Money Can Be Deadly (Sage Gardens Cozy Mystery Book 2) Read Online Free Page A

through, I'll be looking into things for myself.” Samantha's eyes narrowed with determination. She felt that there was more to the murder than the police would assume. Something just did not feel right about it.
    “I bet you will.” Eddy offered her a tolerant smile. “Why don't we go have that tea that you missed out on? We should let Walt know what happened. You know he doesn't handle surprises well.”
    “Good idea.” Samantha looked towards Walt's villa with concern. As a retired accountant Walt liked things to be a certain way, and finding a body in the grass near his home was sure to make him uneasy. As they walked towards Walt's villa, Samantha couldn't help looking back at the crime scene. She saw that the police had roped off a good portion of it, but she thought that they should have roped off more. Everyone who lived in Sage Gardens was at least a little nosy. The police could lose a lot of evidence if residents began trampling so close to the crime scene. “I just want to take one more quick look at the crime scene. Okay?”
    Eddy tried not to smile at her. She had the mind of a cop whether she wanted to admit it or not, and he admired her for it, whether he liked to admit it or not. He nodded. “A quick look.”
    The two walked back over to the roped off area. Samantha was careful to give the crime scene a wide berth. She crouched down and looked towards the tall grass. “How was he positioned, Eddy?”
    “His head was towards the water.” Eddy glanced over the blood stained grass. “It looked like he had fallen backwards.”
    “So, the attacker probably came from up the hill.” Samantha looked up towards the hill. “But that doesn't make much sense.”
    “Why not?” Eddy asked.
    Samantha stood up and turned to face the hill. “If I was standing here, I could see anyone who was coming.”
    “That's true.” Eddy looked up the hill and then back down at the water. “If I saw someone who I was afraid of, I certainly would not have run towards the water.”
    “So, it's possible that the killer is someone that Vince knew.” Samantha smiled.
    “Good eye, Samantha.” Eddy was about to turn away from the crime scene when he noticed something just beyond the yellow tape. There was another indentation in the soil. He leaned closer. “Samantha, get your phone out. I think we've found another footprint.”
    Samantha pulled out her cell phone and aimed it where Eddy pointed. The footprint was not as well defined, but it was there. The imprint seemed similar to the other footprint, but it was difficult to tell for sure.
    “Got it,” she said confidently.
    “Great. Can you send those pictures to me?” he asked hopefully as he wasn't quite sure how that worked.
    “No problem. They should be in your e-mail in a few minutes.”
    “Thanks. Maybe we can get a good enough image to make a match if we make the pictures larger. Let's head over to Walt's and see what he thinks of all of this.”
    Eddy began walking up the hill. Samantha followed after him. As she climbed the hill she imagined what it would have been like to see her killer looking down at her. Did Vince know him? Did Vince call out his name? Was he happy to see him? She shuddered at the thought.

Chapter Three
     
    Walt was already on his porch when Eddy and Samantha walked up to his villa.
    “What's going on?” Walt looked anxious as he gripped the railing of the porch. “I saw the police cars taking off.”
    “We're here to tell you. But maybe we should go inside?” Eddy nodded towards Samantha. “Samantha needs something for her nerves.”
    “I'm fine, Eddy.” Samantha shot him a stubborn look.
    “Sure you are.” He gestured for all of them to step inside. Walt held the door for Samantha. Once they were inside he set a pot of tea on the stove to brew.
    “It must be something bad. It's something bad isn't it?” Walt frowned. He ran his fingertips along the tea bags to make sure that they were all evenly placed inside the