Read Judy's Death (Cara Daniels Cozy Mystery Book 2) for Free Online Page A

“Absolutely
not. I want to support Andrew. Look, everyone’s in and seated now. He’ll be out
in a minute.”
    The women settled down and chatted
excitedly. No one noticed Andrew as he walked to the front of the room. He
smiled at the women and waited. One by one, nosiness got the better of them and
they began to grow quiet.
    Andrew smiled even more and said, “Good
evening, thank you for coming here tonight.” His smile wavered and he took a
deep breath. “I’m A. J. Moss. I’m Andrew James Moss.”
    Nobody seemed to breathe and the air
seemed impossibly still. Cara braced herself, ready to shove Judy out into the
corridor in the event of a stampede.
    Andrew looked less confident. He
swallowed and then began to talk about his struggle to become a writer. The
atmosphere slowly changed from hostile to friendly and interested. Some of the
women sat up straighter and patted their hair down as Andrew aimed smiles in
their direction. His easy-going charm and ready smile soon won them over.
    Judy’s hand was fiddling away with her
pearl necklace. She looked at Cara and whispered, “Phew! I thought they were
going to lynch him.” Her hand dropped to her side and she shot Andrew a big
smile.
    Andrew reached out to the table behind
him and picked up a book. “I’m going to read a bit from my first book, you
probably know this one! It’s the book that started this amazing journey for me.
I’ll also read from my latest book.” He opened the paperback and leant against
the table.
    Cara had only read the first few
chapters of his book previously before deciding it wasn’t for her. Andrew
started reading from the middle of the book. He showed no signs of
embarrassment as he read out the steamier parts. Unlike Cara who felt like her
cheeks were actually going to burst into flames at any second.
    She looked at Judy to see if she felt the
same. Cara couldn’t read Judy’s expression. Judy was standing very still, as if
transfixed by Andrew’s words.
    The readings were soon over and the
women queued up to have their books signed.
    After ten minutes Judy said to Cara,
“I’ll wait here until the book signing has finished. Would you see how the
bookseller is doing downstairs? If he thinks he’s finished for the night, he
can go.”
    Cara was reluctant to leave Judy’s side
but thought she could run downstairs, do what she had to, and be back in the
room in five minutes. She jogged out of the room and down the stone steps. As
soon as she walked into the hall where the bookseller was she noticed Lauren
and Millie huddled together in a corner. Lauren was holding a tablet device and
smiling. What were they up to? Was it something to do with Judy?
    Cara casually walked up to the
bookseller’s table and picked up a book. The man behind the table said, “Are
you going to buy that? It’s one of A. J. Moss’. I was hoping to sell loads but
most people have brought their own to be signed.”
    Cara glanced down at the book. This was
Andrew’s first book. A movement from Lauren caught her eye. Cara said to the
man, “I’m just having a look.”
    The man tutted and said, “Typical.
That’s what they all say and then they order them online.” He pointed towards
the door. “Look at those women that are walking out now, I could have made a
killing with book sales today. But no, they had to bring their own. I might as
well start packing up, the event’s nearly over.” He moved towards the other end
of the table.
    Cara opened the book and made a
pretence of reading it as she moved closer to Lauren and Millie. Their heads
were together and they were wearing the same expression of glee. Cara gripped
the book, they were up to something and she was going to find out what that
was!
    A few minutes later Millie cackled with
joy. “This is going to ruin her! I love it! I can’t wait to see her face.”
    Lauren joined in with the cackling. “I
know. Nobody will want her on the committee after this. She’ll probably lose
her job