Jamie Quinn Cozy Mysteries Collection

Chapter 27

"Really? Tell me more about that," I said.

"I"m not sure, but I think Spike installed a camera in the ceiling to record all the lessons."

"Good to know."

We said our good-byes after I"d promised to come for dinner on Sunday. My dance card was full these days!

What I had to do next was so unpleasant I almost talked myself out of it. Just get it over with, Jamie, like ripping off a Band-Aid. So I did it. I went home and called him, the snarky state attorney, my sworn enemy, Nick Dimitropoulos. He didn"t even say "Hello." Such a pleasant fellow.

Just get it over with, Jamie, like ripping off a Band-Aid."If you called to read me any more statutes, Quinn," he said, "don"t bother. We have a new suspect."

As soon as I heard his voice, I pictured him, from his slicked-back hair all the way down to his shiny shoes. I felt my blood pressure rising.

"Well, Nick, you know how you had the wrong guy last time? You"re two for two. Steve Michaels didn"t do it."

"First of all, I didn"t say your client"s been cleared as a suspect, and, second, why do you care if we have the wrong guy? Or is he your cousin, too?" I could almost see him sneer through the phone.

"So what if Adam"s my cousin? It"s not like I lied about it. And I care because the real murderer"s still out there. Isn"t it your job to protect the public?"

"You"re thinking of the police, but I get your point. Who is it, then?" He sounded genuinely curious.

"It"s not a guy at all. It"s a woman--Marian Wolinsky. She was Spike"s bookkeeper and bitter ex-girlfriend."

"Interesting theory, Quinn, but where"s your proof? I"m sure her prints and DNA are all over the crime scene, maybe because she worked there."

"Are you always this sarcastic, or am I special? The proof is in the camera Spike hid in the ceiling. You may have the murder on film."

Take that, you smug son-of-a-b***h, I thought.

"I"ll check it out, Quinn…and, um, thanks for the tip."

"You"re welcome." That was a surprise. Maybe there was hope for him. Anything"s possible.

After I hung up, I wondered--what if the camera hadn"t been recording? Then what?