Death on Demand 12 - Sugarplum Dead by Carolyn Hart

Author:Carolyn Hart [Dead, Sugarplum]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-02-02T05:00:00+00:00

"Marguerite's stepchildren," Max explained. "Wayne Ladson, Terry Ladson, Mrs. Farrell."

Annie nodded. "They were going to be out in the cold. Along with Happy Laurance."

"Will be out in the cold," Max amended. "I doubt that Marguerite has changed her mind."

"Mom wasn't going to let it happen." Rachel sounded utterly positive. "That's what I'm trying to tell you. Mom was real upset. I tried to talk to her about—" She broke off, her eyes sliding away from Garrett.

Annie understood. Rachel didn't want to tell Garrett about her quarrel with her mother and her fight to be free to see Mike.

"You tried to talk to her?" Garrett said quickly. "When?"

"Last night. After dinner. She was in the gazebo." Rachel clung to the back of a seat. "She told me to go away, that she'd deal with me later, that she had to think what to do. I asked her what she was talking about, she looked so worried and upset. She said, 'It's Aunt Rita. I've got to stop that man from taking all her money. I can do it. I'm not going to let him get away with it. It's robbery, that's all it is. He's a thief. Well, I know what to do. I'm going to talk to him and when I finish, he'll know it's no use. I can do that. I've got papers to prove it and I'm going to put them in a safe place. Or I could...' Then she shook her head and looked even more upset. 'Oh, I don't know which way to go. If I go to him, Marguerite will never forgive me. But I have to decide.' She nodded her head very hard. 'I will decide tonight.' She hugged me and said she was sorry about . . ."—Rachel's eyes slid toward Annie— "about the afternoon—"

Annie remembered the swift movement of Happy's arm and Rachel's red cheek.

"—and she told me to run on, that we'd talk tomorrow.

She said she'd made up her mind, that it wasn't fair to Wayne and Terry and Donna for Marguerite to throw away all of Claude's money. She hugged me and said everything would be all right tomorrow." Rachel's thin face was drawn by misery and anger. "That man did it. He killed Mom."

Annie tried to picture a confrontation between Happy and Dr. Swanson, Happy threatening him. Would he attack her unless he knew where the papers were? Happy had told Rachel she was going to put them in a safe place. Would Happy have brought them out at such a meeting? Surely not. Happy's room, from Annie's brief glance, showed no traces of a search.

"You've got to find the papers." Rachel's eyes burned with intensity.

'There will be a careful search of your mother's belongings. Let me get this straight. . . ." As Garrett sorted out the relationships and the money and who Swanson was and where he could be found, Annie considered the possibilities. Did Happy call Swanson, threaten him? Was the call, if it was made, sufficient to alarm him into deciding to kill Happy? But how did he get into the house?

".

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