Read Poisoned Pin: A Cozy Mystery (Brenna Battle Book 2) for Free Online

Do you know I haven’t taken a vacation—not more than a few days, anyway—in twenty years?”
    “Wow, that’s a long time!” Blythe put in. She was leaning in close. Not that it took much leaning. Ruth was a loud talker.
    “I’m putting you on speaker,” I said. “It’s just Blythe and me.”
    “Hello, Blythe! You know, I could never really get away. I didn’t have anyone to fill in long term at Little Swans.” I could hear the wistfulness in Ruth’s voice, underneath the genuine jubilation at being free from her responsibilities for the first time in decades. Her ballerinas had needed her. They probably still did. Instead of Miss Ruth, there was just us now. Me and Blythe and our empty mats.
    Ruth said, “So, how are my girls?”
    “We’re fine,” Blythe said.
    Miss Ruth laughed. “No, no. I’m glad you’re fine, but I meant my dancers!”
    “Oh. Uh … ” I said, “the truth is, they’re not here, Miss Ruth.”
    “That is, they haven’t come in to sign up yet,” Blythe said.
    “What! Well, they can’t just sit around on their duffs, crying into their tutus! Enough of this. They need to discover new things, just like I am. Don’t you worry, girls, I’m sending out an e-mail and a group text right now. I see you’re having a free trial night on Thursday, but classes start today, don’t they?”
    “Yes,” I said, “we thought we needed some time to advertise the free night, but we might as well get started with a regular class schedule as best we could. We thought if we had a few students who learned a thing or two, they could even show it off as part of the free trial class and demo. That would be the best advertisement. Brand new students already making progress. Local kids they know, doing judo. But so far that plan hasn’t panned out.”
    Blythe said, “We might have to plan- B it. Just try to get them in for the demo night.”
    “No, no. Plan A ! It’s a great idea, and my dancers are just the kids to get started with.”
    “Ruth,” I said tentatively, “don’t blame them if they don’t come. I think maybe that whole murder business put a damper on things. It’s understandable.”
    “I’m sure no one blames us anymore,” Blythe put in, “but it’s only natural not to want to think about something so unpleasant.”
    I said, “I guess we remind the whole town of a lot of unpleasant things.” Like the murder of their homegrown reporter, the corruption of some of the most trusted figures in Bonney Bay. And now, Derek’s death. It was only a matter of time before it got out that I was there. And if it turned out to be another murder …  
    “But, you’re heroes!” Ruth protested.
    Oh, Ruth. If only I could hug her right now. Miss Ruth was their hero; we were just interlopers. Sad, but true.
    “You just wait and see,” Ruth said. “My ballerinas will come through. We’re a tougher bunch than people think.”

7

    I settled in behind my desk, feeling much calmer now. I opened my laptop and stared at it, racking my brain, trying to guess what might have caused Derek’s death. Suffocation was a completely bloodless way to kill some one. So was poisoning. I searched signs of poisoning . Hmm. Seizures were a sign, and Derek, who had no known medical condition, had convulsed before he died. I looked over the top of my laptop at Blythe, who’d returned to her desk. Should I mention the possibility to her?
    “Maybe Miss Ruth can pull this off,” Blythe said, her mind clearly going in a completely different direction. “It’s still early. We might even have someone sign up in time to start with Sammi tonight.”
    Someone to mitigate the daggers Sammi would likely shoot me all practice long. As far as she was concerned, I’d ruined her life. Like, forever. She’d told me as much when she came in with a check and completed paperwork to start judo. Her mom had printed it out from our website and forced her to come in and join. She’d called later to confirm that Sammi