Ax to Grind Read Online Free Page A

Liz without telling her first. 
    Just as Meg opened her mouth to unload on Connor, he pulled her aside.
    “Can I have a word with you in private?” he asked. 
    She nodded.  “Yeah.  We have a lot to talk to about.”

 
    Chapter Six
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Meg expected her boyfriend to be apologetic when they stepped outside onto Liz’s back porch.  Instead, he was combative with her.  She couldn’t believe it.  Meg wanted to rip into him but instead remained calm while letting her displeasure be known. 
    “I can’t believe you,” Meg said. 
    “I was about to say the same thing to you,” Connor replied.
    She shook her head, trying not to let her frustration boil over.  “You should be ashamed.”
    “Meg, this isn’t personal.”
    “We’re talking about one of my best friends here.  How could it be more personal?”
    Connor didn’t answer her question.  He tried to stick to his own script.  “I’m a homicide detective, and this is an official police investigation.  You shouldn’t be here.”
    “Don’t give me that standard police jargon.  I’m not just some random stranger off the street.  I’m your girlfriend, and that’s my friend in there you’re questioning.”
    “I know that.”
    “Then why didn’t you tell me you were going to come over here?”
    He exhaled.  “Because I knew you’d try to get involved, which would make it harder for me to do my job.”
    Meg tried to get a word in, but Connor wasn’t done. 
    “Don’t forget, I have a job to do.  A man has been murdered, and it’s my responsibility to find out who did it.”
    “You’re wasting your time talking to Liz Donnelly then.”
    He disagreed.  “I wish I was.” 
    “Connor, this is Liz we’re talking about here.  She made me turn off an episode of Detective Danger once because it was too gruesome for her, and yet you’re honestly considering her as a suspect?”
    “Meg, I don’t like this either.  Murder investigations are hard enough when friends and loved ones aren’t involved.  You keep telling me how hard it is for you, but it’s difficult for me as well.  Don’t you see that?”
    Meg looked deep into his eyes.  Connor was noticeably torn up inside.  She took a step back and tried to see things from his perspective.  He was in a no-win situation, caught between his girlfriend and his job, with both demanding for him to see things their way.
    “You’re right.  I know you’re just trying to do your job.  I just have a hard time believing why you think Liz Donnelly should be a suspect in this case.”
    “As a detective, it’s my job to find out the truth, and the truth is not in Liz’s favor with this one.”
    Meg still refused to believe that her friend could have had any part in this.  “Oh, come on.  What do you really have on her?”
    Connor remained tight-lipped.  “I already told you; this is an official police investigation.”
    She stared him down.  “Hasn’t anyone ever warned you about the perils of making your girlfriend angry?”
    He gulped.  “Are you really going to pull the girlfriend card?”
    She nodded.  “This is my good friend we’re talking about here.”
    He sighed.  “All right.  You want motive?  Ethan Wakefield just canceled the show Liz worked so hard to land the lead role in.” 
    “There were a lot of people irate that Ethan canceled the show.  Most with far more to lose than Liz.”
    “True, but there’s more. Ethan was killed with the same prop pick ax that Liz’s character carries around in the show.”
    Enchanted Bay was a former gold rush town.  Since the musical centered on the town’s early days, naturally a pick ax was used as a prop in the musical.  No one could have ever imagined it would eventually be used as a murder weapon. 
    Meg was having a hard time wrapping her head around it all.  “Ethan was killed with an ax?”
    Connor nodded.  “The killer dug it right into his back.”
    Meg winced.  “Ouch.