Alex Ames - Calendar Moonstone 01 - A Brilliant Plan Read Online Free Page A

inhabitations that last until the next time around. Your presence helped to keep us civilized.”
    We were silent for a moment. Then I gave him a quick kiss.  
    “What was that for?” Mundy asked, rubbing his cheek.
    “For being there,” I said, meaning it. He was my best friend after all.  
    “Did you have anything to do with the death of the watchman?” Mundy blurted out.
    “Jesus, you must have been a pressure cooker all through the afternoon.”  
    “Come on, you can tell me, I have a right to know. I am your alibi but I won’t cover for murder.”
    “Mundy, dear, I swear to you, I had nothing to do with the murder and the theft they are investigating. When I stumbled on the guy, I even checked his pulse… ”
    Mundy gave a sharp breather; I could feel a hyperventilation coming up with him. “Touch! You touched the body, probably left hair and sweat, a million DNA cells and everything for the police to find.”
    “I always wear gloves while I’m working, plus I am hooded up. He was already dead, though not for long, he was still warm to the touch. I finished what I was doing and left quickly,” I explained. “I’ve been in this game for a while now.”
    “Game! You found him and you checked on him. Curiosity killed the cat burglar.”  
    “When I started, he was alive and doing his rounds. I was doing my business. I was preparing to get away when I stumbled on him dead. Did a check to see if I could help and then left. I didn’t see anyone else.”  
    “You know, it could have been you,” Mundy said and after I understood what he meant, realized that he was probably right. It could have been me left dead. A little scary. Actually, quite scary.
    We walked a little further along the beach. Mundy stopped and sat down in the sand. “A close shave.”
    “Yup, what a mess.”
    “Think our alibi worked?”  
    I nodded. “For the police, yes, it is as good as it gets for now. The initial danger is over because a trustworthy person accounts for me and they will focus on other leads. Plus, since I was using my cash rental, they won’t find any record of my car being in this area the night before.” I hoped that they had other suspects on their list besides me.
    “But this insurance guy, Flower?” We started skipping stones into the low evening surf.
    “Fowler. Fowler Wynn. An old friend of mine.”
    “Ironically spoken, I presume.”
    “He is more like an arch enemy. Like one of those relentless detectives on TV, a fanatic when it comes to hunting down his prey. And somehow along the way, he set his sights on me as public enemy number one.”
    “Sounds like a nutcase to me,” Mundy said.  
    “Oh no, not mad. He is sharp and thorough. Brilliant art knowledge, combined with a very suspicious mind. Ideal traits for an insurance detective. His company uses him for all of its tricky customers and major art and jewelry thefts worldwide. They probably have a file this thick on me,” I indicated with outstretched arms, “listing all the insane suspicions he’d collected over the years. But without proof, there is nothing Wynn can do to me.”
    Mundy gave me a skeptical look. “Except to wait for you to make a mistake. Fingerprints, a DNA trace or an onsite arrest. A murder at the break-in perhaps?”
    I looked out over the ocean. “Most likely, he will turn up tomorrow and conduct a short fused interview that ends in a shouting match between us. I hope they find the guy quickly who killed the night watchman. That will take the focus off me, again. Until the next time.”
    Mundy and I kept skipping stones.  
    How wrong could I get?

Chapter 4

    SURPRISINGLY, MUNDY WENT out with Sunny and the kids to watch a movie. The new one with the Scientology actor. Mom and Dad went to a fundraiser. That left me home alone to make it an early night. I was dragging myself upstairs when the doorbell rang.  
    “Did you guys forget anyth… ”
    My heart gave a little skip when I found Detective Ron