Angel Sleuth Read Online Free

Delbert’s runaway imagination.”
    Mary Jane placed two slices of wheat toast with orange marmalade in front of her.
    “I thought you said there was another man in Leda’s house last night.”
    Kaitlin remembered the ghostlike shadow among the trees on Leda’s lawn and shivered.
    “There was, I think. I wonder if anyone else knows about that?”
    “Could you find out?”
    “Well, I guess I could. My best friend from high school, Brittany, is the editor’s assistant.”
    “You could drop in on her on your way to the Cappuccino Café,” said Mary Jane.
    “How did you know I’m going to the café?”
    “You go every morning, don’t you?”
    She held up the coffee pot and arched one eyebrow at Kaitlin.
    “Uh, no thanks. I’ve got work to do.”
    Kaitlin went upstairs, got dressed, and sat, as she had done for so many weeks, in front of her computer, but the muse avoided her once more. A visit to Brittany, she decided.
    She poked her head into Mary Jane’s room as she passed by. “Want to come with me?” she asked.
    “Sure.” Mary Jane tossed the “Billiards Today” magazine she’d been reading on the floor. She grabbed her red shawl and tucked her feet into black patent leather ankle boots. Today she was dressed in a purple gypsy skirt and off-the-shoulder teal blue blouse. Kaitlin wore a clean tee and cut-offs.
    “Does Jeremy want to come along?” asked Kaitlin.
    “No, he already went out to check for hurt and abandoned animals.”
    “Uh, is he going to keep all of these critters here, in the house?”
    “Only in his room. He’ll find homes for them eventually.”
    Eventually, thought Kaitlin. Like Christmas .
    “Don’t worry. We won’t be staying that long. The Heavenly Companions, Inc. Northeast Chapter is meeting the end of August. We’ll have a placement by then.”
    Kaitlin sneaked a sideways peek at Mary Jane. She didn’t look crazy.
    Mary Jane threw her arm around Kaitlin as the two of them descended the stairs. “And by then, your book will be finished.”
    “It’s not going to be if the publisher doesn’t get me a new illustrator.”
    “Maybe I can help with that,” said Mary Jane. “What happened to your old illustrator?”
    “Don’t you know?”
    “If you don’t want to talk about it, I understand.”
    As they exited the house, Mary Jane stopped, raised her arms, and inhaled deeply. She did a pirouette on the sidewalk and flapped her arms about as if she were going to fly. Kaitlin looked up and down the street wondering if any of Aldensville’s citizens had observed the performance.
    “Don’t you just love it?” asked Mary Jane. She tucked Kaitlin’s arm in hers.
    “Nothing like a walk in the spring air. Exercise. It’s just the ticket to blow out the cobwebs and make room for creativity.” She gave Kaitlin a meaningful look.
    “I’m getting exercise…”
    “You need ‘writing exercise’, like warming up before you plunge into the big stuff.”
    Kaitlin shook her head. “You just don’t understand.”
    The woman irritated her, but then, in a way Kaitlin couldn’t begin to explain, she also sent a feeling of warmth radiating from her toes to her nose.
    “What’re you smiling about?” asked Mary Jane. She pulled open the door to the newspaper office.
    “I’m not.”
    Kaitlin did a mental check on the position of her lips. “I am.”
    The woman standing behind the counter had blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail and wore a red polka dotted dress.
    “Hi, Kaitlin,” said Brittany. She looked not at Kaitlin but at Mary Jane. Mary Jane met her scrutiny stare for stare. Up and down, up and down, went their gazes, covering every aspect of the other’s appearance.
    “Where are my manners?” Kaitlin said. Before she could make the introductions, Brittany walked out from behind the counter in red platform shoes that matched her dress and stuck out her hand.
    “Hi, I’m Kaitlin’s friend Brittany. I love your skirt. It’s not something I could wear, but