Read Online Chocolate-Covered Crime by Cynthia Hickey - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Cynthia Hickey
Ads: Link
statements. There’s only a few hundred dollars left. Apparently she used the money to start her business and furnish this apartment. Once her belongings are sold, you should get a couple hundred more.”
For the first time since she stepped off the plane, my aunt showed signs of grief in the lines of her face and the slump of her shoulders. She brushed off the skirt of her muumuu and struggled to her feet.
“Oh. Well, that’s it then. Guess Fred and I will be heading home tomorrow. Y’all can send what comes of all this to us in the mail.” She waddled down the hall and into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
Aunt Eunice poked her head around the corner. “Well, I never. I’m embarrassed to say Claudia’s my sister. And now she expects us to finish this mess.” She withdrew.
VRd/ed
I shrugged and shook my head. If I’d learned anything in the past few months, it was that people continue to astound you. They often did the weirdest things at the oddest times. I’d never get use to the selfishness of humankind. That would always stump me.
The photos crackled in my pocket. I joined my aunt in the kitchen. “What do you know about Lewis Anderson?”
“Huh?” She paused while removing dishes from the cupboard.
“I’m curious. I’d never met him before the funeral arrangements. Is he new to town?”
“Fairly new.” She wrapped a plate in a sheet of newspaper and placed it in a box. “Married with a couple of kids. Moved here from farther south. Close to the Texas border, I think. Why?”
Married? That would explain the secrecy. “Is he newly married? Are the children his?”
“Been with the same woman for about ten years is what I heard.” Aunt Eunice slammed the cupboard door and opened another one. “Why all the questions?”
“You know me, as nosy as they come.”
“Yes, I do. That’s what worries me. What are you up to now?” She pierced me with her slate blue gaze.
“Just a hunch I need to follow up on. I’ll fill you in later. Mind if I take off for a bit?”
Aunt Eunice planted her pudgy fists on plump hips. “Don’t go getting into any trouble. Uncle Roy and Ethan are working. They can’t save you right now, and Joe has a crime to solve.”
So did I. “Nothing serious, Aunt Eunice. I promise. I just need to check on someone.” I snatched my purse from where I’d dropped it on the kitchen table, slung my tote bag over my shoulder, and sprinted out the door before she could stop me.
Mae Belle had only lived in Mountain Shadows less than a year. If Lewis had been married for ten years, then why was he hanging all over my cousin in pictures that clearly were recent?
I slid behind the wheel of my Sonata. The web surrounding Mae Belle’s murder seemed to become more tangled with each discovery. When Ethan and I had stumbled on the diamonds buried beneath my rosebush, and when I’d discovered the body of that carnival worker hanging in her shower, I’d solved those cases by luck, searching out clues, and lots of prayer. I’d stumbled into danger and been rescued by Ethan and Joe. The next mystery, I’d managed to outwit the man trying to kill me. But it had been a group of high school football players who had saved Ethan. This time would be different. I’d use my brain and skill the entire time and wouldn’t fall into the traps of the past.
Sure, I’d been smart, witty, and quick thinking when danger reared its ugly head, but this time, I’d solve this murder by pure intelligence. < ^Rde. i>Before circumstances got dire. I turned the ignition and burned rubber from the driveway of Mae Belle’s apartment.
The thought that I’d promised to share any information I dug up with Joe threatened to dispel some of my enthusiasm. Regardless, I’d made a promise to Mae Belle. One I intended to keep. I’d give Joe the photos later.
I glanced down at my dust-covered clothes. Not appropriate attire for interviewing someone who appeared as distinguished as Lewis, but
For the first time since she stepped off the plane, my aunt showed signs of grief in the lines of her face and the slump of her shoulders. She brushed off the skirt of her muumuu and struggled to her feet.
“Oh. Well, that’s it then. Guess Fred and I will be heading home tomorrow. Y’all can send what comes of all this to us in the mail.” She waddled down the hall and into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
Aunt Eunice poked her head around the corner. “Well, I never. I’m embarrassed to say Claudia’s my sister. And now she expects us to finish this mess.” She withdrew.
VRd/ed
I shrugged and shook my head. If I’d learned anything in the past few months, it was that people continue to astound you. They often did the weirdest things at the oddest times. I’d never get use to the selfishness of humankind. That would always stump me.
The photos crackled in my pocket. I joined my aunt in the kitchen. “What do you know about Lewis Anderson?”
“Huh?” She paused while removing dishes from the cupboard.
“I’m curious. I’d never met him before the funeral arrangements. Is he new to town?”
“Fairly new.” She wrapped a plate in a sheet of newspaper and placed it in a box. “Married with a couple of kids. Moved here from farther south. Close to the Texas border, I think. Why?”
Married? That would explain the secrecy. “Is he newly married? Are the children his?”
“Been with the same woman for about ten years is what I heard.” Aunt Eunice slammed the cupboard door and opened another one. “Why all the questions?”
“You know me, as nosy as they come.”
“Yes, I do. That’s what worries me. What are you up to now?” She pierced me with her slate blue gaze.
“Just a hunch I need to follow up on. I’ll fill you in later. Mind if I take off for a bit?”
Aunt Eunice planted her pudgy fists on plump hips. “Don’t go getting into any trouble. Uncle Roy and Ethan are working. They can’t save you right now, and Joe has a crime to solve.”
So did I. “Nothing serious, Aunt Eunice. I promise. I just need to check on someone.” I snatched my purse from where I’d dropped it on the kitchen table, slung my tote bag over my shoulder, and sprinted out the door before she could stop me.
Mae Belle had only lived in Mountain Shadows less than a year. If Lewis had been married for ten years, then why was he hanging all over my cousin in pictures that clearly were recent?
I slid behind the wheel of my Sonata. The web surrounding Mae Belle’s murder seemed to become more tangled with each discovery. When Ethan and I had stumbled on the diamonds buried beneath my rosebush, and when I’d discovered the body of that carnival worker hanging in her shower, I’d solved those cases by luck, searching out clues, and lots of prayer. I’d stumbled into danger and been rescued by Ethan and Joe. The next mystery, I’d managed to outwit the man trying to kill me. But it had been a group of high school football players who had saved Ethan. This time would be different. I’d use my brain and skill the entire time and wouldn’t fall into the traps of the past.
Sure, I’d been smart, witty, and quick thinking when danger reared its ugly head, but this time, I’d solve this murder by pure intelligence. < ^Rde. i>Before circumstances got dire. I turned the ignition and burned rubber from the driveway of Mae Belle’s apartment.
The thought that I’d promised to share any information I dug up with Joe threatened to dispel some of my enthusiasm. Regardless, I’d made a promise to Mae Belle. One I intended to keep. I’d give Joe the photos later.
I glanced down at my dust-covered clothes. Not appropriate attire for interviewing someone who appeared as distinguished as Lewis, but
Similar Books
