Read Body in the Woods (A Reverend Annabelle Dixon Cozy Mystery Book 3) for Free Online Page B

turned to Annabelle and jabbed his finger toward Terry. “This man thinks it’s okay to treat a dog as if it doesn’t have feelings, as if it doesn’t have instincts. He wants the dog to go against its very nature!”
    “I do not!” Terry exclaimed, managing to muster enough courage to argue now that Annabelle was there.
    “I bloody well saw you!” the Inspector roared. “What kind of man doesn’t allow his dog to sniff a lamppost?! I’ve locked up hardened criminals more reasonable than you! This is animal cruelty! I’ve got half a mind to arrest you right now and stick you in a cell. Then you’ll know what it’s like to have somebody stopping you from doing what you want!”
    “Stop it!” Annabelle shouted, firmly. “This is ludicrous. Terry loves his dog as well as if he were his own child. Why, Chester is one of the most well-behaved dogs in the county.”
    “Thank you, Annabelle.”
    “Are you taking his side?” Nicholls growled, his eyes wild.
    “No!” Annabelle asserted. “Because there are no sides to take, Inspector. This is obviously a misunderstanding. Though I would expect better than berating a man on the street from an officer of the law!”
    Terry shimmied slightly to the side as Annabelle and the Inspector locked gazes. With small steps, he shuffled away, and when he was certain that they hadn’t noticed, he began walking briskly down the street, casting fearful glances behind him.
    “Reverend,” the Inspector began, some calm seeping into his voice, though he had a resolute expression on this face, “that was a police matter, one in which you had no business interfering.”
    Annabelle pursed her lips in frustration.
    “I have every right to defend the respectability of people living in my parish, Inspector. Especially when they are being subjected to the fury of a…. a… grump!”
    The Inspector breathed heavily, blood dissipating from his cheeks as he slowly gathered his emotions.
    “I have a deep respect for you, Reverend, but you can’t tell me how to do my job.”
    Annabelle raised her chin.
    “And how, Inspector, did your conversation with Louisa Montgomery go, exactly? You haven’t been to see her already have you? You must have got her out of bed.”
    The Inspector’s mouth opened in awe.
    “How did you–”
    “It’s a fairly obvious connection to make, considering the body must have been in the woods for a many years and her sister disappeared two decades ago. You certainly didn’t come here to partake in the wonderful delicacies available at Flynn’s tea shop or you would be a lot less abrasive. In fact, I would even surmise that your conversation with Louisa proved rather fruitless, considering the temper you just subjected that poor dog-walker to.”
    Annabelle watched as the Inspector mouthed the beginning of several words, before giving up entirely and bounding off down the street in a huff.
    “This case won’t go anywhere if you insist on being so hot-headed,” Annabelle muttered to herself, as she watched him go.
    She returned to her Mini, locked it, and strolled down the street. When she reached Flynn’s tea shop, she examined the small house that was set a little way back from the road, directly opposite. It was rather less elegant than most houses in Upton St. Mary, though no less comfortable. Its well-trimmed hedges, crisply starched curtains, and buffed windows hinted at a houseproud, hard-working owner. Annabelle took another step toward it before catching sight of something in the corner of her eye.
    There were cupcakes with strawberry icing, a treat she had not enjoyed for some time. Éclairs with soft cream spilling out of them. A cheesecake set to the side topped with raspberries and blueberries. These visions seemed to permeate and gain control over her mind as they sat on sumptuous display in the window of Katie Flynn’s tea shop. Momentarily forgetting the matter in hand, Annabelle entered a deep, hypnotic state from which she emerged to