Blood Relative: A Detective Lucy Gauthier Thriller by Liza Drozdov

Author:Liza Drozdov [Drozdov, Liza]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-06-14T22:00:00+00:00

Twenty Eight

Sophie doesn’t look happy to see me when I come into the barn. She’s instructing a couple of women on how she’d prefer to see the display table arranged.

Instead of smiling when she sees me as she usually does, her brow furrows and she looks worried.

“Hi Lucy,” she says as she walks over. “What’s going on?”

“Sorry Sophie. But I need to speak with Geraldine Bennett. I’ve got some news.”

A shadow passes over Sophie’s face. “She’s still here,” she says. “For now at least.”

“Oh, right,” I get it. “I guess she doesn’t need to stay in the shelter now that her husband isn’t a threat.”

Sophie rolls her eyes and I’m confused.

“You seem unhappy about that. Isn’t it a good thing that’s she moving out?” That is the goal of the Womyn Collective, to get abused women on their feet, independent and secure.

Sophie doesn’t say anything for a minute. Then she beckons me outside and walks with me toward the house. “She just told me she’s setting herself up in business, in town.”

“What kind of business?”

“Florist,” Sophie says, her voice flat. “She’s going into competition with us.”

“Brutal.” I shake my head. “Where would she get the money to do that?”

Sophie shrugs. “No idea. A private backer?” She turns to me. “After she told me I tried to get her to partner with me, formally, but we couldn’t work out a deal that made sense. To her, I hasten to add.”

“So she wants to keep all the profits to herself,” I say. “That’s assuming she makes any. Starting a small business is tough. She might end up losing her shirt going up against you.”

Sophie shakes her head. “I’m not so sure. She already has the contacts with the bespoke, carriage-trade clients, since she’s the one who’s been dealing with them for all our weddings and events. She’s going to skim the cream. It’s going to hurt us.” Now I understand why Sophie looks so disappointed. Losing her best designer is bad enough, but to be betrayed by her setting up in direct competition? That’s rough.

“That’s really low,” I say. “Especially given how you helped her out of an abusive situation,” I gesture toward the house. “Gave her shelter, security, a job…”

Sophie snorts in disgust. “It’s just business, she says to me. Nothing personal.” She holds up her hand for me to wait and goes inside to fetch Geraldine Bennett.

Within a few minutes Bennett comes outside alone, eyeing me suspiciously. Sophie no doubt stayed inside to give us some privacy. And, maybe she isn’t feeling so protective of Bennett any longer, and I don’t blame her.

“Hi Ms. Bennett,” I say. “I just wanted to give you some news in person, regarding your ex-husband’s death.”

She nods and crosses her arms. “What news?”

“We no longer believe his death was a suicide,” I say. “We’re treating it as a suspicious death.” I watch Bennett carefully for her reactions. The woman has never asked how he’d died, not in either of the two visits I’ve made to the Womyn farm.

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