Marriage and Murder (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Book 4) by Dianne Harman Page A

bucks.”
    “That’s what I thought,
too, but if she wanted to reconcile with him, and she even hoped they might
remarry, it doesn’t make a lot of sense for her to kill him. I wonder if she
even knew he’d never changed the beneficiary on the policy after they got
divorced.”
    “Sorry, Mike, but I’ve got
to stop our conversation. I need to help Roxie and Madison. Before I go, let me
tell you something. At our reception I noticed Jesse was perspiring heavily and
although it was a beautiful day, it was still cool. He didn’t look like his
normal self. From what you’ve just told me that might be the reason. Perhaps he
was worrying about his debts, or maybe one of his creditors was even
threatening him.
    “I really do have to go. This
place is completely full, and I can see people standing outside, waiting to be
seated, but I just had a thought. Remember when Luke told me Jesse was going to
give him a crash course in winemaking when he decided to take over the White
Cloud Retreat Center? I wonder if Luke knows anything about Jesse? Would it be
okay with you if I give him a call this afternoon?”
    “Sweetheart,” he said in
an exasperated voice, “would it even matter if I asked you not to? Or would it even
matter if I told you that it was my case, and I should be the one who called
Luke? Or would it matter if I told you I really don’t want you involved in this
case, because it deals with murder and I worry about you?”
    “Of course it would
matter,” she said, mentally crossing her fingers behind her back.
    “Somehow I doubt that, but
since you know Luke better than I do, you probably should be the one to talk to
him. I know you’ve become friends. Maybe you can find something out from him.”
    “Thanks for the vote of
confidence. I’ve got to get back to work. I’ll call him later on and tell you tonight
what he had to say. You will be home for dinner tonight, won’t you?”
    “Yes, there’s not much
work I can do tonight on the case. I’m trying to find out from the IRS how much
Jesse owed in back taxes, and there are a bunch of other past due bills in some
of his files I need to look at. I haven’t run across the name of a tax person
or anything like that yet. I’d like to ask his ex-wife if she knows if he had
one, but since I’ve found out she’s the beneficiary of his life insurance
policy and a possible suspect, I’m a little reluctant to do that.”
    “I could ask his mother.”
    “Don’t push it, Kelly.
I’ve been more than generous by agreeing to let you call Luke. My generosity
ends there. Fair enough?”
    “Fair enough, and I love
you.”
    “Love you too, Mrs.
Reynolds,” he said standing up, taking his signature white Stetson hat from the
hat rack near the door, and walking out of the coffee shop with Rebel closely
following. As soon as the door closed behind them, Mike reached into his pocket
for Rebel’s customary treat. “Our little secret, boy. Don’t think she’d
approve,” he said, as they walked to his sheriff’s car.

CHAPTER 9
     
    “Kelly, phone’s for you,” Roxie said,
handing it to Kelly.
                “This is Kelly, may I
help you?”
                “Hi, Kelly, or I suppose
it would be more appropriate for me to say ‘Hi Mrs. Reynolds, given the fact of
your recent name change. This is Doc, and I wanted to tell you your wedding was
beautiful. I was honored that you and Mike would have me be a part of it. Guess
Mike will be standing up for me in the not too distant future when Liz and I
tie the knot. Your wedding gave Liz and me a lot of food for thought, but I sure
hope we don’t have all the uninvited guests you had.”
                “It’s we who thank you,
Doc, for standing up with Mike, and I agree, it was a beautiful wedding,
although I feel so badly about what happened to Jesse.”
                “Me, too. I really liked
him. Whenever I went to The Crush to get a bottle of wine, he was always