Her Billionaire's Murder Mystery - Stephanie Fowers Page 0,3
he’d uncover Aaron Mills for the fraud he was so that lemmings like me wouldn’t die because of his carelessness.”
Charlize squinted with annoyance. Scooby had some sort of hero complex that always seemed to involve controlling and belittling everyone who disagreed with him. “He called you a ‘lemming?’ That’s it. Scooby’s going down.”
“Scooby?” Mollie echoed the same scorn from across the worn checkout counter. Charlize’s friend used to date Scooby in high school. Her hand tightened over the takeout bag.
The mouthwatering smells of Mexican food assailed Charly’s nostrils, and she adjusted the phone. “Look, you want me to take social media off your phone, Mom? It worked for me.”
Her mom’s voice grew quiet. “I like the memes.”
She also liked all the pictures of grandchildren. Charlize had five brothers and four sisters who were married and had moved all over the country so that their mother barely saw them. Charly and her twin sister Rio had been the only ones to stick around after their father passed. After Rio had died in a car accident two years ago, Charly was the only one left. She wasn’t about to desert her mother now.
Charly nodded, understanding her mother’s true reluctance. “Okay, I get it. We’ll keep it on. Look, Scooby is a disappointment to his father, and Mabel’s a crazy Puritan bingo cheater. I’ll make them all pay, okay? Gotta go—love you!”
She hung up and looked over at a snickering Mollie, who tucked her thick red hair behind her shoulder. Her friend was a stunning beauty with a heavy spattering of freckles and pouty lips that twisted to show her disdain for her ex. “You want me to help you take out Scooby?” Mollie asked in that velvety low voice of hers.
Charlize was sorry that she’d ever introduced those two in high school. Now it seemed like Mollie had even more of a chip on her shoulder when it came to the guys around here. Charly shook her head. “No, no, I’ll just sic the sheriff on him.”
The sheriff of Eureka Springs was Charly’s uncle. He also happened to be Scooby’s dad—a stern lawman, but easygoing with everything else. How her uncle had spawned such a son, she’d never know.
Mollie rolled her heavily lidded blue eyes. “Yeah, I can see his dad really turning him around.” Her usual sarcasm colored her voice as she handed Charlize her order from Amigo’s. Mollie’s bright pink nails on the paper bag were her only splash of color. “Dinner’s served, Char Char.”
Charly’s nose wrinkled at the childhood nickname, but she gratefully took the bag anyway. Mollie had been best friends with Charlize and her twin sister, Rio, since elementary school. After Rio’s fatal accident, Mollie was the only one Charly could confide in. “I just finished a shift at Amigo’s,” Mollie said. “I’ve got an hour to kill before I open the doors at the ghost tours.” Her poor friend didn’t have any time to herself working two jobs, and she launched into her daily grievances. “Please say you don’t think I’m the weirdest girl in town.”
“What?” Charlize asked. “No.”
“Can you believe it? This girl at work asked me if I was a Nu Goth.” Mollie sighed dramatically. “I can’t help looking this way—I’m just dressing the part for work.”
“Plus, black matches everything,” Charlize teased, echoing Mollie’s explanation from high school. Mollie had always gotten away with dressing like a vampire because she was so adorable, but Charlize was suspicious her friend was trying to disappear. There was no chance of that with her glorious copper mane of hair. Charlize dug into the bag, pulling out the loaded Mexican fries and stuffing them into her mouth before another guest could walk in and interrupt. “This is the first real meal I’ve had all day,” she complained between bites. “This place has been a madhouse since ten this morning. I feel like every billionaire has been invited.”
Mollie’s brow lifted, her dangly, ghost-tour skull earrings swaying as she glanced up the grand staircase to the side. “Wait, so who is hosting this party?
Charly shrugged. “No idea. Everything’s so hush hush.” Barnett—another one of her infuriating cousins—managed the hotel while her uncle was away. He had kept everything back from Charly like he was afraid she’d spill the juicy gossip to the entire town. Barnett took his job far too seriously sometimes. “All I know is that the guy hosting this has a pretty sexy voice...” she lowered her own, giggling at her own naughtiness. “I heard him on the