A Berry Horrible Holiday: A Kylie Berry Cozy Mystery (Kylie Berry Mysteries Book 7) by A.R. Winters

Author:A.R. Winters [Winters, A.R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-03-06T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

Rita had already disappeared inside the house. I had to do a fast step after her if I had any chance of catching her before she disappeared into her bedroom. I was moving so quickly that I was sure people would think I was doing a desperation run for the bathroom, but some things were more important than image.

I needn’t have worried though. A soft sob reached my ears as soon as I crossed the threshold into the house. It took seconds to locate the owner of that heartbroken cry.

“Rita,” I said once I’d found her.

She spun to put her back to me and wiped at her tear riddled face.

“You okay?”

Her shoulders squared, and she sniffed a final snuffle before turning to face me. Her eyes were red, and her long lashes were wet. “I was hoping for a little alone time.” Her eyes glanced in the direction of the way out, a polite hint that she wanted me to go. When I didn’t follow her cue, she said, “I’ve been through a lot, nothing you’d understand. So if you don’t mind…”

This time her look toward the way out was blatant.

I ignored it.

“You’re right. Being jilted at the altar isn’t an experience I’ve ever had.”

Her mouth fell open and her eyes went wide.

I hurriedly continued, cutting off her opportunity to talk before she started. “I know what Doug did to you. I know that he told you he’d marry you and then left. I know he stole the money that had been put aside for your honeymoon. Did he destroy your family’s orchard, too?”

She was wild-eyed and speechless, yet she managed to nod her head yes.

“What did he do?”

“Salt,” she croaked, then cleared her voice. “Salt. He salted the ground. Two tons of it.”

My mind reeled. That was why the ground had looked like it had crusted snow on it in the geek squad pictures of her family’s dead and dying orchard.

I asked my next question with as much gentleness as I could. “Is that why you killed him—because he’d hurt you so much, so many times over?”

Her head jerked back, and her brow knitted in a heavy scowl. “We didn’t even know he was here! You don’t know what you’re talking about. You don’t even know his real name!”

“Dan. His name is Dan.”

She side-eye looked me over from head to toe. “You still don’t know anything,” she declared, though her voice had softened.

“I know that you managed to track Dan down from another state and that rather than call the law on him, you came after him yourself.”

“The man was a psycho. What do you even care? He’s dead now. Just leave it alone. Just turn around and go on with your life. His death does this world and everybody in it a favor.”

“Does it do your dad a favor?” I asked.

Confusion overtook the anger in her expression. “What?”

“If you killed Dan, your dad most likely confessed to save you from the whole thing ruining your life. But if you didn’t kill Dan, that means he did.

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