Read A Dubious Delivery (A Seagrove Cozy Mystery Book 9) for Free Online Page B

into that file that I didn’t think you’d noticed I was here,” Sadie said. “I don’t want to disturb you.”
    “I need a break,” he said, slipping off his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose.
    “Have you made any progress on the case of the missing painting? Or, more correctly, the case of the assault on the person of Cyrus Dumville? Actually, I’ve never seen the painting.”
    Sadie sat in one of the chairs across from Zack, and Mr. Bradshaw jumped into the other. “I can show you what it looks like,” she said.
    “The co-op has a bunch more by the same artist, Roger Orwin. He’s no longer in town, but his studio rental is all paid up so they still are selling his work. I want you to come look at his work with me.”
    “Why? Is there a clue as to who bashed Mr. Dumville?” Zack said, looking puzzled.
    “No. Because I want to buy one, and I’m not going to do it if you don’t like his work. I don’t want to have something on the wall that you hate to look at,” Sadie said.
    “If you like it, you should buy it,” he said. “If you like it, I can learn to live with it.”
    “Would you at least Google him and take a look?” Sadie said.
    “He does this hidden picture thing, where the longer you look at the painting, the more little details you see. I thought it would be fun for us to discover them together.”
    Zack obediently clicked his mouse and typed on his keyboard. He chuckled.
    “There’s a crab eating ice cream,” he said.
    “That’s my kind of crab.” He clicked through a few more pages.
    “Very cheerful,” he said. “I approve. And I’m even game for playing find the picture if its means spending time with you.”
    He looked up and smiled wearily at Sadie. “Have you learned anything about Cyrus?” he asked.
    “I sent Wilson over to look for evidence, but she didn’t find anything germane. Not that she did an exhaustive search of the premises, we are horribly slammed at the moment.”
    Sadie thought it was too bad that Zack was shorthanded, especially because Sylvester, Betty’s boyfriend, would have loved to work in Seagrove. There was a hiring freeze until the town budget passed. The drawback to a small town, New England living; the yearly budget vote.
    “I’ll let you know if I see anything I think should be investigated,” Sadie said. “Did they do photos and whatnot at the hospital?”
    “Yes, we took evidence and pictures. And Wilson took pictures at his home – not that there was anything to see. So unless he fell and hit his head outside somewhere, someone cleaned the scene.”
    “You think he fell?” she asked.
    “If you hadn’t actually seen the missing painting, I would have put money on it,” Zack said. “His facts are very fuzzy.”
    “Could that be because he was hit on the head?” Sadie asked.
    “Maybe, but did he seem clear of his facts when he picked up the painting, or was he vague then, too?” Zack asked.
    “I don’t know,” Sadie said. “I wasn’t paying that much attention. He seemed fuzzy, but then a lot of older people seem unsure of their facts. I don’t know what to think.”
    “Me either,” Zack said. “And until that painting surfaces, we don’t have much to go on.”
    “I’ll keep my eyes open for it,” Sadie said and got up.
    “Come on, Mr. Bradshaw, The Chief has work to do.” Mr. Bradshaw jumped down from his chair and trotted around the desk to say goodbye to Zack.
    “My name is Zack, Sadie. Zack.” He rubbed his eyes again.
    “I call you Zack,” Sadie said, “But Mr. B knows you as The Chief. You can’t expect him just to switch over like that. We have to introduce the new name gradually.”
    She was talking through her hat, and they both knew it, but it made him smile so she felt justified. She walked around the desk and kissed him on the cheek before leaving him to his headache-inducing file.
    Lucy and Betty were sitting on a bench eating ice cream cones when Sadie and Mr. Bradshaw arrived back on