Alibis and Amethysts by Sharon Pape

but she talked herself out of it.
     “And the blunt force trauma to the head was caused by . . .”
    “A rock.”
    “What type of rock?” Jaye asked, chancing another question.
    “What difference does it make?” Gatwick sneered. “You a geologist or something?”
    “Yes, I am,” she said, enjoying the startled expression that flashed across his face.
     Over his shoulder she could see Rhonda grinning.
    “In any case,” he said, quickly finding his voice again, “the particles I found in
     her scalp came from decorative rock used in landscaping, not the kind of rock commonly
     found in this area. And now if you don’t get out of my way this instant, I’m calling
     security!”
    ***
    Jaye arrived back home with six bags of groceries, a new personal best. She’d stocked
     up on tuna, eggs and cheese, since she knew that Raffles would eat those items, along
     with some hamburger meat to see if she fancied that as well. With no information on
     the Internet about her species, feeding her was going to be a hit-or-miss proposition.
    She let herself into the shop, turned off the alarm and carried three of the bags
     upstairs to her apartment. No golden-furred creature was there to greet her at the
     door, and on closer inspection, the love seats proved to be unoccupied. Jaye set the
     bags down in the kitchen before going to look in the bedroom. The window was open.
     The not-a-cat had gone out. Jaye was a little crestfallen. She’d been looking forward
     to the animal’s reaction when she saw all the goodies. Had she bought it all for nothing?
    As she went downstairs to get the rest of the bags out of her car, she told herself
     Raffles would be back. After all, she’d come back before, hadn’t she? Jaye had the
     three remaining bags in her hands and was using her hip to close the car door when
     a gray sedan pulled into the parking lot. She realized who was in the car before it
     swung into the spot next to her. Sedona’s crime fighting duo. Terrific—not only was
     she scheduled to reopen her shop in ten minutes, but there was also the issue of the
     not-a-cat, who might return at any moment.
    The men emerged from the unmarked car simultaneously, looking much the same as they
     had at their first encounter. Theo Brock’s suit hung awkwardly on his body. Cal Anastos
     was all spit and polish.
    “Hi, detectives,” she said as if she didn’t have a care in the world. “What can I
     do for you?”
    “We’d like to talk to you about Peggy Krueger,” Anastos replied. “We came by earlier,
     but you were out.”
    “As you can see, I was out shopping and running errands. Can we possibly postpone
     our talk until later? I’ve already lost half a day’s business.” Plus she really wanted
     to speak to Sierra about her visit to the ME before answering their questions.
    Brock shook his head. “That won’t work for us.”
    “We’ll make it as fast as we can,” Anastos added. “Let me help you with those.” Jaye
     let him take two of the bags. Hey, if he wanted to play Sir Galahad, who was she to
     deny him? As she led the way inside and up the stairs, a little mantra kept repeating
     in her head—stay away, stay away, stay away. Now, if only Raffles could read minds.
     Given how strange the animal was, she supposed anything was possible.
    When they reached the apartment, Jaye stopped in the doorway and quickly scanned the
     interior. The coast was clear. If the detectives were wondering why she hesitated
     before walking in, they didn’t ask. They clearly had other, more important questions
     on their minds.
    Anastos followed Jaye into the kitchen, narrowly missing the bowl of water she’d left
     on the floor for the not-a-cat. He set the bags on the table beside the others.
    “You have a dog?” he asked.
    “A cat who doesn’t think she’s a cat,” Jaye said for want of a better answer.
    They chatted about the pros and cons of different pets while she put away the perishables.
     Brock, who