Jamie Quinn Cozy Mysteries Collection

Chapter 24

CHAPTER 24

I clearly needed a back-up plan, so I sat down at my computer and opened up the website for Florida department of motor vehicles. I knew that Marian drove a silver Volkswagen Jetta because I'd seen it at Starbucks, but I wanted to know what Steve Michaels drove. It turned out to be a Toyota Corolla, also silver. I pulled up the news story of Rosa's murder and learned that it was a small silver car that had run her over. None of the witnesses could identify the make of the car, or whether the driver was a man or a woman. Looking at them side by side, I saw the Corolla was very similar to the Jetta. Of course it was! Because nothing's ever easy. But then I had to ask myself, if Adam was now in the clear, why didn't I just walk away?

If I walked away, I could go back to my life and never have to deal with Slick Nick again, or chase around town looking for Duke. But I knew the answer. I couldn't go back to my old life because I had no life. I'd been living in the shadows, doing nothing, seeing no one, just existing. All I did was rattle around an empty house all day, keeping company with a cat that hissed at me. And, if you didn't count the stress, panic, fear and aggravation I'd been through in the past few weeks, this was the most fun I'd had in years. And it was a challenge I could sink my teeth into. When this was over, I needed to get back into the world. Why hadn't I seen it before?

As I contemplated my life, I walked over to the freezer in search of something to microwave. It was dinnertime and I was starving. While I waited for my vegetarian burrito to cook, I fed my ungrateful cat. Then I heard a beep and thought my burrito was done, but it was Duke calling on my cell.

"Hey, Darlin', I got just one question."

"What's that?"

"Where the hell's my car?"