Read Limoncello Yellow (Franki Amato Mysteries) for Free Online Page A

can do anything from programming to research. We have him fifteen to twenty hours per week, depending on his school load."
    " Oh, you're in college?" I'd assumed he was barely in high school.
    " Yeah, I go to Tulane. But I can see how you'd be confused. People think I'm much older than I really am." David straightened up his posture a bit. "I'm nineteen, but I can pass for twenty-three easy."
    " Yes, I can see that," I lied. Veronica and I shared a smile at his boyish confidence.
    David slid out of his backpack and then his jacket, both of which he tossed onto a nearby desk. He looked like a boy who had just grown two feet over the course of a summer , and he was so thin that I had a sudden urge to feed him a pan of lasagna.
    All of the sudden, he spotted the laptop on my desk and ran over to pick it up. " Dude ! That's your computer? Awwwesooome! Can I help you connect that to the printer, or anything?"
    I watched anxiously as he turned my laptop over in his hands. I still owed the credit card company over two thousand dollars for that computer and would never be able to replace it. I snatched it from his grasp. "Thanks, but I took care of that this morning. Right now, Veronica and I are just waiting on a client—"
    Our conversation was cut short as a tall, muscular man in his mid-to-late thirties entered the office. Speak of the devil , I thought. And then I wondered if Ryan Hunter was the devil. I could sense a darkness about the guy, and it wasn't just because he was under police suspicion. His ice blue eyes and cruel mouth spoke volumes about his character.
    " Ryan Hunter?" Veronica asked.
    " Yes. Are you Veronica Maggio?"
    " I am, and this is my colleague, Franki Amato, and our IT consultant, David Savoie. Franki and I will be handling your case. Let's walk over to our conference room so we can talk in private."
    " Sure," Ryan replied, furrowing his thick brow.
    I glanced at David before leaving the waiting room. His exuberant chatter of moments before had given way to an uneasy silence. Even he seemed disturbed by Ryan Hunter 's presence. I smiled reassuringly at David and then closed the office door behind me.
    " Can I get you anything, Ryan? Coffee, water, a soda?" Veronica asked as we entered the dark wood-paneled conference room.
    I was suddenly reminded of the first time I 'd met Veronica—she had shown up uninvited to a beer bash at my off-campus apartment with a bottle of Pepsi, of all things.
    Ryan settled into a brown leather chair. "Do you have any bourbon?"
    " No, but we have Pepsi," Veronica responded, like it was the next best thing to bourbon.
    Oh my God, what is her deal with Pepsi ? I wondered.
    " I'll just skip the drink then," Ryan said, visibly annoyed. And then he added, as though he'd done us a favor by coming, "I don't have much time."
    " Okay, then. Let's get started." Veronica took a seat and opened up her laptop, careful not to break one of her perfectly manicured pink nails. "We have some routine questions that we typically ask our clients. So if you'll just bear with us for a few minutes, we'd appreciate it."
    Ryan stared at her blankly.
    "So, from what you told me over the phone," Veronica continued, unaffected by his rudeness, "you're the main suspect in the murder of Jessica Evans. Is that correct?"
    " I'm the only suspect in Jessica's murder," he replied in an irritated tone.
    " Did you give the police an alibi for the time of the murder?" I asked.
    " No, because I don't have one." I couldn't help but notice that he didn't offer any explanation of his whereabouts.
    " Do you know if the police have any other leads?" I continued.
    He frowned. "Either they don't have any, or, if they do, they're not interested in investigating them. That's why I'm here."
    " Okay. We'll look into that," Veronica said, typing a reminder to herself on her laptop. But for now, let's talk about Jessica. How long had you been seeing her?"
    " About six months." He was twisting a paper clip he'd found on the