Read Online Fly by Night (A Gracie Andersen Mystery Book 3) by Laurinda Wallace - Free Book Online
Authors: Laurinda Wallace
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She shuddered, turning to face her cousin with disapproval. Her layered chin-length cut revealed sparkling diamond studs on her ears.
“So, why are you here exactly? I really have an awful lot to do,” Gracie inquired with barely controlled impatience.
“Oh, I just finally had time to stop by to see how business was going. It looks like it’s … well, busy.”
“And so it is. You always were observant, Isabelle,” she answered sarcastically. “Lovely to see you … as usual. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” Gracie turned to go back to the office.
“There was one more thing, Gracie. Perhaps I should speak to you in private.”
She lamented inwardly. The last thing she needed was a private talk with Isabelle, the family finagler. Trudy pretended to examine the schedule even closer and avoided looking at Gracie, for which she was grateful. Knowing Izzy, some committee probably needed one more person, or she wanted free room and board for a friend’s dog.
“All right, but I’ve got an appointment in just 15 minutes.”
An exercise session with a golden retriever wasn’t exactly a fib. A time limit should curtail Isabelle’s long-windedness though. Gracie led Isabelle back into the office, offering her the uncomfortable plastic folding chair by the desk.
After wiping the chair with a tissue, her cousin sat down carefully. She immediately launched into what Gracie determined was her real reason for descending on Milky Way Kennels. Her eyes widened in surprise when her cousin described a real estate scheme that would’ve turned Jim’s hair gray in mere seconds.
*****
Jim pulled receipts from his pockets, laying them on Gracie’s desk. She stashed them in a folder to be entered into the accounting program later. He took a bottle of water from the small refrigerator by the coffeemaker. Settling into his dilapidated green recliner, he unscrewed the bottle.
“I had a visit from Isabelle today, and I have a message for you.”
As soon as she mentioned Isabelle, he groaned, closing his eyes.
“What could she want from me?”
“You’d better get comfortable. Now that she’s a hot real estate agent and sits on the bank board, she’s on a mission to get control of Greerson’s Meadow.”
Jim straightened and stared at Gracie. “What? What interest does the bank have in the property?”
“Because the Meadow is so important to the wind farm company, which is in line for substantial government grants and some hefty financing from the bank, it is ‘imperative’—that’s Isabelle’s word—that you get a power of attorney or be appointed as conservator for Toby. She wants the property to be conveyed to the bank instead of messing around with D. B.’s estate and that mortgage he held. I was told that time is of the essence. The local economy and the future of the bank are hanging in the balance. Also straight from the queen’s lips.”
“Doesn’t she just beat all!” Jim said with some venom. “Since when is our economy solely dependent on a field?”
“Good question, Jimmy. I don’t know. Her panties are in quite a twist about this land deal. Knowing the situation with Toby and all, I have no idea why she’d even bother asking.”
“There’s something more to this whole thing than meets the eye, and it’s a little too complicated for poor old Tobias McQuinn to be a part of it,” Jim mused, rubbing his jaw. “Just another reason why I don’t think Toby killed D. B.” He jumped up suddenly from the chair. “I’m going up to see Roscoe. He’d better have something for me.”
Gracie sat cross-legged behind the heavy oak coffee table, stuffing the remains of some cold pizza in her mouth. Typing in “Renew Earth” on her iPad, she watched the search engine generate her choices. Haley lay by her side, stretched out and snoring. The search brought up a few archived newspaper articles from The Sentinel . Renew Earth hadn’t been around for that long. It looked like the
“So, why are you here exactly? I really have an awful lot to do,” Gracie inquired with barely controlled impatience.
“Oh, I just finally had time to stop by to see how business was going. It looks like it’s … well, busy.”
“And so it is. You always were observant, Isabelle,” she answered sarcastically. “Lovely to see you … as usual. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” Gracie turned to go back to the office.
“There was one more thing, Gracie. Perhaps I should speak to you in private.”
She lamented inwardly. The last thing she needed was a private talk with Isabelle, the family finagler. Trudy pretended to examine the schedule even closer and avoided looking at Gracie, for which she was grateful. Knowing Izzy, some committee probably needed one more person, or she wanted free room and board for a friend’s dog.
“All right, but I’ve got an appointment in just 15 minutes.”
An exercise session with a golden retriever wasn’t exactly a fib. A time limit should curtail Isabelle’s long-windedness though. Gracie led Isabelle back into the office, offering her the uncomfortable plastic folding chair by the desk.
After wiping the chair with a tissue, her cousin sat down carefully. She immediately launched into what Gracie determined was her real reason for descending on Milky Way Kennels. Her eyes widened in surprise when her cousin described a real estate scheme that would’ve turned Jim’s hair gray in mere seconds.
*****
Jim pulled receipts from his pockets, laying them on Gracie’s desk. She stashed them in a folder to be entered into the accounting program later. He took a bottle of water from the small refrigerator by the coffeemaker. Settling into his dilapidated green recliner, he unscrewed the bottle.
“I had a visit from Isabelle today, and I have a message for you.”
As soon as she mentioned Isabelle, he groaned, closing his eyes.
“What could she want from me?”
“You’d better get comfortable. Now that she’s a hot real estate agent and sits on the bank board, she’s on a mission to get control of Greerson’s Meadow.”
Jim straightened and stared at Gracie. “What? What interest does the bank have in the property?”
“Because the Meadow is so important to the wind farm company, which is in line for substantial government grants and some hefty financing from the bank, it is ‘imperative’—that’s Isabelle’s word—that you get a power of attorney or be appointed as conservator for Toby. She wants the property to be conveyed to the bank instead of messing around with D. B.’s estate and that mortgage he held. I was told that time is of the essence. The local economy and the future of the bank are hanging in the balance. Also straight from the queen’s lips.”
“Doesn’t she just beat all!” Jim said with some venom. “Since when is our economy solely dependent on a field?”
“Good question, Jimmy. I don’t know. Her panties are in quite a twist about this land deal. Knowing the situation with Toby and all, I have no idea why she’d even bother asking.”
“There’s something more to this whole thing than meets the eye, and it’s a little too complicated for poor old Tobias McQuinn to be a part of it,” Jim mused, rubbing his jaw. “Just another reason why I don’t think Toby killed D. B.” He jumped up suddenly from the chair. “I’m going up to see Roscoe. He’d better have something for me.”
Gracie sat cross-legged behind the heavy oak coffee table, stuffing the remains of some cold pizza in her mouth. Typing in “Renew Earth” on her iPad, she watched the search engine generate her choices. Haley lay by her side, stretched out and snoring. The search brought up a few archived newspaper articles from The Sentinel . Renew Earth hadn’t been around for that long. It looked like the
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