Read Online Rocky Road by Josi S. Kilpack - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Josi S. Kilpack
Tags: cozy mystery
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would end like this?” She hated the idea, but couldn’t ignore the possibility that this might be true.
“No,” Caro said, and her reply seemed sincere. “I volunteered for the tables because it would keep me away from Lori and any temptation to ask her questions—I think Tess did chairs for the same reason. We assumed you weren’t going to, either.”
She didn’t mean to sound accusatory, but Sadie felt the reprimand all the same. Sadie couldn’t fault Caro for telling the truth, and yet she still felt manipulated somehow. She glanced at Tess and felt embarrassed all over again because of the way she’d confronted Sadie in front of Lori. Even if Sadie deserved it, there were other ways Tess could have handled it. At the very least, in confronting Sadie like that, she had undermined Sadie’s character to Lori—which couldn’t be in the best interest of the case.
“You must have learned stuff that changed your mind, right?” Caro asked with a hopeful tone Sadie didn’t like but could totally relate to. She asked herself once again if she really wanted to do this. Did she want to keep dealing with Tess? Did she want to take all the risks inherent to any investigation? Then again, maybe she and Tess would get along better if they were working on this together. And not doing anything about what she’d learned had risks, too. Oh, who was she kidding? She was in. All in.
“She did tell me some things that make me think we could try looking a little deeper until Sergeant Woodruff calls us back. But just a little.”
“Ri-ight,” Caro said, a gleam in her eye. “Just a little.”
Chapter 7
“Tomorrow, then,” Tess said to Lori half an hour later, after the fruit had been properly stored and the dressing mixed together for the next day.
“I’ll let you know when I know what time I can meet,” Lori said as the four of them came to a stop in a loose circle near the glass front doors of the church. After learning about the photos, she’d wanted to see them for herself. It would have to wait for the next day because Lori needed to get back to her kids, who were with Dr. Hendricks’s parents at the hotel where they were staying.
“Perfect,” Tess said, giving Lori a hug and then hurrying back down the hall to say goodbye to Nikki. “Call me when you know when you can get away.”
“And I need the little girls’ room,” Caro said, pointing over her shoulder in the direction they’d just come from. “I’ll be right back.”
Lori and Sadie were left in the foyer of the building, a large open space with a purple floral couch, some matching wingback chairs, and a painting of Jesus on the wall that Sadie had admired when they entered. Seeing His face made Sadie think about what Caro had said about hiding lights under bushels. Would He approve of what I’m doing? she wondered. It was too big a question to expect an answer to, and Sadie had struggled with her faith in such things these last couple of years. Her own mortality had come into question very strongly following a case where one of those bushels had caught on fire, as she’d mentioned to Caro. She looked away from the painting.
Lori began moving toward the front doors—she’d barely made eye contact with Sadie since Tess had announced that Sadie had been questioning her.
“It wasn’t my intent to question you,” Sadie said to Lori’s back. Lori stopped, her hand on the large glass door, and then she turned to face Sadie. Her facial expression was cautious.
“I have to hand it to you—you’re very smooth,” Lori said as she, too, surveyed the foyer, possibly as an excuse not to meet Sadie’s eyes. “I had no idea you were trying to get information out of me.”
Sadie felt her face heat up. “When we started talking, that’s all it was—talking. Conversation.”
“But you had an agenda.” Now she did meet Sadie’s gaze.
Sadie shifted her weight. Agenda was such a strong word. “I’d already explained to Tess
“No,” Caro said, and her reply seemed sincere. “I volunteered for the tables because it would keep me away from Lori and any temptation to ask her questions—I think Tess did chairs for the same reason. We assumed you weren’t going to, either.”
She didn’t mean to sound accusatory, but Sadie felt the reprimand all the same. Sadie couldn’t fault Caro for telling the truth, and yet she still felt manipulated somehow. She glanced at Tess and felt embarrassed all over again because of the way she’d confronted Sadie in front of Lori. Even if Sadie deserved it, there were other ways Tess could have handled it. At the very least, in confronting Sadie like that, she had undermined Sadie’s character to Lori—which couldn’t be in the best interest of the case.
“You must have learned stuff that changed your mind, right?” Caro asked with a hopeful tone Sadie didn’t like but could totally relate to. She asked herself once again if she really wanted to do this. Did she want to keep dealing with Tess? Did she want to take all the risks inherent to any investigation? Then again, maybe she and Tess would get along better if they were working on this together. And not doing anything about what she’d learned had risks, too. Oh, who was she kidding? She was in. All in.
“She did tell me some things that make me think we could try looking a little deeper until Sergeant Woodruff calls us back. But just a little.”
“Ri-ight,” Caro said, a gleam in her eye. “Just a little.”
Chapter 7
“Tomorrow, then,” Tess said to Lori half an hour later, after the fruit had been properly stored and the dressing mixed together for the next day.
“I’ll let you know when I know what time I can meet,” Lori said as the four of them came to a stop in a loose circle near the glass front doors of the church. After learning about the photos, she’d wanted to see them for herself. It would have to wait for the next day because Lori needed to get back to her kids, who were with Dr. Hendricks’s parents at the hotel where they were staying.
“Perfect,” Tess said, giving Lori a hug and then hurrying back down the hall to say goodbye to Nikki. “Call me when you know when you can get away.”
“And I need the little girls’ room,” Caro said, pointing over her shoulder in the direction they’d just come from. “I’ll be right back.”
Lori and Sadie were left in the foyer of the building, a large open space with a purple floral couch, some matching wingback chairs, and a painting of Jesus on the wall that Sadie had admired when they entered. Seeing His face made Sadie think about what Caro had said about hiding lights under bushels. Would He approve of what I’m doing? she wondered. It was too big a question to expect an answer to, and Sadie had struggled with her faith in such things these last couple of years. Her own mortality had come into question very strongly following a case where one of those bushels had caught on fire, as she’d mentioned to Caro. She looked away from the painting.
Lori began moving toward the front doors—she’d barely made eye contact with Sadie since Tess had announced that Sadie had been questioning her.
“It wasn’t my intent to question you,” Sadie said to Lori’s back. Lori stopped, her hand on the large glass door, and then she turned to face Sadie. Her facial expression was cautious.
“I have to hand it to you—you’re very smooth,” Lori said as she, too, surveyed the foyer, possibly as an excuse not to meet Sadie’s eyes. “I had no idea you were trying to get information out of me.”
Sadie felt her face heat up. “When we started talking, that’s all it was—talking. Conversation.”
“But you had an agenda.” Now she did meet Sadie’s gaze.
Sadie shifted her weight. Agenda was such a strong word. “I’d already explained to Tess
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