Read Death Before Diamonds (Sky High Pies Cozy Mysteries Book 10) for Free Online Page A

both watched as the small furry
creature lifted its leg and threatened to moisten the tip of Homer’s boot.
    “Poor thing doesn’t realize he’s
not tall enough to tinkle that high,” Homer said.
    “And his name is King Kong?”
    He frowned. “Peg said she wanted
something ironic.”
    “Uh-huh. And what do you call the
little guy? King or Kong?
    “Me?” Homer’s eyes lit up with
mischief. “I call him something that isn’t polite to say in mixed company,
Katie. Most people call him Double K, which is about as far from ironic as you
can get. I mean, why bother with King Kong in the first place, right?”
    We both fell silent again and
watched as the miniature mutt took care of business without dampening the boot.
Then Homer asked how things were at Sky High Pies.
    “I haven’t come in this week,” he
said regretfully. “What’s been going on?”
    “We’re busy as always!” I answered.
“How about the museum? Have you had many visitors this week?”
    He frowned. “We’re closed for
repairs. I accidentally dropped the garage door opener in the toilet, so I’m
waiting on Ernie Stewart to come by and reprogram the new one that I bought.”
    “What about the gizmo on the wall?”
    “I broke that a couple of years
back,” Homer said. “Hit it too hard with my elbow and smashed the plastic doohickey
that covers the thingamabob.”
    I smiled at his explanation.
“Accidents happen!”
    “Every five minutes or so around
here,” he said, glancing down at the puppy on the leash. “Last night, this
little bugger christened the new area rug in the guest bedroom, destroyed a pair
of my wife’s fancy high heels and left a tiny brown gift in the middle of the
kitchen floor.”
    “I guess that’s par for the course
with someone named King Kong,” I said.
    “Yeah, I suppose,” Homer agreed. “But
enough about this furry beast. Was there something I can help you with, Katie?”
    “Actually, I wanted to ask you
about a man that you may have talked with at Sky High last week.” I pulled out
my phone and showed him the picture of Theo Greer. “Do you remember him?”
    Homer angled toward the screen and
peered at the image.
    “Yeah,” he said. “I talked to him
briefly that morning, and I’ve also seen that picture before, too. I was
leaving the bank earlier today and some fellow was standing out front. Came up
and asked if I’d seen his brother in town. I told him that I remembered him,
but couldn’t provide much that would be useful. Then I went to get in my car,
but the guy started pestering some woman.”
    “Seriously? What happened?”
    The dog on the leash began to chew
on Homer’s shoelaces. He quickly pulled his foot out of harm’s way and leaned
down to pet the pooch.
    “There you go, buddy,” Homer cooed.
“That’s a good boy. We’ll go inside in a minute or two and you can gnaw on the
rawhide bone.”
    Homer finished with the puppy and
turned his attention back to me.
    “How did he pester the woman?” I
asked.
    “He was just a pest,” Homer said.
“He kept pushing the picture into her face and demanding that she look at it. I
guess they exchanged a few spicy words before he eventually left her alone.”
    “Did she report him to the police?”
    “I don’t know about that,” he
answered. “I heard about it from Roxie Lambert. She had a similar experience at
Bubble Brite Laundry when she stopped to ask June Taggart about a stain on her
silk dress.” He scowled at the picture of Theo Greer again. “The guy with the
photograph of his brother was harassing June and demanding to know if she was
familiar with a woman named Arlene.”
    “Arlene?” I said. “Did you hear a
last name?”
    Homer narrowed his watery gaze. “Not
that I recall,” he said. “But I’m seventy-five, Katie. Some parts don’t work as
well as they used to.” He flashed a smile and chuckled. “And, as far as I know,
they don’t make a little blue pill for the brain yet.”
    I nodded silently at the