Dearly Departed by Carly Winter (best affordable ebook reader .txt) 📕

“If you had to guess, put a number on it,” Bill growled, losing his patience.

In-the-Buff Bob sighed, once again staring at the singed carpet. “Maybe three? Or five? I can’t be sure.”

“Thank you,” Bill said. “We’ll leave you to get back to your self-discovery.”

As we walked back through the living room, I held my breath. Dusk and Rainbow were now sitting upright and passed a joint between them.

Rainbow jumped to her feet when our gazes met. With long blonde hair down to her waist, big blue sparkly eyes, and a never-ending smile that lit up a room, I’d always considered Rainbow the perfect moniker for her.

“Patty!” she exclaimed, taking me into a hug. “How have you been?”

I slowly wrapped my hands around her bare waist and tried not to cringe. With clothes on, the hug wouldn’t have been so uncomfortable to me. “I’m good. It’s lovely to see you as well.”

Bill cleared his throat and I eased myself from her embrace. “We’ll catch up sometime soon, okay?”

I trailed behind him and once we were out in the hallway, I inhaled deeply, thrilled to have fresh air in my lungs.

Bill checked his watch. “Listen, I’m going to head back to the police station and give them a report, then catch my flight out of here. Thanks for all your help during my stay.”

His brusqueness surprised me. I’d thought we’d have time for a cup of coffee and discuss In-the-Buff Bob. “Do you think he did it?”

“It’s possible,” he replied with a shrug. “The timing works out. He could have killed Charles, gone down to the protest, and gotten himself arrested for an alibi.”

“I was thinking the same thing.”

“Well, they do say that great minds think alike,” Bill said, then gave me a quick wink. “Give me a call if anything comes up, Patty… or if you want to chat. I’d like that.”

“Good luck hunting your serial killer,” I said as he walked away and waved over his shoulder.

I returned to my apartment while tossing around the case. In-the-Buff Bob had the opportunity, but upon finding Charles, I didn’t remember any indication there’d been a scuffle of any kind. I couldn’t see him allowing Bob into his home and to get close enough for the man to kill him.

Engrossed in my thoughts, I tried the door without thinking.

When I’d left Donna at the library, she’d mentioned a trip to the grocery store, so when my apartment door opened without me having to use the key, I stared at it for a long while. Maybe more time had passed than I’d realized and Donna had made it home before me.

“Donna?” I called as I entered and closed the door, my heart thundering, but she didn’t answer.

I glanced around the apartment. Had I locked the door when I’d left with Bill? I tried to recall, but my mind drew a blank. The keys in my pocket dug into my hip, so I knew they were on me, but had I used them?

Goosebumps crawled over my flesh as fear gripped my chest. “Ringo?”

I moved into the kitchen and found a coffee cup on the counter, one that I was certain hadn’t been there when I left. The couch cushions had been straightened and the blankets folded in a tidy stack. Had someone broken in to clean up, or was it some type of message?

“Ringo?” I yelled again.

A faint meow came from the bedroom, and I raced in there. The bedsheets were still in a crumpled mess and clothing lay strewn across the floor. Donna’s suitcase hadn’t been unpacked. However, the door to the bathroom had been closed.

I opened it and Ringo raced out.

Someone had locked him in.

Chapter 15

I paced the apartment waiting for Donna to arrive home. My first instinct had been to call the police, but I had to be certain she hadn’t come back to the apartment, straightened up, then went to run her errands.

But why lock Ringo in the bathroom?

It wasn’t anything she’d done before, and I prayed it was some type of mistake she’d made instead of facing the possibility that someone had been in our home. Perhaps Donna had used the restroom and closed the door, not realizing Ringo had been in there?

When the lock clicked, I hurried over and threw open the panel.

“Well, I’m glad to see you, too!” Donna said with a smile. “I was hoping you’d be home to help me. My arms are about to fall off from carrying all this stuff. This is definitely a man’s work.”

I grabbed a few of her parcels and she sighed in relief as I lugged them into the kitchen.

“There’s a new clerk at the grocery store,” Donna continued. “Cute as a button. Tall, thin, the dreamiest brown eyes… he asked for my phone number! I was excited at first, but I’m also on the rebound from the cheating pilot and I’m not sure I’m ready to—”

“Did you come home before you went shopping?”

Donna set down her bags and glared at me, obviously annoyed with my interruption. She must have also seen my apprehension because then her brow creased with worry. “What’s going on?”

“Someone has been in our apartment,” I said. “I came home and it had been tidied up a bit and Ringo had been locked in the bathroom.”

Her eyes widened as she glanced around. “Are you sure? Was anything taken?”

“Not that I’m aware of.”

“Who breaks into a place and cleans?”

“I… I don’t know.”

We stared at each other for a long moment, trying to come up with a logical explanation. I certainly couldn’t think of one. When a knock sounded at the front door, we both jumped and Donna squealed, then cursed as she placed her hand over her chest.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm my racing heart before it beat out the front of my chest. “I’ll get it.”

I opened the door to find Beth, our fellow stew. She carried her overnight