Read Online Fanny Packs and Foul Play (A Haley Randolph Mystery) by Dorothy Howell - Free Book Online Page A

and
running.”
    “Patrick could do that,” I said.
    “Veronica and Patrick were very generous.
They gave everybody money and helped out any way they could. Why,
they paid for this trip, every dime of it. But that just made
things worse when we got here and a limousine picked us up. Then we
pulled up to this mansion. All Renée’s talked about was how
Veronica’s life out here is so grand, and the rest of us are stuck
in that same small town we’ve always lived in.”
    “What, exactly, did Renée mean when she
stormed out of here and said she was going to get what was due
her?” I asked.
    Cassie rolled her eyes. “I don’t know for
sure. But I suspect she’s got some crazy moneymaking scheme that
she intended to spring on Veronica and Patrick. But, well, with
Veronica gone I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
    “Aunt Cassie?”
    We turned and saw Brandie standing in the
hallway. I didn’t know how long she’d been there or how much she’d
overheard, but Cassie didn’t seem concerned.
    “Can we please go somewhere?” Brandie moaned,
in true teenage fashion. “It’s so boring here.”
    “I’m just exhausted,” Cassie said. “But
Andrea said we were getting our own tour guide tomorrow. There’ll
be plenty to do then.”
    Brandie slumped against the wall and sighed.
Obviously, tomorrow was too far in the future to satisfy her.
    Not that I blamed her.
    “Want to go for a drive?” I asked, then added
quickly, “If it’s okay with your family.”
    Brandie sprang to life like a missile
launched from a naval destroyer, and rushed over. “Can I go, Aunt
Cassie? Mom won’t care. Can I?”
    Cassie glanced up at the second floor, then
nodded. “Melanie is probably taking a nap and I don’t want to wake
her, so, okay, you can go.”
    “Yes!” Brandie gave a fist pump and headed
for the door.
    “Don’t let her talk you into getting in
trouble,” Cassie said to me.
    I wasn’t worried. When it came to finding
trouble I didn’t need any help—and I knew all the shortcuts.
    “We’ll be gone a few hours,” I said to
Cassie.
    As I followed Brandie through the front door,
I pulled out my cell phone and called Andrea.
    “When are you getting here?” she asked as
soon as she answered.
    “I’m here already,” I said. “Where are
you?”
    “Actually, I’m hiding in the media room,”
Andrea admitted. “Melanie and Renée got into a big argument. I
couldn’t take it.”
    “You’re safe to come out,” I told her.
“Melanie is napping and Renée is outside. I’m taking Brandie for a
drive.”
    “Thank God,” she said. “You’re a
lifesaver.”
    “Let the security guys know Brandie is with
me, will you?” I asked.
    The last thing I needed was for someone to
think she’d gone missing.
    “Sure. Have fun,” she said, and we ended the
call.
    When I got outside, Brandie was bouncing on
her toes next to Veronica’s BMW.
    “Let’s take Veronica’s car, okay?” she asked.
“We can put the top down. It’ll be so cool.”
    The Beemer would definitely have been cooler
than my Honda, but no way was I taking it.
    “I know where the keys are,” Brandie pleaded.
“I can drive.”
    “How old are you?” I asked.
    She drew herself up a little and said, “I’m
almost sixteen.”
    I figured that was teenager-speak for almost
fifteen.
    “I know how to drive,” Brandie insisted.
“Everybody my age drives, back home.”
    That was probably true, but her experience on
rural two-lane roads was no match for Southern California’s
freeways.
    “Do you have a driver’s license?” I
asked.
    “Well, no,” she admitted.
    “Then I’m driving,” I said, and pointed to my
Honda.
    Jeez, who’d have thought I would be the
responsible one?
    We got in and I pulled away from the
house.
    “I need a Starbucks,” I said.
    “Is there really one of those places around
here?” Brandie asked.
    I nearly ran up on the curb.
    “You don’t have a Starbucks near your house?”
I asked.
    Oh my God, how