Dying for a Date Read Online Free

surprised Garrett would have divulged what happened.
    "You mean, you're admitting it?” Her voice rose to a crescendo, her eyelashes flickering so fast they were creating a draft.
    "Of course. I'd do it again if the same thing happened on my next date."
    Sunny looked at me like I was crazy. I was beginning to think she was missing a few screws herself.
    I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the counter. “So what exactly did Garrett say?"
    Sunny pointed her crimson tipped index finger at me. “Garrett didn't say anything. He's dead. You killed him."
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    FOUR
    "You killed him. You killed him.” Sunny was now backed against the paneled wall, right and left forefingers crossed in front of her, as if she was trying to ward off a vampire. Or prevent the homicidal woman standing in the reception area from attacking her.
    "What are you talking about—Garrett's dead?” The room started to tilt so I dropped into one of the overstuffed chairs, bent over and breathed deeply. I lifted my head and stared at the receptionist. “Are you sure we're talking about the same person? Garrett Lindstrom?"
    Sunny picked up a black cordless phone, staring at me with anxious eyes. Was she going to call the police? Or use it as a weapon against the supposed murderer in the lobby.
    "A sheriff's deputy stopped by a few minutes ago. A neighbor found Garrett this morning. Sitting in his car. In his driveway.” Her arms performed mini calisthenics as she expostulated. “His head was bashed in."
    I shuddered and slumped back against the chair. This couldn't be happening. All I did was hit Garrett on the nose with his phone. You can't kill anyone that way. Although his head did hit the window and there was blood everywhere, but I thought that was normal with any head injury.
    "You really didn't know he was dead?” Sunny was clutching the phone like she'd been given an extra lifeline, but at least she hadn't dialed the police. Yet.
    "No,” I whimpered.
    She hesitated then set the phone down, inching closer to the reception counter. “You don't look like a killer."
    I chose to take her comment as a compliment. “Umm, thanks,” I said with a half-hearted smile.
    Sunny must have decided my non-threatening visage meant it was okay to confide in me. “The deputy said they found one of our invoices on Garrett's desk and guessed he was a member. They want me to find the women who chose him, and who he picked in the last few months. I found twenty so far, but I didn't come across your name yet."
    Twenty women? Who did this guy think he was—Don Juan Lindstrom? Well, with his amorous assault style maneuvers, it was unlikely he ever went on a second date with anyone.
    My head buzzed with unanswered questions, but a line of single females had formed, waving their selection forms at Sunny. I stared at the women waiting in line. Had any of these women been on a date with Garrett? Perhaps they too fought off an attack by him.
    Or...killed him.
    The line of restless women distracted Sunny as she immersed herself in paperwork. I slipped out the door and walked through the parking lot mulling over this startling development. Sunny wasn't the brightest bulb in the chandelier. She could have mixed Garrett up with someone else.
    During our dinner, Garrett mentioned he lived in Villa Dolce, one of the gated subdivisions that comprise the massive Serrano housing development in El Dorado Hills. It couldn't hurt to do a brief drive-by, and it might make me feel better.
    Fifteen minutes later I was driving up Serrano Parkway. Villa Dolce was located near the top of the Parkway on the south side of the street. By riding the bumper of a black SUV, I was able to sneak through the gated stone entry. After aimlessly driving up one street and down another, all lined with earth colored stucco McMansions that blended into the earth colored hills, the futility of my mission sank in.
    Hoping to find an escape out of the maize maze, I turned right