Cupid's Corpse: A Cozy Mystery (Gemma Stone Cozy Mystery Book 3) by Willow Monroe Page A

not figuring out anything. That’s the sheriff’s job and I’m sure she’s very good at it. I’m here to prove they’re blackmailing guests with video shot in their rooms. And this gives me the perfect opportunity to do it with everyone’s attention elsewhere.”
    “But...”
    “Stay out of it, Gemma,” he said, his voice taking on a stern, cold sound she’d never heard before “Let the sheriff solve this.”
    “Nick, I have to do something. I’m so angry...” Gemma protested.
    “Drop it, Gemma. I mean it. And do not, I repeat, do not, tell them who you really are until they confront you with information otherwise. Got it?” Nick snapped.
    Gemma’s mouth opened but no words came out. She stared hard at Nick, who suddenly looked and sounded like a stranger. This wasn’t the man she knew. This wasn’t the man she was engaged to at one time, the one she thought she might still be in love with. He turned and stalked inside the cabin without another word, leaving her standing in the cold.
    ***
    W hen Gemma woke the next morning, Nick was already up and dressed.
    “Coffee’s ready,” he told her quietly.
    “Thank you,” Gemma said, reaching for her robe and belting it around her. Even with the fire blazing, it was cold. She wondered how much of that came from what had happened the night before, losing Mr. Muzak and having the feeling that she’d somehow lost Nick as well.
    “I’ll be back after while,” he told her. “I got a call from Harold. He wants to talk to me about something.”
    Gemma looked up in surprise.
    “I don’t think it has anything to do with the murder, but I’m betting it has something to do with the blackmailing scheme. Maybe they’re having to work a little faster because the cops are everywhere,” he said holding up his hands. “Give me an hour or so and then I’ll meet you in the restaurant for breakfast.”
    “Be careful,” Gemma said.
    Nick waved her words aside, buttoned up his coat and headed out the door.
    Gemma stood there for a while, coffee cup in hand, watching Nick trudge through the cold wind, climb into the Escalade and drive away. Evidently, Harold wanted to meet him somewhere away from the main lodge. Perhaps because he had secrets to sell.
    After taking a hot shower, Gemma dressed in her warmest clothes and walked down to the main lodge. The parking lot was much emptier than it had been when they arrived. And parked right up close to the building were several county vehicles. The party was over, and she assumed that the authorities had probably questioned as many people as they could and then cleared them, giving them permission to leave. What a sad ending to a beautiful weekend that had begun with the hope of finding true love.
    Just as she opened one of the heavy doors to the lodge, a tan SUV drove up and Sheriff Burton climbed out. She looked tired and a little distracted, but her movements were as quick and sure as the night before. Gemma paused just inside the door and held it open for her.
    “Thank you,” the sheriff said. “Mrs. Vanderhaden?”
    Gemma nodded briefly and looked away
    “Mind if I join you for coffee?” Sheriff Burton asked.
    “No, of course not,” Gemma said.
    As a waitress seated them, Gemma saw Missy Tyler talking to one of the deputies. Her whole demeanor seemed to have changed since Gemma first met her. She even looked different and was she openly flirting with that young officer? Her laughter rang out across the large space.
    “Ms. Tyler doesn’t seem to be mourning her employer,” Gemma said aloud and then placed her hand over her mouth. “Sorry, I was just thinking aloud.”
    “It’s okay,” the sheriff said, taking a sip of the coffee from her thick, white mug. “She never made it a secret that she didn’t like the Muzaks.”
    “Yet she worked for them,” Gemma said, noting that the sheriff wore a wedding band. While she listened to the woman talk, she wondered if she had children.
    “Valentine is a small