A Ghost in Time (Destiny Bay Cozy Mysteries Book 3) by J. D. Winters Page A

was obviously smitten, but he wasn’t sure yet if she was going to reciprocate. Adorned with a lot of flirting, the main subject was working out a time when he could work with her on her tango. Cute.  
    The second one was brief, setting up a time and place where they could meet. And the third was very recent and very different. It seemed Karl must have been trying to break things off, and Star wasn’t having it. She wasn’t begging to keep him in her life, she was demanding it. At least, that was the way it sounded. Poor Karl sounded desperate to get her to back off. It kind of gave you the creeps to read it.  
    The question was, could a man this desperate have something to do with the death of the woman he was desperate to get rid of?  
    Suddenly I knew I needed to show these to Roy, and also to tell him what I learned from the apprentices about Star taunting Bebe and luring her over so that she could ambush her that night. I thought it was all eminently relevant. Of course, he might already know all about all these things. But he sure hadn’t told me about any of them.  
    I didn’t make this decision lightly. I knew I was taking a risk. After all, Roy was a good cop, loyal to his captain and his department, and if they were going in a direction that ran counter to mine, he was going to be with them. I knew that. I wouldn’t want him to do anything disloyal. But at the same time, what good would it do me to find exonerating things that might help Bebe and not have anyone willing to listen to the facts? Or even more--to the theories.  
    If I didn’t have Roy’s ear, I didn’t have anything at all. I’d be spitting into the wind. Tugging on Superman’s cape. Pulling the mask—well, you know the drill. And all that jazz.
    I had to do it.  
    I gave him a call. He answered right away and said he was free. Did I detect a note of triumph in his voice? Ah-no matter. We agreed to meet at Mad for Mocha—or M4M as Jill and I had taken to calling it.  
    I went a little early so I’d have time to chat with Jill, if she was free. I trusted her completely and I knew it would be best to run some of my thinking past someone who cared and had a pretty good brain at the same time. So Jill it was.  
    “It was an accident, right?” Jill said after I’d whined to her about my fears and worries for a few minutes.  
    “Yes. An odd accident, but an accident none the less.”
    She nodded, thinking. “Is anyone making accusations?” she asked. “I mean, is there anyone agitating to have Bebe charged with a crime?”
    “Not yet. But that is exactly what I’m afraid of.”
    She nodded again. “I can see why.”
    “Do you see what bothers me most?” I asked her. “It’s all this stuff about a tall, dark man and her not seeing the mirror. Those two elements just don’t fit with the rest of the puzzle. If only there was some way to know what actually happened as she was driving up that road.”
    “She really doesn’t remember?”
    “Nope.”
    Jill thought for a moment, then her pretty face lit up.  
    “You know what you need? Hypnotism.”
    “What?” Not quite what I’d been hoping for.  
    “I’m serious. I was learning how to do it for awhile last year, but I never did get certified or anything. Still, I’ve got the basics down.” She was getting excited about her own idea. “I’ll bet I could do it. You want me to do it? You want me to try?”
    “No!”
    She looked crestfallen. “Why not? You always reject anything new. It can’t hurt. Bebe will have to cooperate and all. It’s not like a secret thing.”
    I bit my lip, holding back my immense impulse to dismiss it out of hand. After all, she was right. I seemed to have a nasty habit of rejecting everything I wasn’t used to right off the bat. Maybe I ought to try to temper that a little. Why not let her try? If we could make a breakthrough…
    I reached out and took her hand. “Hey, I’m sorry. I was just doing my usual knee-jerk reaction. I