Murder at the Falls by Arlene Kay

Author:Arlene Kay
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Published: 2020-04-06T16:52:26+00:00

Chapter 18

Carrick was so anxious, he skipped the amenities and plunged into a long, muddled narrative that made my head ache.

“Slow down, Carrick,” I said. “Pruett’s here, so let me put you on speaker. Are you okay?”

He took several deep breaths, and when he finally spoke, his voice shook. “Forgive me for disturbing you, Perri, but I think you’ll want to hear this.”

Pruett moved closer to the phone, pad and pen in hand. I noted that clever scribe was also recording the conversation on his iPhone as backup. “Go on, Carrick,” he said. “No problem.”

“I found it, or at least I found something important.”

I closed my eyes, reluctant to break the spell by asking what the “it” was. Pruett had no such inhibitions. In his profession he had learned not to hesitate when a source was willing to spill information. “Ready when you are,” he told Carrick.

“I was browsing through my library, just looking for something to read, you see. That’s when I found it.”

Once again I forced myself to power down. Otherwise I would be tempted to shriek something dreadful into the phone. Carrick would get to whatever “it” was in his own way and time. Sure enough, patience finally won the day. He described a fusty old volume that was concealed behind some of his father’s papers.

“It’s part of Henrietta’s things, actually. She passed not long after my da, you know, and I haven’t had the heart to sift through them. Funny thing. I was a grown man at the time, but I felt bereaved, like an orphan.”

His anguish was spot-on. I’d waited a year before delving into Pip’s belongings even though they weighed heavily on my mind. It felt like a betrayal, a final recognition that he was gone forever. Babette offered to help, but I resisted. Somehow that task was so painful and personal that I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Then I met Wing Pruett. That freed me to honor the past but also think of the future.

Carrick spoke so softly that I could barely hear him. “I have no right to bother you, but I figured you’d understand. Least I hoped so.”

He still hadn’t said anything, and my patience was wearing thin. Pruett, however, saw an opening and immediately sailed through it. “We’ll be right over, Carrick. Don’t you worry.” When he ended the call a look of pure triumph suffused his face.

I gave Pruett my stoniest stare. “Are you crazy? Now we’ll be up all night, and I for one have a business to run. You know, orders to fill, bills to pay.”

He brushed off my objections like lint. “Don’t be a spoilsport. You know, maybe you should alert Babette, and while you’re at it I’ll call Micah.” He smiled coyly. “Of course, if you’re really too busy, we can go without you.”

Not likely! I started this adventure and intended to see it through to the bitter end.

As luck would have it, both Babette and Micah were otherwise occupied. Mrs. Croy

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