Read Murder Alfresco #3 for Free Online Page A

watched the taillights for a while. That’s when I noticed they were mismatched. One was darker red than the other.”
    “Which one?” asked Steve.
    Sunny thought for a moment. “The way I remember it, the one on the left was cherry red, the one on the right a more orangey-red.”
    “What about a license plate?”
    “I didn’t notice it. All I noticed was the taillights.”
    Steve gestured for her to go on.
    “I started wondering what they were doing out there at that time of night,” said Sunny, “and I looked back toward the winery. That’s when I saw the girl.”
    “You could see her from the main road?” asked Jute.
    “I could see that there was something pale hanging from the tree. Technically, I couldn’t see that it was a person, but the silhouette was instantly recognizable. I knew right away that’s what it had to be. I was hoping I was wrong, of course. I thought maybe it could be a swing or a piñata or a punching bag. Anything.”
    It was after six when Steve finally turned the tape recorder off, satisfied, for the moment, with the information they’d gathered.
    “Sun, I may want to get you back in here and go over this stuff again once we’ve had a chance to do a little more research,” he said. “I also think it might be a good idea to go out there together, maybe retrace your steps. I’ll give you a jingle about that later if we decide it’s necessary.” Steve looked at the other officer. “Anything else?”
    “Just one more.” Jute turned to Sunny. “I’m having trouble understanding why you walked home in the middle of the night from the party. Did you have a fight with your boyfriend?”
    “No.”
    “But he wouldn’t drive you home.”
    “I didn’t ask him to.”
    “Why not?”
    “He was enjoying himself with his friends, and he was the host. I didn’t want to bother him.”
    “And why didn’t you ask one of the other people at the party? It’s a short drive. It wouldn’t have been much of an inconvenience.”
    “I can’t explain. I just wanted to be away. It was nice to be outside, where it was quiet. I didn’t plan to walk home. It was an impulse when my phone was dead and I couldn’t call a cab.”
    “Wasn’t it cold outside?”
    “It was cold enough to need a jacket.”
    “But you didn’t have a jacket.”
    “No.”
    He wrote something on his notepad and looked at Steve. “That’s it for me.”
    Steve looked at his watch. “I’m meeting with a couple of reporters right after this, so you’ll be at liberty to discuss the case with whoever you want starting tomorrow. However,” he paused to exaggerate his eye contact with Sunny, “you will continue to have much more information about this crime than the general public. I would prefer that you keep it that way. We don’t want to start up the rumor mill on this one.”
    “I understand,” said Sunny. “Have you found out anything about who she was?”
    “We’re starting to piece things together. There’s nothing definite yet. Once we have a positive ID and the family has been notified, we’ll release what information we have to the media at that time.”
    They’ve ID’d her already, thought Sunny, he just doesn’t want to say so. “What about leads? Anything?”
    “We’re still gathering evidence.” Steve stood up. “Trust me, we’re going to do everything in our power to find those responsible.”
    Officer Jute excused himself, shaking hands with Sunny and raising his chin to Steve on his way out. “I’ll check in later,” he said at the door.
    “Thanks,” said Steve.
    Sunny sat back down, hoping Steve would do the same. “Do you know yet how she died?”
    Steve stayed standing. “Probably strangled, though there was evidence of some head trauma as well. The coroner is working on it now. We’ll know a lot more once the report comes back.”
    “And what about the people who own the winery?”
    “What about them?”
    “Did they have any idea why the girl might have been left