Read Online Hide and Snoop (The Odelia Grey Mysteries) by Sue Ann Jaffarian - Free Book Online Page B

I had called Alyce to keep her in the loop and tell her not to bother with my computer. With Alyce was a tall, thin man I’d never seen before. Due to confidentiality issues, unknown individuals are not allowed to drift through our hallways. My questioning eyes settled on him.
    “Oh,” jumped in Alyce, noting my attention to the stranger, “this is Gary, my husband. He was in the area and stopped by to say hello and see the office.”
    I extended my right hand towards Gary Allen. “I’m Odelia Grey. Nice to meet you.” He smiled, showing uneven teeth, and took my hand. His shake was firm and dry, his blue eyes serious and intelligent. His face was broad through the forehead and narrow at the jaw, like an inverted pyramid.
    “My pleasure, Odelia,” Gary Allen said with warmth. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
    Alyce hooked an arm through her husband’s. “Gary and I were talking, Odelia. We’d be glad to take Lily back to our house until Monday. Gary works from home mostly, so tomorrow wouldn’t be a problem, and we have kids of our own.”
    Gary patted his wife’s arm. “One more child wouldn’t make a bit of difference, I can assure you. The Lord provides for all who enter our home.”
    It was then Alyce noticed I was toddler-free. “Where’s Lily?” she asked.
    Mark Baker materialized out of nowhere, the three of them crowding my door. Standing slightly behind the Allens, Mark watched in silence like a deadly crocodile waiting in the shallows of a swamp.
    “That’s very generous of you,” I said to Alyce and Gary, “but a friend is watching her.”
    They seemed genuinely disappointed.
    “Carl called me back in for a meeting,” I explained, “and I didn’t think it wise to have her underfoot.”
    A hand shot to Alyce’s mouth. “You’re not … you know.”
    “Relax, I still have my job.” I took a seat behind my desk and stashed my purse in the bottom drawer. “Carl assigned me a special project he needs done right away.” I looked pointedly from Alyce to Mark, letting my gaze linger on the latter. “I’m sure you’re both relieved to hear I wasn’t canned … yet.”

seven
    When I picked up Lily after work, she was clearly glad to see me. She was scrubbed clean, top to bottom, including her clothes, and her cold seemed better. She ran to me and threw her arms around my legs, chattering a mile a minute about cookies and trains. Or maybe it was clubs and twine.
    “You’re a miracle worker, Zee. Lily looks factory new.”
    Zee was working on supper. “Nothing a nap and a bubble bath couldn’t fix. I went through her suitcase to see what was clean and dirty and ended up throwing almost everything in the wash. By the way, there’s a baby monitor in there. Make sure you use it tonight.”
    Lily babbled something and took off like a shot to watch something on TV.
    “She was in the middle of Dora the Explorer ,” Zee explained.
    “Huh?”
    Zee laughed. “You’ll learn soon enough.”
    “I really owe you, Zee.” I hesitated. I had two other favors to ask her but didn’t want her to think I was taking advantage. One was taking Lily the next day, Friday, so I could go into work. I was sure she wouldn’t have an issue with that if she didn’t have plans. The other favor was Friday night. Shortly after I left Carl, I had called Greg to update him on everything.
    “If I don’t locate Erica soon, you and I will be playing Mommy and Daddy over the weekend.”
    “Sounds like fun, actually,” was my darling husband’s initial response. “I know Wainwright will love it. But what about Friday night?”
    “What’s Friday?” I asked, my mind a blank. Before he could say anything, I groaned, remembering we had plans. Isaac and Melina Thornwood had asked us over to dinner on Friday night. Isaac played basketball with Greg. He was also in a wheelchair but was an amputee. Like us, the Thornwoods entertained quite a bit. Usually their dinners were on Saturday night, but this Sunday