentions of becoming road kill, and he jumped out of the way a second before the truck could run him over. But it wasn’t in his nature to quit so quickly and he took off after the truck again. This time there were no shortcuts; he gave up the chase in less than twenty yards and came back panting to sit by my side.
    I knelt down to hold his head and rub his ears. “It’s okay, boy. You’re lucky you didn’t catch him. Don’t you know you’re no match for a speeding truck?”
    “My, God, Jake! What’s going on?” Bonnie was standing on her front deck with a towel wrapped around her head and lipstick smeared on her face. I took one look at Bonnie, and for a moment forgot about Sleeveless, then started laughing.
    She looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “What’s so damn funny? That guy could have killed Fred.”
    “Sorry, Bon, but I think you better go and finish your makeup.”
    She raised a hand to her face and felt her lipstick. “I must look a sight,” she said with a giggle.
    “Not if you plan on joining a circus.” Her hand must have slipped when she heard all the commotion. She had a lopsided smile any clown would envy.
    Fred might have laughed too if he had a sense of humor; then again, maybe he did because he started barking for no apparent reason. “I need to check on my house, Bon. Why don’t you finish putting on your face and drive on up? I got your favorite pizza from Beau Jo’s. I’ll tell you why Fred was chasing the truck while we eat.” I didn’t wait for her to answer and started up the hill with Fred glued to my heels.
    My cabin is built on a walkout foundation on a steep hill. I hadn’t noticed the lower door on the way