Bubblegum Blonde Read Online Free

the desk.
    If looks could kill, I'd be dead with a capital D.
    "I know you're angry, and you have every right to be, but I couldn't just let him walk out of here knowing that he may very well be innocent.
    She continued to look at me with a, you-expect-me-to-believe-that expression.
    "Seriously, Kelly, could you live with yourself if you knew an innocent man was spending life in prison because you were too afraid to help him?"
    She scrunched up her nose and pursed her lips. "No," she finally admitted. "But is that the real reason you agreed to help him? Or is it because you two used to be engaged? Which , by the way," she wagged her finger at me, "I'm still pissed you didn't tell me about." She flipped me off.
    Maybe some of the reason I wanted to help Jason was because of our past. Maybe a small part of me wanted to prove to him that I was good at this private investigating thing, which was something he always laughed at me for dreaming about. But I'd never admit it.
    I groaned. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Jason. We happened before I opened the office. Besides, it's not like our relationship is something that I like to remember." I shrugged and tried to explain. "I loved him. He loved to roll around with other women. I'm completely over him. End of story."
    And I was. Getting over Jason took a while, several bottles of wine, and a few sappy chick flicks, but after all this time, I really was over him.
    "And this is the same guy you put our rears on the line for because you think he's innocent? How can you trust him after what he did to you?"
    I shrugged one shoulder. "I feel it in my gut. Besides, he cheated on me, he didn't sell me out to the mob or something."
    She pursed her red lips. "I don't know, Barb. This case, it sounds like more trouble than it's worth. What if he's lying?"
    "I know," I admitted, "but just think about it, Kelly. This case, if we can crack it, could make us. Can you imagine what kind of cases people would bring to us if we discovered who really killed Lydia Hatchett? We wouldn't have to hunt cheaters all day everyday just to make ends meet."
    "Chasing cheaters is sort of fun. We get to see all kinds of crazy stuff." Kelly grinned.
    I rolled my eyes but kept my mouth shut because she was right. Busting a cheater could be exciting, and you never knew what you were going to see.
    We'd seen some things I still couldn't get out of my head. There were just some things a person could never unsee.
    "But"—she sighed and shook her head—"I'll do whatever you need me to do. We need to be extra careful with this one. Make sure we dot our I's and cross our T's. The last thing we want is the police department thinking that we're stepping on their toes and shutting us down."
    "You don't have to remind me," I said and meant every word. The last place I wanted to end up because of a shifty ex-boyfriend was in the slammer…or labor and delivery, but that's a completely different story.
    "So, where should we start?" she asked.
    I spat my now-flavorless bubblegum in the trashcan, then immediately popped a new piece in my mouth.
    "I think we need to start by digging into the pasts of Robert and Lydia Hatchett and Jason as well. We need to get a peek at their financials, anything they might have had their thumbs into, pending deals, and so on, in case Lydia was the victim of some deal gone wrong."
    "Done." Kelly made a note on the yellow legal pad she held.
    I still wasn't used to Kelly's lack of tech knowledge. She still used an ancient-looking flip phone that had definitely seen better days…in the nineties.
    "I'll call up Mandy. If anyone can find that info, it's her."
    "Perfect." I nodded. "I know it's her day off, but we could really use her help."
    I grabbed my cell phone and dialed the number to the local police department.
    "What are you doing?" Kelly asked.
    "Calling the police station to see if by some chance I can see the police report or at least get some information on the case."
    "You think