MURDER AT THE PIER (A Sister Sleuths Mystery Book 1) Read Online Free

eating leftovers tomorrow night."

Chapter
Three
    Lea was right in her prediction of her and Paul eating
alone. She was wrapping up leftovers when her cell phone rang.
      "Hope I'm not disturbing you," Mrs. Allen
began.
    Calls from Mrs. Allen are almost always disturbing .
    "Not at all. I hope you’re not having more intruders."
     "No; thanks to you, my house is quiet but after all
the trouble I put you through last night, I’m calling because I don’t want to
be an alarmist. I'd like to run something by you before calling the
police."
    Interest piqued, Lea walked out to the back yard so Paul
couldn’t overhear. "What's going on?"
    "I was at the grocery store and decided to take a
little drive around the neighborhood on the way home.”
      She doesn’t have the reputation as the neighborhood busybody
for no reason .
    “I was close to where they're building the two-story
Spanish Colonial by the pond. Do you know the house? Red roof tiles and a
turret."
    "Unfortunately, I know it only too well. Our snoopy
cat Sherlock has been there several times in the last couple of weeks. He seems
to like foraging in the tiles and drywall on the site. He also loves high
places. Since they haven't installed any windows or doors in the house yet,
he's been able to climb all the way to the turret to check out the view. I saw
him sitting up there a couple of days ago when I took the dogs for a
walk."
    "I was a block away from it when I saw lights inside
the house. Like flashlight beams," she clarified, "in an upstairs
room. Neither the builder nor the owner would be there this time of night. I
wouldn't have thought much about it except for the recent news reports on the
burglaries."
    "Did you call the police?"
    "No, I was afraid I was overreacting and shouldn't
waste their time."
    “I don't think that would be the case. I saw the Police
Chief interviewed on the news tonight encouraging people to call in any
suspicious activity they see. From his description of likely targets, that
house might be prone to a break-in."
    "There's no fencing around the property," Mrs.
Allen agreed, "which would allow for easy access."
    "Tell you what. I was getting ready to take Gracie and
Spirit for their evening stroll. We'll go for a ride instead and see if there
appears to be anything going on."
    "Don't put yourself at risk," her neighbor
warned.
    "Don't worry. We'll keep our distance. The dogs will detect
scents from quite a ways off and alert me. If they seem to be reacting, I'll
call it in. You won't have to worry about sending up a false alarm."
    "Thank you, Lea. Call and let me know what you find to
put my mind at ease before I turn in."
    "No problem. I'll get my super sleuths right on
it," Lea laughed, ringing off.
    She walked into the living room where Paul was watching a
basketball game. She explained where she was going as she put halters on the
dogs. Without taking his eyes off the television screen, Paul asked: “Don’t you
think you’ve wasted enough time playing detective for Mrs. Allen?”
      "We won't get any closer than a block away. Besides,
she’s probably overreacting like everyone else in town right now. These
burglaries have everyone on edge. I'll call you as soon as we head back
home," she assured him.
    Jon came through the front door in time to see his mother
getting the dogs ready to go somewhere. "Wherever you’re off to, can I go?
I finished my homework at Michael's house."
    "Not this time." Without disclosing any concern
about possible danger, Lea offered a distraction to discourage her son from
joining them. "Your dad’s making popcorn at half-time if you want to watch
the rest of the game."
    "Sounds good." Jon licked his lips and patted his
stomach.
    By the time Lea got the dogs into the car, Paul and Jon
were hollering at the screen, Paul’s concern for his wife’s safety all but
forgotten
    * * *
    Lea wondered if Paul was
right. Was she going against her better judgment driving to the site? At least
there was an