Lie for a Lie by Richards Emilie

Author:Richards, Emilie [Richards, Emilie]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Mystery & Detective, General, Women Sleuths, Fiction
ISBN: 9780425226643
Publisher: Berkley
Published: 2009-02-03T02:00:00+00:00

11

After lunch Ed left for a meeting of the local clergy. Deena, who had been as visible as a ghost since the night of Madison’s party, took a sandwich to her room and mumbled that she was going through her clothes to see what no longer fit. Since that was one of the chores she had to complete before we talked about restoring privileges, I felt somewhat encouraged that our standoff would eventually end. Deena hadn’t had much to say for herself after her hangover subsided, and that had continued. So far we hadn’t received an apology. I suspected she was slowly processing what she had done and why, and eventually we would be able to talk about it. For now, though, silence reigned.

As good as alone, I contemplated my choices. The Idyll was over, and the remainder of the summer beckoned. Lucy had a couple of houses in mind for us to buy and flip, but the owners had inflated ideas of their worth. By late summer, if they hadn’t sold to someone else, we could start negotiations. In the meantime I could run errands and car-pools, clean the house from top to bottom, put lots of casseroles in the freezer while fresh vegetables were readily available. And . . . or . . . I could do just the tiniest bit of sleuthing.

Sister Nora wished that she knew what had happened to Caprice Zimboni. Me, too. That seemed harmless enough. If I stumbled on the fact that Caprice was living here in Emerald Springs under an assumed name, then that would be an investigation, and of course, I’d turn that piece of information right over to Roussos and back away fast. More likely I’d discover Caprice was living in Venice, cheerfully walking a tightrope over the Grand Canal, and this would simply bring peace of mind to a fine woman who was unfortunately facing murder charges.

So Caprice went on my list, but she was hardly more than an asterisk. Buy paper towels at the grocery store and caulking at the hardware store. Oh, and find Caprice. Not enough.

Roussos hadn’t chosen to investigate Fred as a suspect, or at least he hadn’t admitted to this. How hard would it be to simply dial Fred’s cell phone myself? I had the number, of course. I even had it on speed dial thanks to Deena, my techie expert. When Fred was in town we had talked often. Was this investigating? Or simply one friend checking on another after a traumatic event?

“Checking works for me,” I said, cautious Aggie talking to free-spirited Aggie, and unfortunately, doing it out loud.

I knew I was making excuses, but they were good ones, and I was proud of them. I decided to start with Fred since I didn’t want to brave the Internet without somebody riding shotgun beside me. With my luck the moment I typed Italy into a search engine, I’d end up with a prepaid trip to Rome, Florence, and Sicily. One way, at that.

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