Read A Taste of Magic (A Sugarcomb Lake Cozy Mystery Book 1) for Free Online Page B

complained in disappointment.
    “If it’s any consolation, it isn’t a normal cat.”
    “When did you get a cat?  Since when do you even like cats?” Liana demanded.
    “I don’t like cats.  I especially don’t like this cat,” Clarissa tried to explain.  “But it’s been hanging around and once I made the mistake of feeding it...well, there was no getting rid of it.  It sits at the window meowing and it’s so distracting.  It’s just easier to let it in.  At least then it shuts up and goes to sleep.”
    “It’s adorable!” Liana said, looking over at it wistfully.  “What’s its name?”
    “How should I know?”
    Liana blinked.  “You didn’t name the cat?”
    “Of course not,” Clarissa replied as if that was the dumbest question ever.
    “Well then what do you call it?”
    “Cat,” Clarissa said with a shrug. 
    “Aww, you did too name your cat!  You named it Cat!  That’s ridiculous...and also kind of perfect.  And you’re letting it sleep on your favorite chair!  You do so love it!” Liana teased.  “I think you just don’t want to admit that a cat won you over.  But it totally did.”
    “It did not!” Clarissa insisted vehemently, appalled by the thought.
    “Did too!” Liana trilled, sticking out her tongue. 
    Clarissa scowled.  “This visit has been just great but I have tons of work left to do,” she said, shooing her best friend out the door.  “Bye, love you!”
    Once Liana was gone Clarissa returned to her computer, eager to get back to work.  She had already done a lot of the technical stuff, like formatting a template and figuring out operating costs.  Although her budget would be very tight, she was hopeful she could make it work.
    It was an ambitious project that Clarissa was taking on, but doable.  Best of all, she finally felt motivated and hopeful about the future.  She was a reporter at heart.  Writing was what she did best, and she missed delivering the news to the residents of Sugarcomb Lake.
    But there was only so much that could be accomplished from inside the house.
    Being a reporter for a small town newspaper meant getting out and interacting with the community.  People wanted to read about local events and juicy interviews.  They wanted to see pictures and read editorials.  They wanted to feel like they were a part of whatever was going on around town.
    And of course, right now the big news was Jed Black’s murder.
    On a whim, Clarissa decided to walk over to the cabin where the murder had taken place.  She tucked her phone into her pocket, intending to snap a photo or two of the crime scene if the opportunity presented itself.  She hoped that wasn’t disrespectful – but she was a reporter and she had a job to do.
    She knew roughly where the mayor’s tiny wood cabin was – it only a short distance from her own place.  Of course, even if she hadn’t known where it was, it would have been easy to find.  All she had to do was follow the procession of vehicles driving out of town and into the woods.
    In a small place like Sugarcomb Lake, a murder wasn’t an everyday occurrence.  It wasn’t even an every-decade occurrence!  So when something like that happened, it was big news.  It was no real surprise that virtually everyone in town had gone out to see the site of the crime for themselves.  Maybe that was tacky, but in Sugarcomb Lake it was simply what was done.
    But as it turned out, there wasn’t much to see. 
    The cabin, from the outside, looked as normal as ever. 
    The inside was inaccessible, as the door was blocked off by yellow police tape. 
    The officers on scene weren’t allowing anyone to get too close.  Infuriatingly, they didn’t seem to be too hard at work investigating, either.  They seemed more interested in chatting with the local townsfolk, talking and laughing and drinking coffee.
    There were a lot of people there who Clarissa recognized.  There were other faces that were familiar but she didn’t