Murder in Cottage #6 (Liz Lucas Cozy Mystery Series Book 1) by Dianne Harman

didn’t
hear that, Seth. Have you heard anything from Wes about the results of the
autopsy?”           
                “Nah, usually takes him a
few hours for him to cut ‘em up. Think he gets his jollies from it, if you know
what I mean,” Seth said in a suggestive voice. “Anyway, glad yer’ here. Gettin’
some reports that Zack Harris has been making noises ‘bout knockin’ Dave’s head
around. Ya’ know anything about that?”
                “No. I didn’t even know
until a little while ago that Gene and Zack were brothers. I don’t schedule the
employees’ time off, but I think Bertha mentioned something about Zack taking a
little vacation time before we got real busy during the summer season.  I
haven’t seen him for several days.”
                “Well is that so? Guess
I’ll have to keep an eye out fer him. By the way, jes’ got me a new Victoria’s
Secret catalog delivered in the mail yesterday. Seen a coupla things that got
yer name on ‘em and I circled ‘em. Uh-oh, Leroy jes’ stuck his head in the
door. Probably lookin’ fer me. When I get them VC things, I’d like a private
showin, if ya’ know what I mean.” As Seth tried to slide out of the booth, Liz
wasn’t sure who was going to win the battle over Seth’s stomach, the table or
him. Ultimately he won and was able to free himself and get out of the booth.
“Be seein’ ya soon I hope, pretty lady,” the grossly obese police chief said,
oblivious to how ridiculous he looked and acted.
                I feel like I need a
shower after I’m around him. If it turns out Barbara didn’t die of natural causes,
I’m definitely going to have to do whatever I can to clear the spa’s name. If
Seth can’t get his belly out of a booth, I doubt if he could ever solve a
murder, she thought.
     

CHAPTER 10
     
    As Liz turned onto the lane that led
to the lodge she noticed a large SUV turning in right behind her. She looked at
the clock on her dashboard and realized it was almost noon. Uh-oh, she
thought , I got carried away talking to Gertie and stayed too long at the
diner. I’ll bet that SUV belongs to Roger’s friend. Don’t think Roger would be
very happy with me if I’d blown the appointment, particularly after he went to
so much trouble for me and the guy drove all the way up from San Francisco.
    She pulled up to the lodge
and couldn’t help but smile as she looked at the simple rustic building made of
wood and glass standing before her. Brightly colored plants and tubs of
blooming flowers stood in stark contrast to the green forest and blue Pacific
Ocean in the background.
    There’s nowhere else in
the world I would want to live, not that I’ve ever been anywhere else in the
world. I remember how I used to tell Joe we needed to travel and visit some
foreign countries. He always refused, using the excuse that he couldn’t leave
his auto dealerships for that long. Now that I probably could go somewhere once
in a while, I have absolutely no desire to leave here. Everything I want is
here and now with the addition of Roger in my life, I have more of a reason to
stay here. Even with Barbara’s death, I still think I’m one of the luckiest
people in the world to be living right here in Red Cedar!
    Lost in her momentary
reverie, she hadn’t noticed that a man had gotten out of the SUV and was
walking over to her van. She opened the door and greeted him. “Hi, I’m Liz
Lucas. You must be Roger’s friend.”
    The tall lanky man dressed
in jeans and a leather jacket with his white hair tied in a ponytail smiled
warmly at her, extended his hand, and said, “I’m Ed James, and I’ve brought you
a new little friend. Well, actually he’s not so little. Are you ready to be
introduced to him?”
    “This was a huge surprise
to me, but yes, I think I’m ready. I’ve never had a boxer before, so you’ll
have to give me some guidelines on how to handle him.”
    “His name is