Read Online Trimmed With Murder by Sally Goldenbaum - Free Book Online Page B

didn’t know, someone he’d called a thief.
    Nell’s thoughts became more tangled as Ben drifted off, his breathing gradually slowing down.
    She turned onto her back, her eyes tracing the night shadows on the ceiling and her thoughts on a nephew who had had a much harder time navigating adulthood than his brother and sister had—even though outwardly Charlie Chambers had it all going for him: brains, looks, personality.
    But somewhere along the road, he’d stumbled.
    And now that she had this unexpected chance to be in her nephew’s life, Nell felt a compulsion to make sure no one threw pitfalls into the road he wanted to travel.

Chapter 7
    I t was Father Lawrence Northcutt who brought Ben into the fray the next day. But even important matters like wills had to wait until after breakfast. He spotted Ben at the Sweet Petunia Restaurant, sidled up to him, and suggested he’d like to have a word. But only after breakfast.
    Ben wholeheartedly agreed on that. So it wasn’t until after both men were filled to the gills with the chef’s creamy spinach omelet that Father Larry had his time with Ben. They walked to the window and talked in private for a few minutes, and then, while Ben left to get the car, Father Larry came over to Nell.
    â€œI’m stealing him away for a bit later this afternoon, Nell,” the priest said with a bow of his head. “But never you fear, darlin’, I promise he’ll be back home in time for dinner and in fine shape. No worse for wear—at least that’s my honest hope.”
    â€œI second that hope,” Nell said. She studied the look on the priest’s face. “But you’re looking a bit worried. I’m assuming that means you aren’t inviting Ben to the rectory for a taste of your finest Irish whiskey.”
    â€œNo, not this time. But it’s nothing to worry about. We’re meeting with the Cummings family, is all,” he said. He paused for a moment and looked off into the distance, as if imagining the scene, seeing the family sitting around his rectory, waiting, listening—all of them together, including the niece they’d never claimed. Then he concentrated back on Nell. “I always tell my parishioners to mentally prepare themselves before they go to family weddings or funerals—and all the things that surround those events—like who gets Mama’s favorite chair, Papa’s pipe. And bigger things, of course—property, wills. Those events have an insidious way of sometimes bringing out the worst in people. I’ve known Lydia Cummings for a long time, helped her bury her husband. And then a son.
    â€œIt’s a decent family and certainly a successful one, very generous to the church. But there can always be emotional complications after a mother or father dies, one who has held the reins. And I’ve found it never hurts to have Ben’s calm presence at my side on such occasions.” He pulled back Nell’s chair, helped her with her coat, and walked her toward the entrance.
    Calm presence
. . .
along with a dose of legal expertise,
Nell suspected. And just maybe, in this case, so Amber Harper had someone in her court.
    Father Northcutt had called upon Ben frequently in recent years, employing him, as he told Nell, as his unofficial consultant. “Especially in family matters,” he said. “Ben is the voice of calm and logic in those cases.”
    Nell touched the priest’s arm and reassured him with a smile and squeeze, but added that she wanted Ben back in one piece.
    Father Northcutt agreed with a smile, then released Nell to hurry out the door and into the warmth of the car waiting at the restaurant steps.
    â€¢Â Â Â â€¢Â Â Â â€¢
    Father Northcutt stayed true to his word—and more so. Ben came home, but even sooner than Nell had anticipated. The beginnings of a fire in the stone fireplace had just begun to warm the room, and