Mint Chip Murder: A Donut Hole Cozy Mystery - Book 6 Read Online Free

covers of her bed.  Sometimes, she really
didn’t envy Ryan having to figure things out.
     
    Speaking of Ryan…
     
    She felt her cheeks heating up and knew
that if anyone could have seen her at that moment, they would have seen her
blushing as she wondered what it might be like to be married again and to share
a bed with Ryan someday.
     
    She turned over to face the empty side
of the bed.  What would it be like to have someone sleeping on a pillow right
next to her?  She’d have to move out of the middle of the bed, of course, and
only take up her half.
     
    Heather scooted over to the side of
the bed nearest her nightstand.  She lay there for a minute and decided she
could live with sleeping on only one half of the mattress. 
     
    But what about other practical
considerations?
She
wondered. 
Did Ryan snore?  Did he hog the covers?
     
    She turned back onto her other side,
facing the nightstand this time as she always did, and smiled.
     
    One day, perhaps, she would find out
the answers to those questions.
     

Chapter 3
    Even before Heather picked up the
morning paper in its plastic sleeve from her front porch, she could see the
large-font, bolded letters of the headline.  She took the paper back inside,
closed the door behind her, and shook the rolled-up tube from the plastic wrapper. 
Unfolding it, she read, “Local Woman Found Bludgeoned to Death.”
     
    She carried the paper into the kitchen
and sat down at the table.  Holding the paper up with one hand, she gripped the
handle of her coffee cup with the other and raised the mug to her lips.  Taking
her first sip of the brew, she began to read.
     
                “Yesterday morning,
28-year-old Hillside resident Kelly Carlson was found           bludgeoned to
death inside her hair salon, Shear Beauty.  Ms. Carlson had been a resident of
Hillside for 5 years.  Her body was found this morning by her assistant, Rachel
Goodman, when Ms. Goodman arrived for work.
     
                Police say Carlson was
killed sometime the night before.  At this time, they are not releasing any
details about potential suspects.  The Hillside Herald has learned, however,
that arrests have been made in the vicinity of Shear Beauty the night Carlson
was killed. Three juveniles were taken into custody for possession of marijuana
and possession of a firearm. Their names are not being released because they
are minors.”
     
    Hmm, she thought.  Interesting.  Could
the three teenagers have killed Kelly? True, she hadn’t been shot, but maybe
they’d pistol-whipped her and gone too far.
     
    But why would they have attacked her
inside the shop?  Why would they have been inside late at night, and what
motive could they have had for the attack?
    On TV, it’s always money or love, she
thought.  Assuming it wasn’t love—because that just doesn’t sound right—could
it have been money?  Maybe they knew Kelly was closing up shop and probably had
some cash on hand from the day’s proceeds?
     
    Maybe so.  But that still left the
matter of how they had gotten inside.  Of course, Kelly may very well not have
felt threatened by three teenagers.  She may have either let them in after the
door was locked, or let them stay after the last customer left. 
     
    But wasn’t marijuana supposed to make
people mellow?  Wasn’t it usually people who were hopped up on crack or
something that went around killing people, not people who were high on pot?
     
    The one time Heather had tried pot had
been long ago, when she was in high school.  She hadn’t felt like doing
anything violent.  In fact, it had seemed like a great idea to lie on her back
on her friend’s sofa and contemplate the meaning of life and of the ceiling
tiles.  So, yeah, it wasn’t likely that the teenagers had smoked a joint, and
then attempted to rob and kill Kelly.  Of course, maybe they hadn’t been high
at the time.
     
    “Aarrggh,” Heather groaned out loud