here the entire time.”
“Momma, we can’t just take her word for it. How can we know how long her break really was? No one is around her office to see when she comes and goes, so we don’t know. For all we know, she could have been gone for half an hour, which would have been plenty of time to find Harley, kill him, and then get back here before anyone even realized that she was even gone.”
Momma frowned. “If that’s the case, then how can we possibly find the truth?”
“I’ll call Jake and tell him what we just learned. He can pull the hospital’s security video and see if Megan’s story holds water.”
“Does he often do what you ask him to, I mean in his official capacity?”
“Not necessarily, but when it comes to his investigations, he’s not too proud to take help from anyone who can help him catch a killer.”
“This is all rather more difficult than it seems, isn’t it?” she asked me.
“It takes a certain mindset, that’s all.”
“You don’t give yourself enough credit, Suzanne.”
“Maybe not. I just do the best I can, stumbling along until I find the one clue that leads me to the truth.”
“It’s a great deal more complicated than that, and we both know it.” Momma glanced at her watch. “We’ve got some time to kill before we speak with Curtis Daniels. What should we do in the meantime?”
“Let’s go over there anyway and see if we can catch him by surprise.”
“Is that wise?” she asked me.
“Who knows? All I know is that the quicker we figure out what really happened to Harley, the better I’ll sleep at night.”
“Then by all means, let’s go.”
Chapter 10
“D ot, what are you doing here?” Curtis Daniels asked as Momma and I walked into his outer office. He was at his secretary’s desk taking her to task over something she’d done, and the man was clearly upset about whatever it was. “I’ll be with you in a second,” he said. “Wendy, this is simply unacceptable. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir,” his secretary said as she rubbed her hands raw from the stress of being upbraided. She was clearly not happy about the scolding, especially in front of us.
For some reason that satisfied Curtis, and as he turned to us, he said, “I told you earlier, I don’t have anything to say to you.”
“I think you’ll want to hear this, Curtis,” Momma said brusquely.
“I don’t know if you’ve heard or not, but I just lost my partner. I don’t have time for your games today. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”
“Very well,” Momma said. “If that’s your attitude, I’m donating the land you’ve been after to the Natural Conservancy Brotherhood this afternoon. I could use the tax write-off more than what you’ve been willing to pay me for it, and as you said, you have enough to deal with right now without me meddling in your business.”
“Hang on. Don’t be so hasty. I’m sure that I can carve out a few minutes for you.”
“Mr. Daniels, you asked me to remind you that you have a meeting with the Charlotte attorneys in ten minutes,” the secretary reminded him.
“This won’t take long,” he said. “Hello, Suzanne. If you’d like to wait out here, I’m sure that Wendy would be happy to get you something to drink.”
“Actually, I thought I’d tag along with Momma,” I said as I smiled.
He looked uncertainly at my mother, who nodded her approval. Seeing that he wasn’t going to win that battle, Curtis immediately became the gracious host. “Of course. Let’s go into my office.”
Once we were inside and the door was closed, Curtis sat behind his massive desk and faced us. “Now, what’s this nonsense about donating that land? It’s much too valuable to give it to the tree huggers, Dot, and you know it.”
“I happen to like their cause,” Momma said.
“Then why are you here?” he asked her pointedly. Evidently the gloves were now off.
“I may still be interested in selling the land to you,
“Momma, we can’t just take her word for it. How can we know how long her break really was? No one is around her office to see when she comes and goes, so we don’t know. For all we know, she could have been gone for half an hour, which would have been plenty of time to find Harley, kill him, and then get back here before anyone even realized that she was even gone.”
Momma frowned. “If that’s the case, then how can we possibly find the truth?”
“I’ll call Jake and tell him what we just learned. He can pull the hospital’s security video and see if Megan’s story holds water.”
“Does he often do what you ask him to, I mean in his official capacity?”
“Not necessarily, but when it comes to his investigations, he’s not too proud to take help from anyone who can help him catch a killer.”
“This is all rather more difficult than it seems, isn’t it?” she asked me.
“It takes a certain mindset, that’s all.”
“You don’t give yourself enough credit, Suzanne.”
“Maybe not. I just do the best I can, stumbling along until I find the one clue that leads me to the truth.”
“It’s a great deal more complicated than that, and we both know it.” Momma glanced at her watch. “We’ve got some time to kill before we speak with Curtis Daniels. What should we do in the meantime?”
“Let’s go over there anyway and see if we can catch him by surprise.”
“Is that wise?” she asked me.
“Who knows? All I know is that the quicker we figure out what really happened to Harley, the better I’ll sleep at night.”
“Then by all means, let’s go.”
Chapter 10
“D ot, what are you doing here?” Curtis Daniels asked as Momma and I walked into his outer office. He was at his secretary’s desk taking her to task over something she’d done, and the man was clearly upset about whatever it was. “I’ll be with you in a second,” he said. “Wendy, this is simply unacceptable. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir,” his secretary said as she rubbed her hands raw from the stress of being upbraided. She was clearly not happy about the scolding, especially in front of us.
For some reason that satisfied Curtis, and as he turned to us, he said, “I told you earlier, I don’t have anything to say to you.”
“I think you’ll want to hear this, Curtis,” Momma said brusquely.
“I don’t know if you’ve heard or not, but I just lost my partner. I don’t have time for your games today. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”
“Very well,” Momma said. “If that’s your attitude, I’m donating the land you’ve been after to the Natural Conservancy Brotherhood this afternoon. I could use the tax write-off more than what you’ve been willing to pay me for it, and as you said, you have enough to deal with right now without me meddling in your business.”
“Hang on. Don’t be so hasty. I’m sure that I can carve out a few minutes for you.”
“Mr. Daniels, you asked me to remind you that you have a meeting with the Charlotte attorneys in ten minutes,” the secretary reminded him.
“This won’t take long,” he said. “Hello, Suzanne. If you’d like to wait out here, I’m sure that Wendy would be happy to get you something to drink.”
“Actually, I thought I’d tag along with Momma,” I said as I smiled.
He looked uncertainly at my mother, who nodded her approval. Seeing that he wasn’t going to win that battle, Curtis immediately became the gracious host. “Of course. Let’s go into my office.”
Once we were inside and the door was closed, Curtis sat behind his massive desk and faced us. “Now, what’s this nonsense about donating that land? It’s much too valuable to give it to the tree huggers, Dot, and you know it.”
“I happen to like their cause,” Momma said.
“Then why are you here?” he asked her pointedly. Evidently the gloves were now off.
“I may still be interested in selling the land to you,
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