Read Dead Girl in a Green Dress for Free Online

what you mean."
    "Not exactly…"   Byrony picked up a pillow with a needlepoint cover, thinking that she needed some lessons in interrogating a subject. She tried again, "It’s a beautiful place, and top quality, I’m sure. But when I was there this morning, I felt – I don’t know, maybe something is off?"
    Mrs. Giroux rearranged the coasters on the glass coffee table. "You certainly won’t receive personal attention there like you will here, or most of the other B&Bs in town."
    "Has it always been like that?" Byrony put down the pillow and watched the other woman carefully. "Or did it change in the last four or five years?"
      The innkeeper gave a little snort. "Since Mr. and Mrs. Prince took over, you mean? I don’t think they’ve helped. He seems obsessed with changing things just for the sake of change, but at least he’s charming. She on the other hand—" The woman snorted again, and rolled her eyes. "Let’s just say she has a very high opinion of herself."
    Byrony curbed the urge to shout, Ya think? Instead, she ingenuously asked, "So they aren’t well liked here on the island?"
    "They don’t really associate with us common folks." Mrs. Giroux’s tone was practically a sneer.
    But just when Byrony thought she was getting to some good stuff, the phone in the lobby rang. The innkeeper hastily excused herself, and Byrony went back to her room. As she sat in the window seat, she hoped Tate’s research had been more fruitful than hers.
    A half-hour later, she decided to go out for an early dinner. Pizza was her comfort food of choice, so Byrony used her tablet to find a local place, then grabbed her sweatshirt and headed out the door. In the fading light, a chilly breeze blew dead and falling leaves down the road. When she turned the corner of the street facing the waterfront, her cell phone rang.
    "Evening, Sunshine." Tate’s low, smoldering voice greeted her when she answered. "Had dinner yet?"
    "Actually, I’m headed for Island Pizzeria right now. Want to join me?" As soon as the question slipped out, Byrony hoped she didn’t sound too desperate.
    Tate gave a slight chuckle. "Why Miss Long, I thought you’d never ask. Go ahead and order a large with lots of meat. I’ll meet you there as soon as I turn my ride in at the livery."
    "Okay, see you." A little thrill of excitement raced through her as Byrony clicked off and shoved her phone back inside her purse. She couldn’t believe talking to him for less than two minutes left her breathless as a high school girl. But the truth was, she didn’t wanted to eat dinner alone, and Tate was the only person on the island she knew. That and the fact that she was anxious to hear what he’d found out were the only reasons she was eager to see him she told herself.
    Nothing else . Like she believed that lie.
    Patrons filled the tiny pizza restaurant. By the time Byrony stood in the line and placed her order, only one empty table remained. Dirty dishes and two beer mugs littered the middle of it. Half the customers crowded close to the big screen TV mounted in the far corner, where a hockey game flickered. Loud laughter and periodic shouts erupted from the crowd. After a long five minutes, the place’s lone waitress finally appeared, and with a muttered apology cleared the table.
    She reappeared with clean silverware and a basket of freshly baked breadsticks. "On the house since you have to wait."
    Byrony had just finished the second breadstick when Tate walked in the door. The slow smile that spread across his face made the pulse in her throat jump. So much for her rationalizations. The man oozed sex appeal. He sat down and reached for a breadstick.
    The waitress suddenly became very efficient and appeared at his elbow. "Get you something?"
    Tate looked her up and down with the unhurried, deliberate way Byrony recognized. "Sure, sweetheart. I’ll take a beer. Whatever you have on tap is fine. Want one, Sunshine?"
    Byrony shook her head, while the waitress