GUNNED Read Online Free Page A

sprouts with some onions.”
    “It sounds delicious. And I love your home, Alex. It is very comfortable. Gezellig .”
    “ Gezellig ?”
    “It means cozy in Flemish. Confortable in French, but I have always liked the word gezellig .”
    I poured some tea into Annie’s mug and then looked around my cozy kitchen. “ Gezellig . I like it and we do have a cozy home. John put a lot of work into it, and then I added a few touches when I moved in. It is nice and we’re happy here. Of course, there was a murder in the library, but after my family helped John to redo the room for me, I feel okay about going in there now.”
    “ Mon Dieu ! You had a murder in this house?”
    I told Annie all about the party from hell I threw shortly after I moved into the house, and hoped she didn’t want to go to a hotel. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have told you. Are you okay staying here?” I asked.
    Annie gave me the Belgian shrug. “It is nothing. I am a nurse. I have seen death many, many times. And Gerard? We must tell him. He will be thrilled. Did you solve that crime as well?”
    I nodded. “Yes, I did. It was an interesting case and I’ll have to tell you and Gerard all about it one night.”
    Annie took a sip of tea and then placed her mug back on the table. “Alex, how did this man, this Mr. Spiegel, obtain a sample of Millie’s DNA?”
    I shook my head. “I have no idea. As far as I know he never met her. Maybe he followed her and somehow managed to get a sample off of a coffee cup or something. Millie stops a couple times a week at a coffee shop for one of those fancy drinks. They do this all the time on TV, though I’m not sure how well it works in real life.”
    “He would have to follow her for some time, no, to understand her movements?”
    “Yes, he would. And according to his wife, he hadn’t been in town long. I think I watch too much TV,” I said, as I put the sprouts into a large bowl. I love Brussels sprouts and with some onions and spices and a few pieces of chopped bacon, they’re one of my and John’s favorites. I admit the bacon helps. Everything is better with bacon. Maybe I should start adding some to our kale salads.
    “And he would have to have access to a lab to run tests,” Annie continued. “They are not cheap and they take a long time.”
    Annie’s accent was adorable and her English was perfect. She even pronounced the th sound correctly. I guess all those summers visiting their friends in Massachusetts must have helped. Once again I was amazed at the language skills of Europeans.
    The door from the garage opened and John and Gerard walked into the kitchen.
    “Sorry, we’re late,” my husband said, placing a kiss on my cheek. “After getting Mrs. Spiegel’s statement, we took her to the morgue for a positive identification.”
    “Is she going to stay with her brother-in-law?” I asked.
    “No. I don’t think she’s crazy about him. We dropped her off at the Indian Cove Inn.”
    I tried not to smile. I didn’t want John to know what we were up to. With any luck he would think Annie and I were traversing Connecticut each day taking in the sights, but he just let me know where the widow could be found, and I planned on speaking with Mrs. Spiegel again soon.
    I sent the guys off to clean up, and then they started on the steaks while Annie and I set the kitchen table. It was more gezellig than the dining room and I was glad my guests weren’t fancy people.
    “You’re very good,” Annie said, while she folded napkins and placed one at each setting. “I saw how you got the location of the widow out of John. But now we must ascertain what else they found out. There must be more. Mr. Spiegel didn’t just show up at your office on pure luck.”
    I glanced out the kitchen window to make sure the guys were still engrossed over the steaks, and then turned back to Annie. “No, he didn’t. Mr. Spiegel zeroed in on Millie for a reason and if nothing else, I need to find out why and get