carefully.
âJohn?â Henry sounded surprised. âSurely you donât suspect him.â
Nancy shrugged her shoulders. âAt this point, I donât know,â she said honestly. âI need some more information about him, such as where he worked before he came to you.â
âBefore he came to Anchorage, he worked as a butler for a railroad executive in Seward.â
âWas he there a long time?â Nancy asked.
âNo,â Henry admitted. âHe told me he was let go after two days. I didnât press him as to the reason for the firing.â
Carson looked at Henry. âWhy did you hire him?â
Henry shrugged. âMy instincts told me he was a good man, and so far theyâve been right. John has been an excellent butlerâand I like him.â
âOne more question,â Nancy said. âI sawfrom the employment records that Steve used to work for you. I wondered why he quit.â
A frown crossed Henryâs face. âIf you want to know that, youâll have to ask Steve. I assure you, though, it has nothing to do with this case.â
Nancy was about to press him further when the door to the conference room opened and Detective Chandler strode in. He grunted when he saw Nancy.
âIâm afraid Iâll have to ask you to leave,â he told her. âThis is official businessâonly the suspect and his counsel have the right to be here.â
Chandlerâs tone was firm. Nancy thought of pointing out that Carson wasnât Henryâs counsel, but she knew that wouldnât help Henry any. Swallowing her disappointment, she said goodbye and headed back to the Wilcox mansion.
Nancy was deeply preoccupied during the entire drive back. The miles flew by unnoticed. When she arrived at the Wilcox mansion, she was greeted by an ecstatic George.
âI had the most fabulous day!â George exclaimed. âSteve and I spent the whole day working with the dogs.â
âThatâs great,â Nancy said.
âWe took them out for a long run, and then we made them this really disgusting goop forlunch.â George wrinkled her nose playfully, then babbled on. âSteve really loves his teamâheâd spend all day just mucking around in the barn with them if he could, only he says Craig always beats him to the chores these days. Heâs going to help Craig buy his own teamâthatâs going to be his Christmas present. Donât tell Craig, okay?â
âMmm, thatâs terrific,â Nancy said absently.
George gave her a long look. âYou donât sound very excited,â she commented. âWere you even listening to me?â
âSorry,â Nancy said contritely. âItâs just that my dayâs been pretty rough. Donât tell Dad, but I took a tumble down a flight of stairs, thanks to someoneâs helping hand.â
âSomeone pushed you?â George exclaimed, her dark eyes widening. âWho do you think it was?â
âIâm not sure. By the time I landed, whoever it was had disappeared. I went back to the shipping offices, though, and Craig and John were there.â
âDo you think it was one of them?â
Nancy shrugged. âAt this point, all I know is that they were there. One of them could have pushed me. But so could Amanda Spear.â
âAmanda?â This time George really was surprised. âYou suspect Amanda?â
Nancy gave a tired chuckle. âI can see weâve got some catching up to do,â she said. âLetâs go up to our roomâI need to lie down and rest my aching bones for a few minutes. While Iâm doing that, Iâll tell you all about my day.â
â¢Â â¢Â â¢
That night it snowed heavily, and a few lazy flakes were still falling when the girls came down for breakfast the next morning. Both Steve and Craig were keyed up during the meal. It was the day of the first trial
Shantel Tessier
Jake Needham
M. S. Parker
Sparkle Hayter
Roberta Latow
C.J. Newt
Dustin Mcwilliams
Alistair MacLean
Kim Thompson
C.L. Richards