An Appointment With Murder Read Online Free Page B

She was so wrapped up in her wedding stuff, she never talked about anything else.”
    “I know what you mean. This whole thing doesn’t make any sense.” I could hear Gabby breathing on the other end. She was either at a loss for words or deep in thought. “Gabby? Are you there?”
    “You know, I just remembered something that happened a few days ago. Beth and I were working a little late. I think it was Wednesday night, after you went home. Anyway, when she walked out the door, I happened to look out the window and saw her get into a white Subaru Outback. Didn’t get much of a look at the driver, but enough to know it wasn’t her fiancé.”
    “Can you remember anything else about him other than the car he drove?”
    “No, not really.”
    “Could have been anyone, right? Are we jumping to conclusions here?”
    “Well, I would agree, except that the next day, when I asked her who the Subaru belonged to, she looked me straight in the eye and denied knowing anything about it. I thought she was being ridiculous because it was obvious I’d seen her. How else would I have known? But she played dumb and changed the subject. I just shrugged it off because it really wasn’t any of my business.” Gabby paused, but I could sense she had more to say about the business.
    “So what do you think? Was she cheating on Jacob?” I tried to sound doubtful; I certainly never would have suspected such a thing.
    “Don’t know. Maybe she wanted to have one last fling with an old boyfriend before tying the knot,” Gabby said, without much conviction.
    “Not so sure about that. She didn’t seem like the kind of girl to go screwing around. And she was,” I added, with a long, tired sigh, “in love with Jacob.”
    “You know, maybe it’s as simple as some crack head psycho came in planning to rob the place and freaked out and killed Beth.”
    “I don’t think so. I mean, she was strangled. Strangling is a crime of passion.”
    “Oh, really. And what makes you the expert on crimes of passion?”
    “I read a lot of cheesy romance novels.”
    “Maybe Jacob did it when he found out she was cheating.”
    “She wasn’t cheating, Gabby,” I maintained matter-of-factly. “Besides, Jacob has an alibi.”
    “Well, fine. Whatever. Anyway, I still like my theory about the crack head.”
    “Either way, the police don’t seem to have a clue. Guess we’ll have to be patient.”
    * * *
    I decided after leaving the parking lot at the pharmacy to stop at my son’s favorite pizza joint and get a large cheese pizza. Not having had a call from Daniel or Brian all day, I figured they’d be wondering about dinner. When I arrived home, Brian took one look at the large pizza box I was holding and his face lit up.
    “Sweet! I’m staaarving. Thanks for getting the pizza, Mom!” He took the box from me and set it on the table. The sweet smell of Italian seasonings made my mouth water. I reached into my purse and was taking out the bottle of pills when Daniel walked in.
    “What are those?” he asked, looking at the pills I’d shaken out into my palm.
    “Say hello to my little friends,” I said in my best, which wasn’t very good, Al Pacino imitation. I held the bottle up and shook it.
    “What do you need those for?” he inquired testily.
    “I saw my shrink this morning and he suggested I take these for a few days, for anxiety,” I replied, avoiding his stare.
    “Cool, can I have one?” Brian stuck out his hand and grinned. Laughing, I slapped his hand away.
    “Get outta here,” I said, “These are all mine.” But when I looked over at him, Daniel seemed less than amused.
    “Had I known you planned on being medicated and getting take out,” he announced tersely, “I wouldn’t have gone out of my way to plan a nice dinner, or bothered to get a bottle of your favorite pinot noir.”
    My jaw dropped. Go figure. “Dan, I’m sorry,” I began. “I guess I was just . . . .”
    Before I could explain further, he put up his