Mercy & Mayhem: A Mercy Mares Cozy Mystery Read Online Free Page A

normally prone to tachycardia, but I also wasn't prone to being accused of wrongdoing. "Just so you know, I didn't let him in here. I swear, I closed the door behind me. Maybe there's something wrong with the door latch or something. I don't know. I just got here."
     
    He stood with his hands on his hips, staring at me with his beady, little brown eyes."You keep telling me that you just got here. Why? Why is that important?" He asked.
     
    "I... Well, because it's true?" I hadn't meant for that to come out as a question, but the way he looked at me and the way that everyone else positioned themselves conveniently close to the door to get a look at what was going on in the office, was making me feel like I was on trial.
     
    "Alright. Tell me what else happened. What did you do? Did Rowdy complain of any ailments or did he come asking for your assistance?" The Sheriff pulled a small notebook out of his breast pocket and licked the tip of his pen, just like every cop I'd ever seen on television did.
     
    I hemmed and hawed for a moment, trying to refresh my memory and make sure I didn't miss one single detail of the morning's activities. I glanced at the Sheriff's watch, the ticking boomed like thunder in the room. My head started to spin. I couldn't think straight and my darn hands started to shake.
     
    The Sheriff's eyes fell to my hands and the hint of a smile appeared on his thin mouth, making me more nervous than I was when the State Patrolman in Colorado pulled me over for going a tad bit over seventy miles per hour, just as I was about to enter the state of Wyoming on my way to this Podunk town.
     
    I hadn't noticed the Sheriff's badge until beads of sweat formed on my brow. I tried to use his name badge as my center and focus. I knew I needed to say something quick or he was going to become even more suspicious than he already was, so I asked, "Why didn't you introduce yourself, Sheriff Wagner?"
     
    He jerked his head back, surprised by my question. Following my gaze, he looked down at his name tag and said, "It's Wagner. I'm Sheriff Charlie Wagner."
     
    "Well, Sheriff Wagner," I could hear my voice shaking as I spoke. "I'm Mercedes Mares."
     
    He stopped me and asked me to spell my name. I obeyed, pausing to make sure he got it right, then, proceeded to tell him exactly what happened again. All the while, poor Mr. Knott remained dead as a door nail on the ground, only about a foot from where I sat.
     
    I pointed to Mr. Knott. "Isn't someone going to come get him? This town has a morgue, doesn't it?"
     
    "Don't worry about that. What you need to be worrying about is making sure you've told me everything." He said.
     
    "You can't honestly think I had anything to do with this. Excuse me if I'm wrong, but people do die, right? I think its sad that he had to die here, in front of his wife, but explain to me how this is a crime, Sheriff."
     
    Challenging him wasn't a bright idea. I could see the muscles in his neck tense up and deep frown lines creased his forehead as he leaned down closer to me, daring me to ask him another question."Who said anything about this being a crime, Miss Mares?"
     
    I swallowed half the foot I managed to put in my mouth every time I spoke without thinking. I should really learn to control myself. I knew better than to think that my Nothern California temperament would be taken kindly here in Western Nebraska. It wouldn't be the first time someone didn't appreciate my glowing charm.
     
    I learned a long time ago that the art of deflection can work in my favor. I needed to do something to distract him and force him to focus on what the real issue was here - the fact that a man died in front of his wife, in a nursing home, while visiting her. Surely, they had family members that should have been informed.
     
    "Kathy had been in here with Mr. Knott just a few minutes before it happened. Maybe, he mentioned something to her about not feeling well or maybe she noticed something." It was all