Read Online Pattern of Betrayal (Vineyard Quilt Mysteries Book 2) by Amy Lillard, Mae Fox - Free Book Online

couple of clicks later the face of her first guest filled the screen. “Gregory Wilson was arrested,” Julie said with some alarm. “He took a rare baseball card from a store in Montana.”
    “Did he go to jail for it?”
    “Yeah, looks like he did. He was also accused of stealing a painting in California, but those charges were dropped.”
    “Well, theft and murder are worlds apart,” Hannah pointed out.
    Julie just raised an eyebrow at Hannah and typed in another name. “Sadie Davidson is a retired librarian. She never married and has three cats. She and Joyce have been friends since grade school. Joyce was recently widowed when her husband died of a heart attack.”
    “We knew all this already.”
    Julie nodded. “Both are on a fixed income.”
    “And that is suspect how?” Hannah asked.
    “Well, it’s a little strange. There are cheaper places to stay in the area than the Quilt Haus Inn. It didn’t have to be their first choice for a simple vacation.”
    “But think about it,” Hannah said. “All Sadie has talked about since she got here is quilting. And they get two meals a day included in the weekend’s special price as well as the evening entertainment. Even with a more expensive room rate, it’s a pretty good deal.”
    “I suppose. They did mention that a murder mystery was on their bucket list,” Julie conceded. Before she dismissed them from suspicion, she scanned the screen for any information she might have missed. “What about this? Joyce lost all of her money in a Ponzi scheme.”
    “All of it?” Hannah’s eyes were wide with surprise.
    “She’s a complainant in a lawsuit against an investment company, but there aren’t too many details about it.”
    “If she lost all of her money, then how did she pay for this?”
    Julie shrugged. “Sadie?”
    “Maybe. What about … Alice Peyton?” Hannah hesitated briefly before saying the woman’s name.
    Julie couldn’t say she blamed her friend. They’d both seen a lot in their years recovering stolen antiquities, but never anything so morbid this close to home. She typed “Alice Peyton” into the search engine, and several hits came up. Juliechose the one that looked like the Alice that had been staying with them at the inn. “Single, mother of two, worked for a man named Eric Rutherford from Rutherford International.”
    “What of kind company is that?”
    Julie shrugged. “It doesn’t say.” So why did it sound so familiar? She leaned back in her seat and forked up another bite of the strudel.
    “Why are you frowning at my strudel?” Hannah demanded.
    “That name. It sounds so familiar.” Julie tapped her fork on the plate as she tried to remember. Then it hit her. “Eric Rutherford is the expert I called to appraise the Civil War journal.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “Positive.” Julie typed his name into the search engine. “Yep. Same one.” Which meant Alice definitely knew about the journal when she came to the inn. The newspaper section in her suitcase was no fluke. But what would any of that have to do with murder?
    “I guess this is too bizarre to be a coincidence,” Hannah said, her brows furrowed.
    “And the story gets weirder.”
    “How so?”
    “Alice’s family came by this morning. They were a strange bunch, to say the least.” Julie recounted the odd trio who had shown up to get Alice’s bags. “And then they told me that they didn’t buy her this weekend trip. They claimed her boyfriend bought it for her—and she wasn’t divorced, but widowed.”
    “Why would Alice lie about something like that?” Hannah asked.
    “That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out. It’s a weird lie to tell. Her son said maybe I misunderstood, but I vividly remember her saying that.”
    Hannah nodded and then waited as Julie tapped away at the keyboard.
    “Kenneth and Susan Calhoun,” Julie announced the names of the next two guests. “He’s an overworked podiatrist. She’s a housewife and part-time office