A Classic Case of Murder: Detective Crime Mystery Suspense (Ben and Mark Detective Investigator Mystery Series) by Melinda Parker Page B

the men she went to dinner with. There weren’t many.” She looked up at Danny. “What would you say, three or four in the last…year?” Her husband nodded. “And none were notable. I was thinking she was just going to dinner with them to be nice to them. They were usually fans of her work. Especially her sci-fi.”
    “Was she always nice to her fans?”
    Danny and Amber both nodded. “She was very appreciative of them.” Danny said. “She signed her autograph whenever she met up with someone who liked her work.”
    Again, Ben nodded and looked over to Mark. “I went to one of her book signings last year with Jenny. She was very gracious. I never saw her without a smile.”
    Mark nodded.
    Ben looked back at the couple.
    “I’m so sorry for your loss and I’m sorry that I have to ask these questions at such a difficult time.”
    Amber shook her head, wiping her eyes and visibly pulling herself together. “No. If you say that she has been murdered, I want to help you find the killer. Please ask away.”
    “So she has…had no boyfriend that you know of?”
    “No.”
    “Do you think there’s a possibility that she had one that you don’t know about?”
    “I…I don’t think so.”
    “So it’s a possibility?”
    “I suppose anything is a possibility. But we were very close, we spoke every day. I think I would know. I think that’s something she would have told us both.” Amber looked up and Danny nodded in agreement.
    “If she did, you would find some kind of correspondence though. And if you do, please let us know. I would…really like to know.” Amber pulled in a deep breath and fought tears.
    “You discovered the…you found Carrie, is that right?” Ben asked, altering his question in mid-stream.
    They both nodded.
    “Tell me how that happened.”
    “Well, she was supposed to ring me up last night to tell me if we were going out today.” Amber answered. “She doesn’t like to text me in the morning because I don’t wake up. She said it’s like my…alarm.” She sniffed before continuing in a stronger voice. “When she calls. So she didn’t call me last night and I got worried. I started texting and calling her but she never answered. So we went out late to see if we could find her. Spot her car. Hoping she’d just broken down.”
    “So when was the last time you talked to her?”
    “It was about lunchtime yesterday. She said, ‘I’ll call you around 6 tonight. I’ll know by then whether I will be free on Friday’.”
    “And she didn’t call. Do you know where she was going after you hung up with her?”
    “She said she had a meeting with her publisher, Frank Hayes. His office is just up the road from here. He likes to have his office well away from the city because he likes the trees and fields out here.”
    Ben nodded, writing in his notebook. “So would you say lunchtime was exactly noon or somewhere around there, before…after…” He teeter-tottered his flat hand in the air to signify the differing time.
    “I’d say about…closer to one, I’d say. Yes, it was about 12:45 or 1 when I talked to her.”
    Ben nodded again, writing this information down. He glanced at Mark, who gave him a “Please continue” look.
    “Can you tell me who she generally spent her free time with?” He smiled gently. “Besides you of course?”
    “She had some close friends, yes.” Amber nodded. “You can find them on her social media accounts pretty easily. They are ones who are always commenting and talking to her. They like all her stuff. You can find out her best friends from the ones who live here. But she was friendly with everyone so you’ll have to narrow it down that way.”
    “Thank you for that, Amber.” Ben nodded. “Do you know any names off the top of your head that we should talk to first?”
    “Well,” Amber appeared to be thinking. “Her best friend is Cynthia Lockhart, Cindy. She’s the one that holds the best friend forever status. She and Carrie have been