Murder Most Mellow (A Kate Jasper Mystery) Read Online Free Page B

whisky into her tea and tasted it.
    She looked at me sadly. “You’re the only one who treats me like a friend. Other people treat me like dirt because I’m not as rich as they are. Is that fair?”
    I shook my head sympathetically and took a sip of my own, herbal tea.
    She continued, “And no one will give me a programming job. They say I’m a self-taught hacker.” She paused for a long swig from her cup.
    Vivian was not in a good mood. I wondered what she’d had to drink before she’d arrived.
    “And meditation, now there’s a joke,” she muttered angrily. “I’ve tried to meditate. What good does it do?”
    Time to derail the woman, I thought.
    “What’s the latest on Sarah?” I asked. If anyone would know what was going on in Sarah’s mind, Vivian would.
    Vivian shrugged her shoulders, but said nothing. Too bad. I had hoped she would know why Sarah wanted detective assistance.
    “Come on,” I prodded, still hoping. “There’s always something new on Sarah.”
    “Well, you know her house,” Vivian offered. She smiled a little as she got up to make herself more tea.
    I did know Sarah’s house. It was a huge redwood Gothic castle complete with turrets—plus solar panels and skylights. And it was a mess inside. Orange decor dominated the huge rooms, each of which was equipped with a computer terminal. Even the bathrooms were wired. Pictures of gurus, saints and billionaires lined the walls. And piles of computer printouts, dirty laundry, self-help books, leftover food and miscellaneous junk covered the floors. Outside, it was just as bad. A sunken hot tub was surrounded by more debris, in various states of mildew and rust. Sarah paid Vivian double to spend a full day each week carefully dusting and replacing anything not actively rotting.
    “Sarah wants to be more ‘open to the universe,’ “ Vivian mimicked, sticking her nose in the air. It was actually a fair imitation. “So she’s taken down all of her curtains. Now all the neighbors will get to see the mess, too. I’ll tell you, she’s not a good advertisement for my cleaning services.” Vivian shook her head. “And the neighbors are still screaming about her dog, Freedom. The local kids call the dog ‘Dumb’ for short. He’s still crapping all over the neighborhood. And she won’t put him on a leash.”
    “I guess you can’t put Freedom on a leash,” I joked. “It would be a contradiction in terms.”
    “That’s just what Sarah said.” Vivian looked at me suspiciously for a moment. Then she laughed. “‘Freedom on a leash,’ I get it.” She sat back down at the table. “But the biggie is—” She paused dramatically.
    “What? Tell me,” I prompted.
    “I finally saw her boyfriend!”
    “Really?” I asked in amazement. This was news. None of the group had ever seen Sarah’s boyfriend. I had often suspected he was a figment of her positive-thinking imagination. He was a sculptor and a recluse, according to Sarah. She said he never left his own house. She had to visit him there.
    “I just caught a glance of him,” said Vivian, her husky voice gaining speed. “Sarah sent me over with some groceries. I rang his doorbell but he didn’t answer. So I left them on the doorstep. I saw him, though, looking out the window as I was leaving.”
    “Wow! What does he look like? Where does he live?” I demanded.
    “He lives in San Anselmo,” she answered.
    “That far away? I always imagined he lived around the block.” I looked Vivian in the eye. “So what’d he look like? Is he a frog or a prince?”
    The teakettle began to shriek before she could answer me.
    Vivian shrugged and got up to take care of the kettle.
    “That reminds me,” she said when she sat back down. “You know that crazy beautician I clean for, the one who calls herself an ‘esthetician’? Her husband’s been running around on her. Well, I saw her out the other day, and you’ll never guess who with…”
    And so it went until we finished our