Murder with a Twist Read Online Free

silently, almost uncertainly at the room’s edge. Catching sight of Skippy, she produced a timid smile and moved toward him, her hand extended. Skippy thumped his tail and presented his mammoth head to be petted.
    In a family that was equal parts confidence, charisma, and bullheadedness, Audrey was the odd duck. She had inherited none of her mother’s breezy charm or her father’s steely determination. She was shy and easily swayed. Her only real passion, before Leo that is, was animals. She might struggle to interact with people, but put her in a room with a cat or dog and she suddenly lights up. Most of her time and effort went into her charity organization that worked to find homes for abused and abandoned animals. It was there that traces of her father’s famed hardnosed business attitude could be detected. But then along came Leo and all that changed. Not only did she spend less time working for the charity but she had to get rid of her own cats as Leo was allergic.
    Behind her was a third addition to the group: Toby Addler. Although only a year older than Audrey, he seemed at least ten. Granted, he was a little balder and heavier than when I’d last seen him—traits that rarely suggested youthfulness—but it was more than that. Toby was what my mother would call “an old soul.”
    Toby quickly said his hellos, politely shaking both Nigel’s and my hand, before stepping back behind Audrey. There, from a respectful distance, he watched her with mournful eyes.
    “Hello, Audrey,” I said, as I moved to her. “How are you?”
    Audrey squeaked out a faint “fine” just as Nigel enveloped her in an awkward, one-sided hug. “Hey, kiddo. It’s good to see you again,” he said. Audrey murmured something incoherent into his shirt collar.
    Shrugging out of her fur-trimmed wool coat and tossing it over her hat, Daphne looked at her mother and then at me. “Well?” she demanded. “Are you going to do it?”
    I turned to Nigel. “You know, if I had a nickel for every time I’ve been asked that today … ” I began.
    “You’d have three nickels,” Nigel said.
    “Doesn’t seem so impressive when you put it that way,” I conceded.
    “It’s this new math. It’s worthless. However, I think the more important question is one that Audrey needs to answer,” said Nigel, looking down her. “Do you really want Leo found? You may discover that life is better without him.”
    Audrey’s eyes immediately welled with tears. “No. It won’t be. Don’t you understand? I love him. I know he has his faults, but then so do I.” Her small voice rose to a chipmunk-like pitch, causing Skippy to cock his head at her in confusion. “I will make this marriage work. I have to.” She lowered her head and in a soft whisper added, “He’s all I have. He’s my life.”
    Toby, still standing out of Audrey’s sight, reacted as if he’d been slapped.
    I sat back down on the couch. Leo was an opportunistic louse, and Audrey was a naïve heiress. Earlier I had considered helping Audrey, but now I saw no reason why I should reunite her with someone who would ultimately drain both her savings account and the remaining tatters of her pride. I knew that Olive regarded members of my former profession to be rough, hardened maladroits whose dealings with the uncivilized factions of society rendered them unfit to mingle with the remaining civilized segments. Or to use my vernacular: dirt bags. Most times, I liked to let her think I was such a heartless misfit. I may have even encouraged it from time to time. This was not one of those times. Returning Leo to Audrey would be like returning a cobra to a mouse. Audrey’s blind devotion to Leo was annoying, but I wasn’t without some sympathy. I opened my mouth to tell her a polite version of this, but instead I heard, “But of course we’ll help you find him. Don’t worry. We’ll take care of it.”
    I gaped in mute horror at Nigel, who was now smiling confidently at Audrey. Audrey