CHAPTER 5
Mina
This wasnothappening.
I clutched the paper coffee cup between my fingers and stared out at the street from a table in my coffeeshop, watching the police rope off the area in front of my newly purchased building.
Why was there a skeleton in the wall?
Better yet, who would do such a thing?
Was Mr. Shuman a murderer?
If so, why would he sell me the building? He knew my plans for the space.
Mostly.
I leaned forward and absentmindedly chewed on a fingernail. He knew I wanted to knock down the wall between the spaces, but I never told him I planned to knock down any part of the wall separating the employee area from the main storefront.
But still, he had to know that anyone who bought the place would want to conduct renovations. Even if they didn’t move that wall, it needed repaired. The water damage was obvious.
An inelegant snort escaped me.Water damage…More like body damage.
I shuddered, thinking about that body decaying in there. How did no one smell it?
Lifting my coffee, I took a sip. Maybe they did and thought it was just a dead animal. That happened all the time.
The front door opened, and Claire’s boyfriend and resident detective, Ozzie Quartermaine, stepped inside.
My gaze roved over his tall, powerful figure, and a bit of calm settled over me. Ozzie would figure it out.
But it was the man coming in behind him that I wanted to have wrap his arms around me and reassure me that this would all blow over soon.
I locked eyes with Luke.
A spark of attraction zipped through me, but I batted it away. Now was not the time to lust after my contractor—or anyone, for that matter.
The two men walked up to my table. Ozzie dragged a chair over from another, while Luke took the seat across from me. I wished he were beside me. While Ozzie’s presence reassured me he’d get to the bottom of this, Luke’s was the one that offered sympathy and comfort. I just wanted to lean on those broad, muscular shoulders.
My eyelids slid shut, and I looked away. What waswrongwith me?
Admonishing myself to get my mind out of the gutter, I looked at Ozzie.
“How’re you doing, Mina?”
“Still shellshocked. I don’t suppose there was any ID on the body?”
He shook his head.
My mouth twisted. “Didn’t think so.”
“Not that we’ve seen yet, anyway. Forensics just got here. They’ll remove the remains from the wall, and we’ll know morethen.” Ozzie shifted, leaning forward. “Tell me what happened. How did you find the body?”
“We were just knocking down the wall.” I traced the rim of the lid on my coffee. “I came over in time just to see the start of demo and saw Luke busting up the wall. I asked if I could take a few swings. We found the plastic soon after.”
“Did you touch anything?” Ozzie looked between us.
“Just the edge of the plastic,” Luke answered. “I had gloves on.”
