Murder Close to Home Read Online Free

Amelia was furious.
    “That’s not what I’m saying. I haven’t received it yet, so I wanted to know if it was on the way.” Taryn spoke in a calm voice, obviously recognizing that Amelia was not in a state to listen to reason.
    “First the house and now this? You’ve been after me for years. You’ve been waiting for the perfect opportunity to leave me with nothing. You think my living on the streets would be a better option? You don’t want to take a charity case? Actually, now that I think about it, that’s what you’ve always considered me. A charity case.”
    “No, I wouldn’t —” Taryn started to say.
    Amelia talked over her. “No more, all right? I’ve had enough.” She stormed out of the restaurant with one of her friends running after her. Everyone watched them go and then slowly resumed their conversations.
    “What was that about?” I asked. “What house? What did Taryn do?”
    Jade had no idea. “I’ve never heard this before. Let’s ask Taryn.”
    “I thought you wanted to respect her privacy.”
    She shot me a wry smile. “It’s public news now.”
    We slipped into Taryn and Rita’s booth as inconspicuously as we could. It was difficult with the constant furtive glances toward Taryn. Taryn was tight-lipped and the color had faded from her face.
    “She’ll come to her senses,” Rita assured Taryn.
    “I don’t know.” Taryn stared blankly ahead of her. “I don’t know.”
    “Why is this such a big deal?” I asked. “Maybe there’s something we can do to work it out. We’d be happy to help.”
    Taryn shook her head. “I don’t think anything can help. It happened so long ago.”
    “What did she mean by ‘the house’?” Jade asked.
    Taryn was beginning to regain her color. “I had a vacation home once. She bought it from me and things started happening. The sink wouldn’t work. Then the locks stopped working. A bird smashed into a window. Amelia eventually sold the house after deciding it was too much trouble to keep. She blamed me for the house’s problems.”
    “Did any of that happen when you owned the house?” I asked.
    Taryn held her head in her hands. “No, not one. I don’t know why they happened, but she’s held a grudge ever since. I know we joke around and do silly things that make us seem like enemies, but the truth is that... Well, I think we might actually be enemies in the full sense of the word. Or she at least feels that way to me. I don’t feel anything like that about Amelia. Seriously, I wish her no ill.”
    I was opening my mouth to reply when a blood-curdling scream rang out. “Amelia!”



CHAPTER FOUR

    The scream had come from the outside patio. I pushed my way to the front of the crowd where I could see Amelia sprawled on the floor. Orla, Amelia’s friend, was checking her vitals.
    “An ambulance is on its way,” Orla told the crowd. Apart from her haunting scream, she was maintaining a calm disposition.
    “How is she?” I asked.
    Orla made eye contact with me, gave a slight head shake, and continued to watch over Amelia, making sure no one got too close. My stomach swooshed. Amelia’s frozen body and Orla’s insistence that she be the only person to touch her offered me a chilling revelation.
    Amelia was dead. Possibly.
    Orla didn’t want to cause a panic, so she was keeping everyone at bay until the ambulance arrived. Her nurse’s training was being put to good use, even if she might not have been able to save her patient.
    “Out of my way!” Taryn barreled toward us and I held her back. Jade and Rita were right behind her.
    Jade gasped. “This can’t be.”
    Rita put her hand to her mouth with wide eyes and Taryn stood still. She surveyed the scene with a shocked expression and when she finally moved, it was to sit in a nearby chair.
    “How could this have happened?” she said over and over again.  
    “How did this happen?” I asked Orla.
    “We came out here and she was grumbling about —” Orla glanced