Gators and Garters (A Miss Fortune Mystery Book 18) by Jana DeLeon

Author:Jana DeLeon [Deleon, Jana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: J&R Publishing
Published: 2020-08-15T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

We climbed back into the SUV, all silent for a bit as Ida Belle exited the parking lot. We’d gotten a lot of information in one day and we needed time to process it all. Sometimes typing it up helped me piece things together. Sometimes I just got a wrist cramp out of it and zero inspiration.

“I’m confused,” Gertie said.

“Me too,” Ida Belle said. “And I hate to say it, but I’m not completely sure there’s a crime here.”

“You think Nickel and Angel are projecting?” I asked.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if they were,” Gertie said. “I mean, who could blame them after going through what they did with Johnny? Especially Angel. They were practically married. I can’t imagine losing the man I love and not even having a body to bury.”

Ida Belle nodded. “Me either. But it’s no wonder she wouldn’t want to do it again. She wants answers.”

“And someone to blame,” Gertie said.

“Yes,” Ida Belle agreed. “After meeting Silas and hearing about the childhood those two had, I can’t really blame her for wanting their lives to mean more. To know that they weren’t just two people who made bad choices that cost them everything.”

“What do you think?” Gertie asked me.

“I agree with you and Ida Belle,” I said. “But then there’s strange things, like the insurance policy Silas thinks he’s cashing in on. And Dexter trying to find a buyer for the catering business. I didn’t think Molly would be interested in selling even before we talked to Angel, but I’m doubling down on that now. You heard her. She said the business was Molly’s salvation. You don’t just let something that important go. Not for any amount of money.”

“So we keep digging?” Ida Belle said.

“We have to,” I said. “If this was an accident, we’re going to have to figure out how to prove it.”

“How in the world can you prove an accident that happens with no witnesses?” Gertie asked.

“By proving the only people who benefit from Molly’s death couldn’t have done it,” Ida Belle said. “I think that’s as close as we can hope to get.”

I nodded.

“That’s going to be harder than proving someone did it,” Gertie said. “Especially if no one has alibis. And even if we started asking questions, I doubt Dexter and Silas are going to offer up where they were and what they were doing when Molly disappeared.”

“Dexter was at the house when we left and when Carter went to check on Molly,” I said. “So we know he had opportunity.”

“Unless he went somewhere in between,” Gertie said. “But then we’d need corroboration.”

“Exactly,” I said. “As for Silas, it’s possible he wasn’t playing hermit in his shack at the time Molly made that call.”

“But unless someone saw him near Molly’s house, we can’t prove or disprove where he was, either,” Ida Belle said.

I blew out a breath. “I hate to say it, but unless we can string all these incriminating pieces into a solid case, this might be the one that got away.

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