Read Arson Takes a Dare: The Third Marisa Adair Mystery Adventure (Marisa Adair Mysteries Book 3) for Free Online Page B

or a bat.” Starla admonished her friend. “Anyway, the newspapers jumped on the story like starved ducks on an innocent, doomed June bug. Mayla’s picture was everywhere for months.”
    “She had black hair down to her ass—” Glancing at Althea, Flora May grimaced. “—I mean, her behind, and huge brown eyes in a pretty face.”
    Althea sighed. “Mayla was the face of tragedy, at least until the media found something else more exciting.”
    “Everyone thought the girl would become famous. They said that when Mayla played the piano, it was as if she plucked people’s emotions with her fingers on the piano keys.” Starla’s gentle eyes filled with tears.
    Rolling her eyes, Flora May put her arm around her smaller friend. “Starla, that girl’s been dead a long time. Save your tears for the living. They’re the ones who need it.”
    Starla leaned in her friend’s arm and swiped at her nose with the back of her hand. “She was my babysitter. I was too young to remember it, but my mother said Mayla did a good job. What happened was just an accident.” She allowed Flora May to guide her to the suite’s door.
    Flora May stopped in surprise. She stared down at her little friend.
    “Accident?” Althea’s thin eyebrows rose in her catlike face. “What do you mean, Starla?”
    The petite nursing assistant shrugged. “My mom said I wandered out in the road while Mayla was watching me. A neighbor stopped, scooped me up, and carried me inside. The neighbor told my mom that Mayla was snoozing on the couch. My mother was horrified.”
    Flora May frowned. “I’d have been more than horrified. I’d have ripped that girl a new one and fired her pretty ass.”
    “Mom said she was mad, but Mayla told her she’d been up all night practicing for a show at school. She promised it would never happen again.”
    “I have better things to do than talk about a dead kid.” Flora May grabbed Starla’s thin arm. “We’ll leave you alone to get settled, Mrs. Flaxton.” 
    Starla elbowed Flora May.
    The taller woman’s face twisted under the tower of dark hair. “Oh, we do have something to say. Mrs. Flaxton, Starla and I worked at the Home Away From Home nursing facility, and then we worked at the assisted living center.”
    “I know.” Althea wondered about Starla’s elbow in Flora May’s ribs. “I was a resident at both locations.”
    “Yes, ma’am. I’ve gotten to know you over the months. You’re a smart and brave lady.” She pulled away from Starla to plant her work-roughened hands on her wide hips. “But you were wrong to use Marisa Adair’s story in your books.”
    “Flora May’s right, Mrs. Flaxton. Please don’t use us in your books. My mother doesn’t want her association with the nursing home made public. It was years ago, and she just wants to forget it.” She glanced at Flora May. “And my friend is very happy with her boyfriend, Henry Worthington. Please don’t destroy our lives like you did Marisa’s life.”
    Althea’s mouth fell open as the two women pulled the door shut after them.
    Clay put his arm around Althea’s shoulders.
    Althea straightened her spine. “Clay, I started out as an obscure self-published author. I sold a handful of books a month. I felt safe using the details of Marisa’s life in my books. Fame, let alone fortune, never crossed my mind. I was convinced my work as Seretha Ranier would molder in obscurity. And I thought if Marisa did find out I had written about her childhood, I’d simply offer her my apologies.”
    “Althea, are you saying you’d rather ask forgiveness than permission? That action without honor is permissible as long as you don’t get caught? Or if you’re found out, then all you have to do is to say you’re sorry?” Sadly shaking his head, Clay walked to the door. The lines in his face deepened and his shoulders slumped. “Are you really that person?”
    As the door clicked shut behind him, Althea threw herself onto the couch and