Deadly Pursuit by Tammy L. Grace

Author:Tammy L. Grace [Grace, Tammy L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lone Mountain Press
Published: 2025-03-06T00:00:00+00:00

16

Awoman with dark hair, wearing an apron, answered the door. “Good afternoon,” said Coop. “I’m Cooper Harrington. Miss Clara spoke with Camille, my aunt, and asked me to stop by.”

The woman bobbed her head. “She’s in the sunroom. Follow me, please.”

She led him through the entry to an elegant space done in shades of beige with windows that provided a view to the patio and large pool.

Clara, her silvery hair piled on her head in a bun, glanced up from the book she was reading and met Coop’s eyes. “Mr. Harrington, thank you so much for coming.”

As Coop stepped into the room, atop the plush beige carpet, he hoped his shoes were clean. He extended his hand to Clara, and she gestured to a chair next to her end of the small sofa where she sat. “Please call me, Coop. Everybody does.”

With a quick glance at the woman in the apron, she said, “Anne, bring us some cold drinks, please.”

Without a word, the woman left.

He focused his eyes on Clara, who was staring after her housekeeper. “Aunt Camille shared your issue with me.”

Clara brought her fingers to her lips. “Anne is leaving in a few minutes. Let’s wait until she’s gone, shall we?”

Coop glanced around the room and said, “Your home is lovely, Clara.”

She beamed with pride and fingered the strand of pearls at her neck. “Thank you. It’s been in my family for years and holds a special place in my heart.”

Anne returned with a tray, glasses of ice, and a pitcher of tea, along with several cans of soda and two bottles of beer. Clara nodded her approval. “Thank you, Anne. That will be all. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yes, Miss Clara. Have a nice day.”

She turned and was gone before Coop looked up from the selection of drinks. He offered to pour tea for them, handed Clara a glass, and settled back into his chair with his own.

As he glanced out the window, he noticed Anne walking down the pathway along the back of the house toward a gate. He pointed out the window. “Looks like Anne is gone.”

Clara nodded. “I just want to keep this as quiet as possible. I don’t need her or anyone else gossiping about it.”

“Have you considered contacting the police?”

Her mouth puckered, like she’d bitten into a piece of lemon. “No, no. I’m not doing that. I want this to be a discreet investigation.”

Coop opened his notebook. “Okay, so tell me more about this brooch and what happened on Thursday at book club.”

He let her ramble on with her version of events, which was much the same as what Aunt Camille told him. He asked her to show him where she kept the brooch and where the ladies gathered for the book club event.

First, she pointed out the window. “It was a gorgeous day, so we had our meeting on the patio.”

Coop walked out the door of the sunroom and took note of the area. Another door led into the kitchen area, plus another that he surmised was off the main living room.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.