Petticoat Detective Read Online Free Page A

another.
    Coral reached under the counter and pulled out a Peacemaker.
    Amy slapped the barrel of the gun away. “You mustn’t point a gun like that!”
    Coral pushed her lips out like a petulant child. “You can’t kill anyone with an unloaded weapon.”
    “Tell that to the man who was shot by one.” The nonmusical assault began again in the next room, and Amy had to raise her voice to be heard. “Where did you get that?” It was obvious the woman didn’t know beans about handling a firearm.
    Coral laid the gun on the counter. “From Harry’s Gun and Bakery Shoppe.”
    Amy’s eyebrows shot up.
Guns and baked goods?
And she thought a parlor house selling boots was odd. “What do you plan to do with it?”
    Coral looked about to burst into tears. “After what happened to Rose …” She pulled a white linen handkerchief out of a leg-of-mutton sleeve and dabbed at the corners of her eyes. “A girl’s got to protect herself.” She tossed her head. “I noticed you had a gun.”
    Amy couldn’t blame Coral for being scared, and she softened her voice. “You’d do better with one like mine.” She pulled out her derringer.
    Coral made a face. “But that’s so small.”
    “Trust me, it gets the job done, and it’s easy to hide.” She slipped the weapon back in place. “I suggest you go back to Harry’s baked gun store and exchange it for one you can handle.”
    Coral frowned. “If … if you think that’s best.”
    “I do, but if you insist upon carrying a gun, you must learn to use it properly.”
    “Will you teach me?” Coral asked.
    Amy hesitated. She had been sent to Kansas to do a job and didn’t have time to give shooting lessons. Already she was behind in writing her report to headquarters. The principal wouldn’t be happy that the Gunnysack Bandit investigation had come to a halt because of a funeral, but it wasn’t her fault, and all might not be lost.
    “Pleeeease?”
    Amy didn’t know how long she would be in town. Now that Rose was dead, there was no advantage in being a female detective. Mr. Pinkerton might decide to use her elsewhere and replace her with a male operative.
    Coral looked so upset Amy couldn’t bring herself to say no. “All right. I’ll teach you.”
    A look of relief fleeted across Coral’s face. “Thank you.”
    Amy waited a beat before asking, “How long have you … uh … lived here, Coral?”
    Coral tucked her handkerchief back into her sleeve and regarded Amy with soulful brown eyes. “Three years, two months, and twenty-one days.”
    Amy considered her answer. How could people do that? Be so precise? “And Rose?”
    Mr. Studebaker had started singing again, and Coral cupped her ear. “What did you say?”
    Amy lifted her voice to be heard above the racket coming from the parlor and the dishes rattling in the cabinet. “HOW LONG HAD ROSE WORKED HERE?”
    Coral shrugged. “Longer than me.” She sighed. “Too bad she didn’t leave as she planned.”
    “ROSE PLANNED ON LEAVING?”
    “Shh.” Coral glanced at the doorway, and it was then that Amy realized the music had stopped. “I don’t think she wanted anyone to know.”
    “I guess it doesn’t matter now, does it?” Amy said softly.
    “No, I guess it don’t.”
    “Do you know why she was leaving?” Amy asked.
    “She never said.” Coral shrugged. “I guess she just didn’t want to work here anymore.”
    Amy couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to work here. “Do you know of anyone who wanted to harm her?”
    “No, no one.”
    The exchange had a sobering effect. For a moment, she and Coral were lost in thought. Mercifully, no sounds came from the parlor.
    Amy was the first to break the silence. “Last night … Rose’s room was a terrible mess. But you told the marshal you didn’t hear anything.”
    “My room’s at the end of the hall. But … some of our guests tend to get noisy on occasion. Even if I’d heard something, I wouldn’t have thought much about it.”
    “I see.”