Maddie Cochere - Two Sisters and a Journalist 01 - Murder Under Construction Read Online Free Page B

Washington’s adopted brother and the life insurance policy he had fraudulently taken out on her husband, the case ripped wide open, and Lucy was released.
    Pepper and Jackie were firmly on board when I found the fourth body. Last January, Mama had arranged a blind date for me with the son of one of her cronies. I showed up at his house for a promised gourmet dinner. When he didn’t answer the door, I walked around back to see if I could peek through his windows. Instead, I peeked into the gaping hole in the back of his head as he lay face down in the snow on his deck. The police had no leads, and after only one month, they were ready to consider it a cold case. The three of us promised Mama we would try to find out what happened to her friend’s son. It took us until the end of May, but we managed to track down a man in Kentucky who had picked the day of my date to even the score on a business investment gone wrong.
    I swiveled my chair around again, scooted up to the desk, and opened my laptop. I wanted to bring up my email and look at the pictures from Jackie.
    There were five of them. She had included one from each side of Ruby’s body, and one close-up of her face. I printed all five. I also downloaded and printed the picture I had taken of her manicured hand. I tacked the photos across the top of the left side of the white board.
    Twenty minutes later, I was leaning back in my chair and staring at the meager information. Across the top, I had written Jackie’s theory: The Pimp Did It . Below the photos were just a few lines:
     
    Ruby Rosewell
Stripper
Pittsburgh
Arrested for Prostitution
Murdered 5:00 a.m., July 1
     
    I stood to add one more item - Eyes closed - killer knew her . Because I had seen it on crime shows, I believed it to be true. Most people who are murdered die with their eyes open. If they are closed, it’s because the killer closed them - apparently to alleviate their guilt by not having the victim staring at them.
    On the right side of the board was my rendition of the construction site. The simple drawing showed the three mounds of dirt and the location of the body. The site bordered the rear of my property and that of the Irwins next door. It suddenly dawned on me I might have a view of the crime scene.
    The lone window in the room faced east. I yanked up the blinds and could almost see the third mound of dirt. I opened the window and stuck my head out. I could definitely see it now, but the large mound shielded where her body had lain. I went into my bedroom and looked out the southern window of the room. This view was of the western edge of the site. It bordered the backyards of the row of houses in the neighboring development. I could easily see the first mound of dirt where Pepper’s kids had been playing and where I flopped the bike the second time.
    Until we had more information, it wasn’t much to go on. Jackie would be up for a run to Pittsburgh tomorrow, but with Pepper hosting the cookout on Tuesday, I knew she would need some convincing.
    I checked my watch. It was almost two o’clock. Pepper was probably home from Mama’s an hour ago. I went back to the murder room, switched off my laptop, and turned to leave the room. Something didn’t feel right.
    I hadn’t planned to do it. I didn’t believe in such things. I walked back over to the board. In the lower right-hand corner, I wrote: Paula .
     

Chapter Three
     
    “Why in the world would you want to homeschool your kids?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
    “It’ll be fun,” Pepper said. “I’ve been reading about it, and with my teaching degree, it should be easy. You can come with us on field trips.”
    “What kind of field trips?”
    “We can go fishing.”
    I laughed. “That’s not a field trip. That’s hooky.”
    “It isn’t if you take the nature walk to get to the lake. We’ll study flora and fauna and draw pictures of what we see.”
    “That sounds hot and miserable and like absolutely