Read Murder the Tey Way: A Golden Age of Mystery Book Club Mystery (The Golden Age of Mystery Book Club Mysteries 2) for Free Online Page B

Old Cadfield this past summer had nothing to do with me. I opened my mouth to issue a retort when I decided he was probably worried about me.
    “You must be terribly upset,” he said. “Do the police think it’s safe for you to stay in the house by yourself?”
    “Brian didn’t seem concerned. Oh!” I clapped my hand over my mouth, but it was too late.
    “Brian Donovan’s in charge of the case?” Al asked, an edge to his tone.
    “He is a homicide detective,” I reminded him. “At this point no one knows much of anything. Though from what I’ve gathered, the victim has burgled the homes of some of the book club members.”
    “Lexie, promise me you won’t play detective again. Last time, you came close to being severely injured.”
    I hid my annoyance as best I could. “I don’t intend to play at anything. And now I must cut our conversation short or I’ll be late. I’m meeting Rosie. It’s been ages since we’ve gotten together.”
    “Keep safe. Make sure all the windows and doors are locked. And use that alarm system I installed.”
    “I will,” I promised, thinking how vulnerable we all were if someone wanted to kill us.
    “We’ll talk again soon. Love you.”
    “Love you, too,” I said automatically, and hung up.
    Did I love Al? I pondered the question as I climbed into my car. I cared for him and I was glad he cared for me, but I felt neither lust nor an overwhelming romantic yearning to be with him, both of which I’d experienced in the past and now regarded as bothersome addictions.
    I wanted Al in my life, but I didn’t want to marry him. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to live with him. So maybe I didn’t love him—yet. He was kind and level-headed, a mature man capable of taking part in a mature relationship. The kind of man I should be involved with at this point in my life.
    I backed out of the garage. Darkness had fallen, so I edged carefully into the street to avoid hitting any walkers. A car door closed as I was about to pass the Roberts’ house. A sleek black Lincoln zoomed out of their driveway, just missed ramming into me, and sped down Magnolia Lane. I slammed on the brakes and squealed to a stop, furious at the driver’s arrogance. Corinne, dressed in one of her power suits, approached. I lowered the car window.
    “Who the hell was that!” I demanded. “He almost crashed into me.”
    “I’m sorry, Lexie. My friend and I had a disagreement. He has a short fuse. I’ll give him hell when I call him later.”
    Her apology took most of the wind out of my sails. “Just tell him to be more careful when he backs up.”
    “Don’t worry, I will,” she said, her tone flat but oddly menacing. She gestured with her chin to my backyard. “That was some hell of a sight you must have woken up to. The place was lousy with cops and techies when I left for work this morning. All they would tell me was that the victim was a male in his thirties.”
    “His name’s Leo Lionni. He fixed a few things for me when I first moved in, but I’ve no idea why he was spying on us last night—unless he was planning to rob me. I heard he was in the mob.”
    Corinne’s eyes opened wide in astonishment. “Really? Who told you that?”
    “I can’t remember,” I lied. “So many people have called to talk about it.”
    She lowered her voice. “This commotion has Felicity totally strung out. She couldn’t go to work today. I offered to stay home, but she insisted she’d be fine.”
    “I wish you would have called me. I would have looked in on her.”
    The front door opened and Felicity appeared in a bathrobe, her face pale without lipstick.
    “I heard a car drive up, but you never came inside,” she said querulously.
    Corinne rushed over to her sister. “Sorry, love. I was talking to Lexie.” She waved to me and shut the door behind them.
    There’s something odd about those two, I thought as I drove away, though I couldn’t put my finger on it. But maybe I was overly suspicious, given