Death Wore Brown Shorts (Happy Holloway Mystery Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

table and grabbed a chair across from him. Morning light shined through the window above the sink, but the day hadn’t brightened by much.
    “Mommie let you leave the house this early?”
    “She couldn’t stop me. I’m five now.”
    “Of course.”
    “Plus she’s been baking stuff since she woke up.” He heaved a sigh. “This is for you.”
    Annie frowned at the grocery bag. She didn’t have to peek inside to know Annie had sent another bundle of fresh warm cookies. “You ran away, but she sent you with cookies?”
    “That’s because she didn’t believe me.” He waggled the bag. “Do you want them?”
    “I told her not to keep sending me this stuff. It ruins my diet.”
    “So you don’t want them?”
    Annie groaned and took the bag. She rose and set it on the counter. Jane had gone through so much trouble, and it would be rude to send them back. Perhaps she could give them to one of the ladies in the neighborhood or take them to a shelter. For a moment, her hands hovered above the bag. The delicious scent tickled her nose.
    Drat Jane!
    Annie managed to swing away from the forbidden treat and sat down again. “So, what was the fight about this time?”
    Ben appeared scandalized, as if he needed a reason to strike out into the world. After all, he was five. With dramatic flare, he came clean. “I wanted to stay up late and watch TV, but she wouldn’t let me. It’s summer. Why do I have to go to bed early like a baby? Quinn and Paisley don’t have to!”
    “Sounds reasonable to me,” Annie assured him. She didn’t mention she knew for a fact that Quinn being twelve did have to turn in at a reasonable hour. Paisley at fourteen was another stubborn story altogether. “So you told her you were leaving?”
    He nodded his head, too cute with a pout. “ She said wait until it’s daylight. I told you she didn’t believe it, Aunt Annie, but here I am.”
    “Here, two doors away,” she said. Good thing Ben hadn’t learned sarcasm just yet. “What’s in your pack? It looks lumpy.”
    He removed his pack and handed it to her. She unzipped with a bit of struggle because Ben had stuffed it to capacity. An assortment of dinosaurs met her gaze, not one T-shirt or change of underwear.
    “They were mad, too,” Ben said.
    “Okay. Well, let’s have some cookies and milk.”
    Ben brightened. “Yay! I love you, Aunt Annie.”
    “I love you too, Ben. Best to not tell Mommie we ate cookies for breakfast.”
    He agreed.
    Annie never claimed to be anywhere near Jane’s level when it came to caring for kids. After all, she had none of her own, and interaction with her niece and nephews living so close hadn’t taught her much. Jane lectured her that she was too lenient, but Annie doubted she would ever change.
    She plated oatmeal raisin cookies for herself and for Ben and poured them each huge glasses of milk. After the fact, when Ben had trouble balancing his glass, she halved his portion into a smaller cup. They munched away, Annie feeling the fat gathering in her thighs with each bite.
    Fifteen minutes later, the doorbell rang again, and Annie opened the door to Paisley. She flipped long silky dark hair over one shoulder. Nothing obstructed the other because she had shaved it almost down to the scalp. Jane had given birth to a cow when she found out.
    “Is the twerp here?” Paisley tapped her foot, already irritated and impatient so early in the morning.
    “You mean your brother?”
    “That’s what I said.”
    Ben appeared around Annie’s leg. “Aw, why did Mommie send you, Paisley?”
    “Just come on. I don’t know why you bother pretending to run away when you always run to Aunt Annie. You should have gone to Mexico or something.”
    “I don’t know where Mexico is,” Ben shot back in a reasonable tone.
    “Well to the end of the block then!”
    “Shut up.”
    “Now, now, kids.” Annie patted the top of Ben’s head. “You can stay here longer if you want, sweetie, but I have to