Watchin' The Detective: A Mystery Dinner Romance by Louise Hathaway Page B

Joshua?”
    “Of course,” he says and puts on his shirt
and shoes. When they arrive at her car, he says, “I’m sorry about
all that.”
    She gives him a kiss on the cheek and says,
“Don’t be sorry. I had fun.”
    “Really?”
    “Really. Call me tomorrow if you need a ride
anywhere, okay?”
    “Okay,” he says, then watches her drive
away.

Chapter Fourteen
     
     
    At the Reference Desk the next morning,
Isabella reads as many articles on the Internet as she can find
about the murder at the dinner theater. She writes down the names
of the victim’s wife and in-laws who were sitting at the table with
him when he was murdered. She read somewhere that the first people
the police suspect are the ones who are the closest to the victim:
their spouses, siblings, in-laws, or parents. She Googles the name
of the victim’s wife.
    Nicole joins her at the reference desk and
asks, “How was your date last night?”
    “It was nice. He’s sweet.”
    “Did you guys get it on yet?”
    In mocked surprise, Isabella tells her
friend, “What a thing to ask, Miss Nosey.”
    “I’m just curious.”
    “Shame on you.”
    “Okay. Forget it.”
    “Maybe you want him for yourself?”
    “I like him. I have to admit it.”
    “Well, then, you’ll be glad to hear that I’m
breaking it off with him, when it comes to the boyfriend/girlfriend
thing.”
    “Why?”
    “He’s just too young for me. I’m too old to
have to deal with guys who live with their mothers or roommates. I
want a guy who has his own place, so we don’t get interrupted when
we’re trying to make love.”
    “Is that what happened?”
    “Yes.”
    Nicole starts laughing.
    “I’m glad you find this so humorous.”
    “I can just imagine the look on your face
during the coitus interruptus.”
    Isabella laughs and says, “You should have
seen me trying to gracefully take off my Spanx in front of
Joshua.”
    They both start laughing. Isabella says, “I’m
through with boys. I want a man.”
    “A man who happens to be a detective?”
    “Yes.”
    “What’s your next move?”
    “Well, I’m hoping that if I help the
detective solve the case, then maybe he’d go out with me. So I’m
planning on paying a visit to the dinner theater to look for clues
as to what happened that night. I thought we could go there under
the guise of playing golf and I could snoop around a bit.”
    “Like Nancy Drew?”
    “Yeah. Can’t you just see me on the cover of
a Nancy Drew book with my flashlight? ‘Discover what terrors lurk
behind the doors of the murder mystery dinner theater’.”
    Nicole starts laughing and says, “What did
you mean by ‘we could go there’?”
    “You like playing golf, don’t you?”
    “Yeah. Miniature Golf.”
    “Have you ever played a real golf game?”
    “Yeah. In high school.”
    “Well, there you go. We can ask Josh to join
us,” she suggests as a further temptation.
    “That might be fun.”
    “You like him, don’t you Nicole?”
    “What’s not to like?”
    “He’s a really good dancer and he’s very
romantic.”
    “You better let him down easy. I don’t want
to be the one who has to come in to sweep up the mess.”
    “Are you kidding? He’s going to be the one to
drop me like a hot potato when he realizes
that you’re the one for him.”
    “We shall see.”
    “I’ll call him later. Right now, he’s in a
bit of a bad mood about his car.”
    “What happened to his car?”
    “Someone stole the front windshield.”
    “You’re kidding?”
    “No. I’m not.”
    “Did this happen on your date last
night?”
    “I was with him when he found out.”
    “Poor Joshua.”
    “Yeah. Maybe you might want to call and
console him?”
    “You think so?”
    “Yeah, I’m just saying.”
    “Okay. I think I will.”
    “Great! Hey…I just thought of something. Why
don’t you be the one to invite him to play
a round of golf with us? That way, the focus will be more on you.
And, while you’re entertaining him, I can go