Read Online The Old Witcheroo by Dakota Cassidy - Free Book Online Page A

again.”
    “Shoot, is Luis ever gonna be mad at you for making him leave that swanky club he was having dinner at with his wife. Were I you, I’d preempt his arrival by at the very least getting him a gift certificate to Chili’s. You know, to ease the pain, and maybe even your suffering when he gives you the Luis Lipton tongue-lashing special. Because baby back ribs soothe ruffled feathers, don’t you think?” I rubbed my belly and winked.
    Just then, the door to the interrogation room burst open. Yay. Bad Cop, Sean Moore, had arrived. He yanked the chair out beside Detective Montgomery, plunked down in it, and glared at me with those ice chips he passed off as eyes.
    Which made me very inappropriately laugh out loud.
    “What’s so funny, Cartwright?” he growled at me, his tight black T-shirt rippling atop his mounds of muscle. I was endlessly fascinated by this act he portrayed. The clothes he wore that screamed, I’m just one of you—a real man of the people , the spitting, hissing, hardcore questions.
    I covered my mouth until I composed myself. Then I leaned forward on the metal table and peered at him with questioning eyes. “Do you like kittens, Detective Moore? Rainbows? Hallmark Channel movies?”
    “ What ?” he bellowed in my face with enough force to lift my bangs off my forehead.
    But I just smiled at him and winked. “I know this is all an act—this hardened detective thing you do. Secretly, you’re soft and gooey on the inside. Like a toasted marshmallow. Speaking of marshmallows, I’m starving. So could we get on with this, please? I already know I’m not a suspect. The cat’s out of the bag. There’s no reason for you to bust an artery over little old me.”
    Detective Montgomery held up a hand to indicate he’d had enough, then he cleared his throat. “Did Officer Dana Nelson come to your house yesterday and ask to borrow your rowboat?”
    “Yep.”
    “What time?”
    “I’m not one hundred on this, so don’t quote me, but it was well after lunch. I know because I was still a little gassy from the frozen burrito I had, but before dinner, because the gas had passed and my stomach was starting to growl.”
    Honest. I was telling them the truth. I really couldn’t remember the exact time.
    “ What time , Miss Cartwright?” Detective Moore spat, drumming his knuckles on the metal table.
    “Do you have TMJ?” I asked him, cocking my head to the left.
    Clearly I’d caught him off guard, because he looked at me like I’d just sprouted a forked tongue. “TM who?”
    “TMJ. You know, it’s when your jaw locks up and pains you. Especially when you chew the flesh off the bones of your enemies.”
    Detective Moore rubbed a hand over his jaw, his expression suddenly confused. “Why do ya wanna know?”
    “Because you clench your teeth all the time with all that snarling. I just figured you probably suffered from TMJ, too. You should see your dentist.”
    Detective Moore sighed, his aggravation loud and clear. “What time did Officer Nelson ask to borrow the boat, Miss Cartwright?”
    “I’m not sure. Before dinner’s the best I have to offer.”
    Detective Montgomery lifted his chin. “What did he say to you? Did he tell you why he wanted to borrow the rowboat?”
    I’d told them all this when they’d questioned me at the beach. “Sure. He said ‘I need to borrow your rowboat, Stevie. I’m going to kill Sophia. But I promise I’ll have it back before dawn’.”
    “ Miss Cartwright …” Detective Montgomery warned, shifting in his chair and dropping the pen he held.
    Oooo, if Good Cop was getting annoyed, I’d better not push my luck.
    So I quirked another smile at them. “Oh, fine. I already told you this at the beach today, but if your note-taking skills have gone awry, I’ll reiterate. He just said he wanted to take Sophia out in my rowboat and he’d have it back to me sometime later that evening.”
    Detective Moore demanded, “Did you even ask why he wanted