Read Lie or Die: A Shelby Nichols Adventure for Free Online Page A

answered. “Bye.” I marched out the door with quick strides, eager to get away. I got to the elevator and punched the button, realizing it would be a huge mistake on my part to ever let my guard down around Uncle Joey. He had not only put me in my place earlier, but I realized he was all that stood between his men and me.
    If they ever found out what I did for him…what? What would they do? Try to use me against him? That wouldn’t work so well. Besides, they were all on the same team, right? They might want to use me for their own purposes, but Uncle Joey wouldn’t let that happen. We had an agreement. It made me that much more indebted to Uncle Joey, and it was definitely to my benefit that he stayed alive and well. So much for ever escaping him.
    I found my car and decided that instead of wallowing in my misery, I needed to compartmentalize my life. Yes, I was involved with Uncle Joey, but that was just a small part of what I did. I had a job to do and lost money to find. It was time to concentrate on the success of Shelby Nichols Consulting Agency.
    I pulled my car out of the parking garage and centered my thoughts back to the lost bank money. The lingerie shop wasn’t far, and I was eager to see what it looked like. A few minutes later, I found it in a little strip mall off Main Street.
    The “Novelty Creations” sign hung above the big windows where mannequins wearing sexy lingerie were prominently displayed. I opened the door, and a little bell rang, announcing my presence. A young woman came out from the back and greeted me, telling me to let her know if I needed any help.
    At the moment, I was the only customer in the shop, so I took my time to browse through the tables of underwear. The first table had a nice assortment of styles and sizes, but the second table was not what I expected. Now I understood where the ‘novelty’ part came in. Embarrassed, I quickly put the underwear down, and decided to talk to the clerk.
    “Did you find what you needed?” she asked.
    “Actually, I was wondering if I could ask you a couple of questions,” I said. “Are you Dottie Weir?”
    “No,” she answered. A blanket of suspicion covered her thoughts. “Why do you want to know?” Was I from the insurance company? She’d already filled out everything they wanted.
    “I’m a private investigator, and I just wanted to ask her a few questions,” I said, hoping to put her at ease.
    “Well, that’s going to be hard, since she’s dead,” she answered. “What’s this about?”
    “She’s dead?” I asked, feeling my stomach drop. “When?”
    “About a year ago.”
    “Oh.”
    “I inherited this shop,” she said. “I’m her daughter, Emily. Maybe I can help you?”
    If she was her daughter, did that mean Keith was her cousin? I’d have to be careful. “That would be great,” I said. “I’m actually here about some lost money that I’m trying to find.” I listened to her thoughts, but only detected mild curiosity. Might as well get it over with. “I understand Keith Bishop worked here for a while. Did you know him?”
    Her mind closed up with anger. “Yeah, he was my cousin.” She put it together. “So you’re looking for the money he stole? Are you with the police?”
    “No. I’m working for the bank he robbed. Do you have any ideas or thoughts about where the money might be?”
    She was thinking that Keith was responsible for her mother’s death, and that she’d always suspected he’d used the shop as a cover for something illegal. But after he went to jail there was nothing going on, so it couldn’t have been true.
    What did she mean by that? “What was Keith’s relationship with your mother? Did he have anything to do with her death?”
    “I’ve always thought so…although he didn’t exactly kill her,” she said, but the fact that I asked made her want to confide in me. “She died of a heart attack, but Keith was here the night she died, and they had a huge argument. At least