March of Crimes (Murder by Month Mystery) by Jess Lourey

Author:Jess Lourey [Lourey, Jess]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Published: 2025-02-25T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 24

It was a bit out of the way, but I stopped by my house before visiting the climbing club north of town. I had housecleaning to catch up on, plus my animals deserved some love. They both clamored for attention when I walked into the double-wide, following on my heels as I refreshed their water. Luna and I played catch on the front lawn for twenty minutes while Tiger Pop watched us archly from the warmth of the window.

When Luna sprawled on the snow from exhaustion, I went back inside to hand-wash dishes and peek inside my fridge. It was empty except for condiments and the marauded remains of my box of Nut Goodies. My cupboards fared better in terms of quantity, but not quality. They were stuffed with the B-team impulse buys, those foods that looked like an adventurous treat in the store but transformed into an undelicious chore once you got them home: Cajun rice mix, a quinoa salad kit, four bottles of flavored balsamic vinegars. I should have asked Eustace if I could stay for lunch.

I tell you what, though: taking stock of my cupboards was making the idea of being a Minnesota phone sex operator look better and better. I returned to the fridge and grabbed a Nut Goodie, munching on it as I made my bed, started a load of clothes, and ran the vacuum across the floors. Once I had the place in decent condition, I petted Tiger Pop till she crackled with static, brushed Luna, and told them to be nice to each other before I took off for mountain climbing.

The plan was to duck into the climbing gym recently added to a wing of the Lake Christina Hunt Club, interview the director, and return to the library so Mrs. Berns could have a break. I was a few miles south of town, halfway to the hunt club, when I passed a big white Colonial house. I’d driven past it a hundred times before but never thought much of it until now.

According to the apothecary cashier, though, this was the home of the Fords.

Little D’s foster family.

I pulled into the driveway, grateful for the library welcome packets for the second time that day. The Fords’ yard and home were the opposite of Eustace’s—spacious, well maintained. The house had a two-car attached garage as well as a rust-free, older-model sedan parked in the driveway. I didn’t know what the Fords did for a living, but apparently they made decent money.

I parked, hauled myself out, and crunched across the driveway to the shoveled walk. Ringing the doorbell set off a cacophony of noise on the other side, mostly a dog barking followed by at least two different children crying.

The woman who answered the door was harried, in her late thirties with hair askew, a toddler on each hip, her gaze suspicious. “Yes?”

I held up the packet, hoping my smile appeared genuine. “Mira James, head librarian at the Battle Lake Public Library? We’re in the middle of a welcome campaign hoping to introduce more of the community to the library’s benefits.

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.