Read Online SLEEPING DOGS (Animal Instincts Book 6) by Chloe Kendrick - Free Book Online
Authors: Chloe Kendrick
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envelope in the kitchen. Not the best place for personal papers, but they’d been able to lay their hands on them whenever they were needed. My parents had placed a higher value on convenience than security. I didn’t even have a will or any documents providing for my estate or my pets. I wondered if I needed one. I was only halfway through my 20s. It seemed early to be talking about my demise, but Belinda Frias had probably not expected to die so soon either.
“Are your parents still around?” I asked, thinking of what Sheila had told me about them dropping out of sight after the murder.
“They moved to an island off the coast of Mexico. It was a good buy, and they decided to retire and they did. We get cards at Christmas and on birthdays. Other than that, I don’t hear much from them.”
She gave me an international number to reach them. I wrote it all down. I’d heard of people living in other countries to reduce the cost of retirement. I wondered if her parents had experienced money troubles after the murder. Maybe they couldn’t sell the house or maybe one of their jobs had fallen through.
“That’s a long way for a retirement,” I said, hoping for a clarification. I wanted to know more about what had happened to these people.
Gwen shrugged. “Not if you knew my parents. They were very much into each other first, and everyone else later. The kids, my brother and I, felt like intruders sometimes, because they wanted to do things for themselves more than take us to soccer practice or choir auditions.”
I had a momentary flashback to high school. I remembered the choir director, a largish woman with a broad smile who laughed a lot. I was shocked to remember something again. I wondered if looking into Susan’s disappearance would be good for me in some way. Perhaps it would help me to remember part of my past, even if that past was painful.
“So were there other clients she had?” I realized that in my frustration at not getting an easier answer before that I’d hit her with a number of questions all at once, and I chose to go back through each one individually so that I didn’t miss anything. Sheila would have told me to focus on the task at hand and not worry about parents or high school memories. It was just hard to ignore all of them after all these years.
I was annoyed that the dog theory hadn’t worked out. The clients of Belinda Frias would be next on my list, though I didn’t know how I would get the names of all of her clients. I was sure that some names, perhaps even the killer’s name, might slip through the cracks after all these years. I didn’t know why I thought that I’d get the easy answer that it had to be a family member. I knew that TPD had looked into this case, and they had not found an answer. If it had been as easy as the family, then the case would have been solved years ago.
“The only ones I knew of were us and the people next door. They were the Wagners, but I don’t know a first name. They were always Mr. and Mrs. at that age. She did both houses the same day so she could just walk between them. It was easier for her than her husband coming to pick her up and take her to the next person’s house.” She seemed to run herself down with the last little nugget, and she turned her attention to her food.
I took down all the information and tucked my notes in my pocket. “Thanks. You’ve been a lot of help. I was at a standstill.”
She touched my sleeve. “I was wondering if you’d answer a question for me.”
“Sure,” I said, thinking that turnabout was fair play here. I was usually the one who did the questioning.
“So is it true about you and the doctor?” she asked. Her eyes were big and bright. I realized that part of her motivation for coming here was to get information in return. I tried to explain in very kind terms what had happened. We had worked on trying to solve a murder case, and she’d grown fond of me, but I was dating someone else.
When
“Are your parents still around?” I asked, thinking of what Sheila had told me about them dropping out of sight after the murder.
“They moved to an island off the coast of Mexico. It was a good buy, and they decided to retire and they did. We get cards at Christmas and on birthdays. Other than that, I don’t hear much from them.”
She gave me an international number to reach them. I wrote it all down. I’d heard of people living in other countries to reduce the cost of retirement. I wondered if her parents had experienced money troubles after the murder. Maybe they couldn’t sell the house or maybe one of their jobs had fallen through.
“That’s a long way for a retirement,” I said, hoping for a clarification. I wanted to know more about what had happened to these people.
Gwen shrugged. “Not if you knew my parents. They were very much into each other first, and everyone else later. The kids, my brother and I, felt like intruders sometimes, because they wanted to do things for themselves more than take us to soccer practice or choir auditions.”
I had a momentary flashback to high school. I remembered the choir director, a largish woman with a broad smile who laughed a lot. I was shocked to remember something again. I wondered if looking into Susan’s disappearance would be good for me in some way. Perhaps it would help me to remember part of my past, even if that past was painful.
“So were there other clients she had?” I realized that in my frustration at not getting an easier answer before that I’d hit her with a number of questions all at once, and I chose to go back through each one individually so that I didn’t miss anything. Sheila would have told me to focus on the task at hand and not worry about parents or high school memories. It was just hard to ignore all of them after all these years.
I was annoyed that the dog theory hadn’t worked out. The clients of Belinda Frias would be next on my list, though I didn’t know how I would get the names of all of her clients. I was sure that some names, perhaps even the killer’s name, might slip through the cracks after all these years. I didn’t know why I thought that I’d get the easy answer that it had to be a family member. I knew that TPD had looked into this case, and they had not found an answer. If it had been as easy as the family, then the case would have been solved years ago.
“The only ones I knew of were us and the people next door. They were the Wagners, but I don’t know a first name. They were always Mr. and Mrs. at that age. She did both houses the same day so she could just walk between them. It was easier for her than her husband coming to pick her up and take her to the next person’s house.” She seemed to run herself down with the last little nugget, and she turned her attention to her food.
I took down all the information and tucked my notes in my pocket. “Thanks. You’ve been a lot of help. I was at a standstill.”
She touched my sleeve. “I was wondering if you’d answer a question for me.”
“Sure,” I said, thinking that turnabout was fair play here. I was usually the one who did the questioning.
“So is it true about you and the doctor?” she asked. Her eyes were big and bright. I realized that part of her motivation for coming here was to get information in return. I tried to explain in very kind terms what had happened. We had worked on trying to solve a murder case, and she’d grown fond of me, but I was dating someone else.
When
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