Chocolate Heart Killer: A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 14 by Kathleen Suzette (guided reading books .TXT) 📗

“Wait a minute, you can’t just go inside the gym,” the woman said. We ignored her and kept going.

“Mariah,” I called when we were closer.

She turned and looked at us, smiling when she recognized us. “Hi Christy, hi Mia,” she said. “Are you two thinking about joining the gym?”

Everyone wanted us to join the gym. Were they trying to give us a hint? I shook my head. “No, we just wanted to stop in and see how you were doing. We were so sorry to hear about Logan,” I said quietly when we got to her.

She frowned and nodded. “Would you like to come inside?” She indicated the nearest office.

We nodded and followed her into the office, taking a seat in front of the desk.

“I’m so sorry about Logan,” Christy added.

She looked at both of us as her eyes teared up. “I still can’t believe it. This is my first day back to work since he died. I wasn’t doing myself any good staying at home and crying on the couch, so I decided I had better come to work. At least I won’t have to think about him all day. I’m trying to concentrate on my work.”

Mariah was in her early thirties and was fit, as expected for a personal trainer. She wore a tank top and spandex exercise pants and I could tell she enjoyed using the weight machines here. “Mariah, do you have any idea what might have happened to Logan?” I asked gently.

She looked at me a moment and then glanced at Christy. “Honestly? If I had to take a guess, I would say Amber Gleason killed him.”

“Amber Gleason? Why would she kill him?” Christy asked.

“Because she owns The Hair Affair Salon. She bought it recently. But she’s never liked Logan. She used to work over at Tangles and Bangs and she always resented that Logan had such a busy barbershop. She was always bad-mouthing him and trying to get his customers to come over to her shop.”

“Do you think she had something against him? Would she really kill him?” I asked.

She nodded. “She’s the only person that makes any sense as a possible killer. She was always telling people that Logan didn’t keep the shop clean. That the combs and razors he used were infested with lice. She warned people that if they went to his barbershop, they would come away with lice. Can you believe it?” She shook her head in disbelief. “Logan kept his shop immaculate. He always sterilized anything he used on more than one customer.”

I nodded. “Our dad has been going there for years, and I know he wouldn’t go there if he thought there was anything unsanitary about the place.”

She put her hands on the top of the desk. “It was disgusting the way she behaved. It was like she resented him for some reason. I’m not sure why.”

“That’s odd that she behaved that way,” Christy said.

“Mariah, how long had you and Logan been dating?” I asked.

She sighed. “We were together for five years. Well, mostly together. We had some bumps in our relationship I guess, and occasionally we spent time apart. But it never lasted long, I think a month was the longest, if I remember right. We actually broke up at the beginning of December, but we were back together by Christmas. Honestly, this past month or so was the happiest we’d ever been together.” This time she did start crying, and she grabbed a tissue from the box on the desk and dabbed at her eyes. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to do this.”

“Don’t be sorry,” I said. “It’s completely understandable. I’m so sorry that this happened to Logan. Ethan and he had been friends for years, and I know Ethan’s taking it hard, too.”

She nodded. “Logan thought a lot of Ethan,” she said and smiled. “This whole thing is just such a shock.”

I nodded. “So you really think that Amber might have had something to do with his death?”

She sat back in her chair and sighed again. “If it wasn’t her, then I’m completely stumped. I can’t imagine anyone wanting him dead.”

“What did Logan say about her spreading rumors about him around town?” Christy asked.

She leaned forward over the desk. “He was angry about it. He went down there to her shop and told her he was going to hire a lawyer and sue her for defamation of character if she didn’t stop.”

“Well, that might be a reason for murder,” Christy suggested.

And it just might be, I thought. I didn’t know a lot about Amber, but I needed a trim, and I thought I might make an appointment and see how she was taking the news of Logan’s death. Would she be happy about it? Surprised? Or indifferent?

Chapter Seven

The more I thought about things, the more I knew I had to speak to Amber Gleason. Amber was a few years older than I was, and I was surprised to hear that she had bought The Hair Affair Salon. I’d been to her a couple of times to have my hair done, although not recently. It was just my luck that she had a cancellation and could fit me in the next day.

I walked into her shop and let the door swing closed behind me. It was warm in the shop and it felt good to come in out of the cold. Although the sun had been shining for the past two days, it was still bitingly cold outside. I could hardly wait for spring. Well, make that late spring. The early spring would still bring snow around here.

Amber looked up at me from the front desk. “Hi Mia,” she said, smiling. “You’re just in time. My last customer just left,