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

to borrow it?”
    “Um, pretty girl plus handsome guy, plus googly eyes when their gazes meet, plus been dating for several months usually equals date . I didn’t have to be a detective like you fine, upstanding gentleman to figure it out. I’m the unmath, under normal circumstances, but this one was a no-brainer. So no, I didn’t pry, if that’s what you mean.”
    “I’d think most people would ask when someone wants to borrow their property.”
    I snorted with derision as I shook my head at Detective Montgomery’s statement. “Seriously, guys? This is the best you’ve got? He didn’t ask to borrow my Lambo or an ovary. He asked to borrow a rickety, old, barely seaworthy rowboat, for gracious sakes. Not to mention he’s a police officer . There’s a certain amount of trust that instills. Unless what you’re saying is I shouldn’t trust the men in blue? Is that what you’re saying?”
    “Knock it off, Cartwright,” Detective Moore groused, cracking his burly knuckles and neck in simultaneous pops.
    Letting my head hang low to contain my impatience, I counted to five and prayed they wouldn’t ask me about the marriage proposal Dana hadn’t told anyone about but me.
    Detective Montgomery nudged his partner and plastered that smile back on his face. “Did Officer Nelson appear out of sorts to you yesterday? Angry? Sad?”
    “He seemed like Officer Nelson. You know, the way he always seems. In complete control, impeccably dressed. He was neither upset nor angry, or displaying any extreme behaviors. He was polite and succinct. I mean, we talked for like a total of three minutes. It was no big deal.”
    Because in all honesty, it wasn’t. I neglected to mention how his eyes twinkled and you could fairly hear his heart singing, but these two wouldn’t understand emotions like that due to their Mesozoic era mindsets. I kept the birds singing in a circle around Dana’s head and the flutter of angel wings to myself.
    Detective Montgomery sat back in his chair and nodded. “Okay then. Have you noticed anyone unusual hanging around your neck of the woods?”
    “You mean on my private stretch of beach? No. Sometimes old man Hinkle passes out drunk in my boat, but that’s about it.”
    “Have you ever heard Dana Nelson and Sophia Fleming argue?” Detective Moore pressed, clenching his fists.
    “Also negative, boys. I saw Sophia when I went to the library. Sometimes at Strange Brew, or the diner when I’m grabbing a quick meal between clients. She was always smiling and kind—even when she told me I’d racked up a twenty-dollar bill on overdue library books. I see Officer Nelson when I’m sticking my nose into one of his investigations, which, by the by, he keeps a tight lid on. In case you’re wondering about his integrity as an officer. And whenever I saw the two of them together, they were always laughing and happy. Happy . Got that? There was never any discourse I was aware of.”
    Detective Montgomery flicked his pen top in annoying fashion. I was grating on his nerves, without doubt. He probably wanted to go see whomever that lipstick stain belonged to as much as I wanted to see the bottom of a can of Pringles. “Did you hear anything last night?”
    I shook my head. Anyone who knew me knows that isn’t a surprise. “Nothing. I sleep like I’m in a coma. I didn’t see anything. I didn’t hear anything. I didn’t suspect anything was wrong between Officer Nelson and Sophia, or have any reason to suspect something could go wrong. I didn’t see anything until today, when my dog found her purse, which was what led me to look inside my boat.”
    They both stared at me. Okay, so Detective Montgomery stared. Detective Moore glared at me some more, as if the evil eye would compel me to confess something I’d purposely avoided telling him.
    But what else was there left to ask? I was officially a dead-end lead.
    As we sat in the uncomfortable silence, I heard voices from outside the door just before