Read Dog Days Murderous Nights: Winnona Peaks Mysteries Book 1 for Free Online Page A

pretending to have a career and never making any money.  Her emotions are just all haywire.”  The coffee finished the last of the gurgles and she got up to retrieve the pot.  “Any cream or sugar?”
    Gregory shook his head.  “Just black, thanks.” Taking a sip he chuckled slightly, looking out into the night. “Maybe I should hire you to make my coffee.  This is amazing.” 
    “I learned to roast beans a few years back.  Business slows down in the winter and a girl has to keep busy somehow.” She remembered as she sat back down.
    Gregory took another sip and looked her in the eye.  “I’ve seen quite a few dead people and strange things, Christy.  All those haywire emotions could just mean that she was the one who killed him.”
    “Over getting fired?”
    “Wouldn’t be the first crime of passion I’ve ever seen, and it takes quite a bit of anger to rip that plunger off the screen door.” He waved his cup toward the front door.  “If you’ve got a drill and a screwdriver, I’ll fix that for you.”
    “Remember, Mr. Binks.  I’m not hiring, right now.” She smiled.  “I guess I can see how you can see that.  She really hates dogs.  That might have pushed her over the edge.  But she’s the one that told us about the allergy.  Why would the killer point to the only clues we have?”
    “Well, then there’s this clue,” he said, pointing to the white hair on t table he found in J.W.’s room.  “Could you get me a Ziploc?  I need to make sure the police get this.”  He held up the tuft of white hair.
    As she went to the top drawer, she looked at it closely. “That’s not human, is it?  You know what?  I’d bet you anything that’s Mable’s hair.”
    “Mable?” Gregory asked.
    “Mable is Mrs. Deswood’s dog.  Let me tell you.  She’s a piece of work.  It’s like she lives in a Manhattan penthouse the rest of her days and anything else is camping down by the Winnona River.  I hate to talk about guests this way but she’s just a miserable person who loves going around barking orders like she’s the queen.
    “She did say she missed dinner and so far this hair puts only her at the scene of the crime.”
    “Did she know about his peanut allergy?” Gregory asked, taking a sip of coffee.
    “You know I’m not sure, but that reminds me of something.” Christy said, picking up the camera. She started quickly sifting through the shots, looking for something.  “It’s not there!”
    “What’s not there?”
    “Well right before you got there, J.W. was showing me a picture of this gorgeous beagle and was letting me know that the beagle was favored to win among certain circles.  Mrs. Deswood overheard what he said and threw quite the fit.”
    “So?” Gregory said.  Christy reached over so Gregory could look at the back of the camera where you could view the thumbnails.  “J.W. had a picture of the beagle.  It was a really great shot.  The picture is gone, now.”
    “Well, unless we can find some fingerprints or DNA on the body we don’t have a strong case.  The best thing to do would to be get a confession.”
    “Well then, we’ll just have to get a confession,” Christy said with a nod.  “What am I doing!  I have to be up in three hours and I’m drinking coffee.  Mr. Binks, you are positively a horrible influence on me.” Christy got up and dumped the rest in the sink.
    “Well, I guess you’re lucky that you only have to put up with me for a couple days, Ms. Roberts.” Gregory raised his coffee cup.  “I’m still going to fix that door.”
    “Oh, don’t worry about that.  The wind rips that thing out of the wall all the time.  You’d think I’d learn. Good night.” He watched her fade into the dark hallway.  “I’m still going to fix that door,” he mumbled to himself again.  He knew she was independent but he needed to fix something.  Anything.  He closed his eyes and remembered the last time he stood over a body in Dallas