Read Murder by Chance (Betty Chance Mystery) for Free Online Page B

that way.
    Lori interrupted her thoughts and brought her back to the moment. She asked, “Do you have any idea who might have killed Farsi?”
    “Farsi wasn’t his name,” Betty informed her as the laptop’s screen lit up. “According to the FBI, an Alexander Farsi from Chicago doesn’t exist. Neither does Argylite Chemicals.”
    “What’s that?” asked Lori.
    “The company he claimed to have worked for.”
    “Wow!” said Lori, “you mean everything he said was a lie?”
    “I’m afraid so.”
    “Can’t they identify him with finger prints or DNA?” asked Lori.
    “Only if he’d ever been arrested or worked for the government.” Betty typed in her username and password. She thought she was being very clever when she initially set up password as the username and username as the password. But, according to her son Codey, a 4th grader could figure it out in thirty seconds. She’d never bothered to come up with anything else.
    Lori had avoided the question but now asked, “Do you think the killer was one of our passengers?”
    “I was afraid of that at first,” Betty sighed. “But if the murder occurred in Tyler Falls, the killer could have come on board and left without any of us noticing.”
    “That’s what Hannah’s complaining about, by the way,” Lori added.
    “That she could have been murdered?” Betty asked, as she clicked onto the Internet and accepted the hotel’s wireless access agreement.
    “No, that the bus stopping in Tyler Falls” Lori answered. “If it hadn’t, she says, she’d be a multi-millionaire now.”
    “What is she talking about” Betty barked. Sometimes, her clients tested her patience.
    “Don’t you know?” Lori asked. “A progressive slot hit a half-hour before you arrived. Someone won $13,000,000.00 on a machine there at Moose Bay.”
    “And Hannah thinks it should have been her?” Betty asked.
    “She says it was her machine that paid out. Go figure.” Lori chuckled.
    “Cripes,” Betty said as she logged into her website. “What else can go wrong?”
    “Maybe I should join you at Moose Bay,” Lori suggested.
    “No, I’m fine, stay in Chicago. I’ll keep you informed about what’s going on. Love you,” Betty said, and hung up.
    Betty’s eyes drifted toward her webpage displayed on her laptop. She used her finger to quickly scroll down to the comment section from her readers. Even without her posting about the deadly event, her fans were already posting about the homicide.
    She recognized most of the names. They were her regular passengers who also read her blog, or the many readers who never left their home but managed to “virtually” travel and eat with her across the country. These armchair travelers were kindred spirits who loved buffets, road trips and gambling as much as she did. Her readers were a constant support and inspiration to her. But there were also the unwelcomed trolls who posted thoughtless and cruel comments, even in the saddest of times.
    “ Hey what’s this about a guy being murdered on your tour? Are you okay? ” – retread77
    “ I just saw on Fox News that people are being killed on your tours. Do you think it’s terrorists? ” – patriotic44
    “ I always get killed at a casino—usually by a dollar slot machine. ” – vegas4evr
    “ Hey jerk, now is not the time to make jokes. Somebody’s dead. ” – retired hippie.
    “ Betty be careful! I love your tours! ” – grannygambls
    “ She can’t be safe if she eats the seafood buffet. Sorry, I couldn’t resist .” – lenowannbe74.
    Betty wanted to post, as her reply -- I was OKAY before I saw the POSTS -but didn’t. Instead she wrote, “ Thank you for your concerns about the tragedy on our tour bus. For full information as to what happened, click on any of the many news links provided by our readers. FYI, Moose Bay is one of my favorite casinos and is home to a wonderful buffet. I am completely confident that the rest of the tour will be not only safe,