Charms and Chihuahuas: Familiar Spirits - Book 4 by Christine Pope

Author:Christine Pope [Pope, Christine]
Language: eng
Format: epub

Chapter 9

Sisterhood

A million lies jumped to my lips, none of which sounded remotely plausible. All right, I’d just have to tell the truth.

Well, some of it, anyway.

“I’m Charity Hughes,” I said. “I’m watching Lexi.”

Adelaide Hanford was tall like her brother had been, at least three inches more than my modest five foot five. She glared down at me, one patrician eyebrow lifted at a caustic angle. “If you’re here, then who’s watching the dog?”

“My mother,” I replied immediately. Again, nothing more than the truth, and something of the angry light in Adelaide’s eyes dimmed slightly.

Not all the way, though. Not even close.

“How did you get in?”

“The door wasn’t locked,” I lied. “I think maybe someone forgot to close up properly when the police left.”

Her lips thinned. “Maybe,” she allowed. “And I’ll definitely follow up with Bill Stanton about that. However, it doesn’t explain why you’re inside my brother’s house, or why you would have driven all this way without knowing for sure whether you’d be able to get in at all.”

Fair point. It felt beyond awkward to be confronting one another like this right on the threshold to the family room, so I backed out of the way so she could come inside.

Which she did, although her mouth compressed even further as she caught sight of the dark blotch on the wood floor.

“I came over here because I wanted to get some food for Lexi,” I explained, thinking furiously. “I got some from the vet who rescued her, but it wasn’t sitting well, and I knew she’d do better with the food she was used to. There wasn’t anyone I could ask about that, so I thought I’d come to the house and see if the police investigators were still here and could let me in.”

For a moment, Adelaide Hanford surveyed me coldly, and I did my best to meet her gaze squarely, looking as guileless as possible. I’d only just met her, but she gave the distinct impression of a woman who was used to having people jump when she told them how high.

Unfortunately for her, I’d never been someone like that. Under different circumstances, I might have had a few choice words to say about her high-handed attitude, but right now, I knew I needed to act as nonthreatening…and believable…as possible.

“Obviously, the police weren’t here,” she observed, her tone dry.

“No,” I agreed. I wouldn’t say she’d softened exactly, only that she seemed a teeny bit less hostile than she had the moment before. “I was going to drive to the station to see if I could have someone come back over here with me, but then I had the crazy idea to try the back door. It opened, so I figured I’d just pop in, grab the dog food, and then go home.”

“Then where’s the dog food?” Adelaide asked.

Oh, hell. I’d never even gone looking for it, obviously, because fetching provisions for Lexi hadn’t been my reason for being here at all.

And that meant I needed to lie some more and hope for the best.

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