Heirlooms and Homicide by Danielle Collins

Author:Danielle Collins [Collins, Danielle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fairfield Publishing
Published: 2019-02-02T05:00:00+00:00

8

“Why didn’t you stop her?” Ralph said, coming around from behind his desk in the cramped two-room office space he rented for the Gershwin Private Investigators workspace.

“Oh sure, drive my car off the road and chase after a young woman asking if she’s the same girl who tried to disappear?”

Ralph rolled his eyes. “More like, ask her if she is that very woman, but minus the chasing.”

“She was on a bike.”

“Don’t you jog in the mornings?”

“Not for twenty years.”

Ralph harrumphed. “Well, there’s a lead down the drain.”

“Hardly,” Henrietta pointed out. “We know that she’s still in town despite leaving that terrible motel, and we know that she’s in the area of The Cliffs.”

“Speaking of that, how is she affording that?”

“I’ve got a theory on that.”

“Oh, do you now? Care to enlighten me?”

“Not quite yet.”

Ralph showed his obvious frustration, but she ignored him.

“What can you enlighten me on?”

“The fact that she is definitely here for a reason.”

“We established that.”

“Yes, but I think it has to do with something on The Cliffs. Maybe even the Patton house. I’ll have Olivia look into it. See you tomorrow morning?”

Ralph stared at her. “You’re really not going to tell me more than that?”

“Not yet,” she said in a singsong voice as she turned to head out the front door. She almost ran into Scott. “Hello.”

“Hiya, Henrietta.”

“See you tomorrow morning?”

“Bright and early. Livi texted me.”

“Oh, did she now?” Henrietta managed to keep her smile in check. “Good. I’m grateful for your help.”

“Any time.”

She lifted a hand in farewell and left out of the front door.

The sun drenched the landscape in an unusually warm day and Henrietta had a wild notion to go to the rocky beach she sometimes frequented when things were slow. But things were certainly not slow. In fact, she’d neglected much of her duties for the Blackberry Festival while helping Ralph with this missing person case and she was beginning to feel the strain of stress in making sure she’d be ready for their lawn prep the next day.

Just two days until the festival began and—

“Miss Hewitt!” The overly bright tone of the voice portended an exaggerated conversation with the fretful Mayor Lawrence.

“Hello and good-bye, Ricky,” she said with a wave and a smile, climbing into her Mini. “I’m off to the shop for last minute preparations.”

“I know, I know, but—” With moves faster than Henrietta would have attributed to such a slight, pale man, he caught her door before it could close. “Just one last verbal confirmation on your entry for the silent auction.”

Verbal. As if their five-page contract wasn’t valid enough.

“Yes, of course. What would make you think otherwise?”

“This nonsense about a break-in at your place associated with this trinket. It is just a trinket, isn’t it? You said it was worth a lot, but then you called it a toy. It’s all very confusing. Am I correct in assuming it’s all just a fluke then?”

She had used the word trinket, to her detriment, and now she had to face a few facts with the man.

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