Lure of Obsession (The Muse Chronicles Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

the coroner reports it as an accidental death.”
    John’s silent, piercing stare brought many suspects to unexpected confessions, but Nate was no suspect and he had no intention of talking about what he’d seen in Mel’s condo.
    Finally, his partner broke eye contact and stepped back. “All right, then. Catch you in the morning.”
    “See you then.”
    Nate reopened the search window the second John vanished down the hallway. A digital wall of masks stared back at him. His finger rolled the mouse in a slow downward scroll.
    “Okay, you bastard. Where are you?”

CHAPTER 3
    M el’s alibi had checked out. Nate loosened his tie and popped the top button on his shirt. She had been in a staff meeting until five thirty the night before. What surprised him was discovering that she had come into work today . Everyone dealt with the death of a friend differently, and the shock of finding the body might have left her aching for normalcy. It was hard to tell how any given person would react, but he hadn’t expected her to be teaching.
    Standing in the hallway outside her English classroom, he glanced at his watch. Ten minutes left until her lunch break. Rather than interrupt, he leaned against the lockers and pulled out his cell phone. A guitar chord sounded, distracting him from skimming his e-mail. He frowned and moved closer to the door. Mel taught freshman English, Creative Writing, and Poetry. So why was someone inside playing the blues?
    Mel’s voice came through the door. “Do you see how the rhythm and tone of the poem mirror the music? Who wants to try next? Cara, why don’t you come on up?”
    The guitar music picked up again and a girl’s nervous voice spoke between the chords. “I tried hard not to see.” Dun-dun-dun-dun-dun. “But his smile grabbed hold of me.” Dun-dun-dun-dun-dun. “It may not be headline news.” Dun-dun-dun-dun-dun. “But I’ve got a bad case of the high school blues.”
    The classroom erupted in applause, and Nate smiled. Mel wasn’t just teaching an English class; she was inspiring another generation. These kids would remember her long after they left these halls. Sadly, not all teachers had that gift.
    When the bell rang, a river of teens flowed past him, buzzing about writing more poems, and songs and lyrics. They actually wanted to write and create. Amazing. After the flood of students dried up, he stepped into the doorway and discovered Mel had company.
    A curvy woman with shoulder-length black hair and porcelain skin looked up from her guitar case and glanced at Mel. “Looks like you’ve got a guest.”
    Mel stopped sliding binders into her bag and straightened up. “Detective Malone.” She gestured to her friend with the guitar. “This is Trinity. Trin, this is the detective working Nia’s case.”
    Trinity closed the guitar case and stretched out her hand. “Good to meet you.”
    He gave her a firm handshake. “Heard you playing the blues in here.”
    Trinity chuckled, tossing her hair back over her shoulder. “Thanks. It was Mel’s idea.”
    He started to speak, but his mouth went dry. Hanging on the wall behind Mel’s desk was a large black mask with purple trim and a deep frown. On a normal day, he might not have even noticed the thing, but since he’d touched the light switch and the bannister at Mel’s place last night, he’d been on edge.
    Until the vision of the man in the golden mask flashed in his head, he’d never really given them much thought, but now the eyeless, soulless, frowning face on her wall had dread tightening around his gut like a vise.
    Mel turned, following his gaze. “That’s the Tragedy Mask. It represents tragedy in theater.” Her focus shifted back to him, capturing his full attention. “Sort of a mascot for my high school English classes.”
    “I’m going to get out of your way,” Trinity interrupted, her guitar case in hand. “See you at the theater later?”
    Mel nodded, giving her a short embrace. “Yeah, I’ll be by