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Adams explained.
    “I’m sorry, what’s this regarding?” Daisy wondered. 
    “The murder of Hank Hammond,” Deputy Adams revealed. 

 
     
     
    Chapter Thirteen
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Daisy’s thoughts began swirling like crazy.  Yet again, her instincts had been dead on.  She knew it was going to be a rough day.  She just didn’t realize her weekend trip would be turned upside down.   
    So much for coffee.  The cops wanted to talk to her at the crime scene right away.  Caffeine would have to wait.  At first, Daisy wasn’t sure why the police were so keen on talking to her.  They couldn’t possibly consider her to be a suspect.  She’d just met Hank Hammond last night, and had only exchanged a few words with him in passing.  On top of that, she had no reason to want Hank dead. 
    When Daisy found out that the police wanted to talk to her old roommate Chloe Wilson as well, the plot began to thicken.  Daisy, Chloe, and the deputies arrived at the scene of the crime.   
    “I’m sorry I dragged you into this,” Chloe said when they met up. 
    “What are you talking about?  You have nothing to be sorry about.  You just invited me to the launch of your book.”
    “Who knew it would end up turning into a killer party after all?” Chloe bemoaned. 
    “Do you know how it happened?” Daisy asked. 
    “Not a clue.”  Chloe leaned in.  “But those guys apparently think I do.”  She nudged at the deputies.  “I was hoping you could clear my name.”
    Daisy whispered back.  “There’s no reason for your name to be dirty in the first place.”
    “Tell them that.”
    It wasn’t long before things got more explosive than ever. 

 
    Chapter Fourteen
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    As they arrived at the publishing company, it looked like there were close to a dozen deputies on the scene, not to mention a forensic team.  And of course, some familiar faces from the party last night.  That included Hank’s wife Amelia, his mistress Olivia Connors, his other mistress Lindsay Donohue, his former slush pile assistant Trevor Webster, and his former editor Jonah Ball. 
    Daisy looked across the parking lot and saw Hank Hammond’s body on the pavement.  There was a swollen red band of skin across his neck, making it pretty clear that he’d been strangled.  What a way to go out, strangled in the parking lot of your own company. 
    Suddenly, Daisy and Chloe became less concerned with the body, and more focused on the police detective approaching them. 
    “Detective Stern, this is Chloe Wilson and Daisy McDare.  They were both at the party last night,” Deputy Adams said. 
    Detective Stern lived up to his name.  He looked like he hadn’t laughed in years.  Then again, given what he saw on the job day in and out, there probably wasn’t much to chuckle about.  Stern was probably in his early fifties, but his wrinkles and receding hairline made him look like he was in his late sixties.  He was unusually tall for a detective.  He would look more at home on a basketball court. 
    Daisy did not envy the life of a big city detective.  Unlike the small town detectives Daisy usually came across, Stern no doubt had solved plenty of murders.  He seemed unfazed by this crime scene.  Rarely had Daisy seen someone so unaffected by the sight of a dead body.  Detective Stern looked at Hank Hammond’s crime scene as if it was as common of a sight as a car going through a red light. 
    Daisy hoped she’d never become so desensitized at the sight of a dead body.  It was just as unsettling for her as it ever was.  It didn’t matter that Hank Hammond had more enemies than friends.  Just because he was a scumbag didn’t mean he deserved to die.  Apparently someone disagreed.  Once again, there was no shortage of people with a reason to want him dead.  Daisy was not one of them.  That should make her conversation with the detective rather short. 
    “Why are we here?” Daisy