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

get a better look at my hair. “You noticed. I went in to have my hair trimmed, but then Amber Gleason talked me into a deep conditioning and highlights.” I had given in to the highlighting. It had been so long since I had anything done with my hair. I was feeling guilty about it since I was trying to save that money for the wedding, but Amber had done a good job on my hair and I was pleased with the results.

“Of course I noticed. You’d be beautiful no matter what, but your hair looks very nice.”

“You know exactly what to say to a girl.” I cut a piece of fudge and placed it into a bag and handed it to him. “Funny thing about Amber is that she really couldn’t stand Logan. In fact, she’s been spreading rumors about his barbershop not being clean and customers getting lice from going there.”

Ethan’s eyes went wide. “She’s been telling people that? How have I not heard about this?”

I nodded. “When Mariah told me and Christy about it, that was the first I had heard it. I think you should talk to Amber. She’s really bitter about something and it might be something that helps with the case.”

“I will. There’s no way anyone got lice from going to Logan’s barbershop. He kept everything clean.” He looked into the bag and pulled out a piece of the fudge and took a bite, then groaned. “I swear, your mother is a genius.”

“I’ve been told that before,” I said. “So what’s going on with you? I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages.”

“It was just last night,” he reminded me.

He was right about that. But unfortunately, he had gotten home so late and he was tired, I’d only gotten to see him for about ten minutes. He’d been so tired he hadn’t even noticed my hair.

“How is the investigation going?”

He shrugged. “It’s going. I talked to Logan’s parents again. Makes me feel terrible for them. They’re really good people.”

I nodded. “They are. I hate when something like this happens. Did you speak to his girlfriend, Mariah?”

“I have. Twice. I’m not sure if there’s anything there, but I’m keeping her in mind.”

My ears perked up. “Is there a particular reason why you talked to her twice?”

He shrugged and grinned. “You know how it is. I’ve got to keep some things to myself.”

The bell over the door rang, and I looked over as Fred Tillman walked through the door. Fred was Mel Tillman’s father.

“Hey Fred,” Ethan said, nodding.

Fred smiled sadly at Ethan. “Hey Ethan, how are things going? Mel told me about Logan. I hope you’re going to arrest his killer soon. He doesn’t deserve to die like he did, and whoever did it needs to be put away for a long time.”

“And that’s what I intend to do,” Ethan agreed. “I want his killer put away as much as everyone else does.”

Fred came over and leaned against the front counter. “Hi Mia.”

I nodded. “Hello, Fred.”

He turned to Ethan again. “If I were you, I’d take a good hard look at Logan’s girlfriend, Mariah. That girl is something else.”

Ethan arched an eyebrow upward. “What do you mean by that?”

“Mel told me that those two fought like cats and dogs. Mariah threatened him the last time they broke up, saying she would pay him back for what he did to her.”

“And what did he do to her?” Ethan asked.

“Refused to marry him.” He chuckled. “Can you believe it? He refused to marry her and that’s what all the fuss has been about all along with her. But he wasn’t the kind of person that was going to be controlled, and he refused. So then Mariah would throw one of her fits and they’d break up for a couple of weeks, but she always came back, sweet-talking him. I told him he was crazy for taking her back, but he always did. But this last time—she told him it was the last time he would break up with her and he was going to pay for it.”

I was surprised that Mariah would talk that way to Logan. I didn’t think she had it in her, but I couldn’t say that I knew her really well. Just well enough to hold a casual conversation with her from time to time.

“What did Logan say to that?” Ethan asked.

“He laughed at her. And that just made her madder than ever. Mel happened to be there that day, you know, and he was shocked at how angry Mariah got. He said he warned Logan that he needed to be done with her once and for all.”

“That sounds kind of crazy,” Ethan said thoughtfully. “What did Logan say when Mel told him he shouldn’t get back together with her?”

“Oh, you know Logan, he was kind of easy-going most of the time and he just shrugged it off. He said she would calm down and she would be back, and things would be like they always had been. He was right.”

“That’s surprising that he would take her back if she was that angry,” I said. “Especially after she threatened him.”

Fred turned to me. “You can say that again. If it were me, I’d have gotten rid of her long ago. That’s not a respectful relationship with her threatening him like that, and Logan deserved better. He was a good kid. I remember when he was twelve and he and Mel became friends. Logan was this shy kid, and it took a while for him to open up. But I kept working on him, asking him how he was and talking to him about the video games he played, and pretty soon he’d come in grinning when he came over to the house. I’m going to miss that kid.” Fred’s eyes teared up as