Murder Outside the Lines by Krista Davis

Author:Krista Davis [Davis, Krista]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2021-06-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 26

Veronica gasped. “Finley?”

Jacquie shrieked and covered her mouth with her hand.

I reached for Roxie’s hand and clasped it tight. “Why on earth would it be Finley? I was there. I don’t think anyone knows yet who he is, but I can assure you that he didn’t look like Finley.”

“I’m so worried that something terrible happened to Finley. I don’t know if he’s dead or off with that woman.”

Jacquie locked the door behind Roxie, and Veronica led her to the sofa.

I filled my kettle, a fancy black-and-white harlequin model that had been a gift from Professor Maxwell, and put on water for tea. I was pretty sure I’d read that black tea calms the nerves, so I went with that. I pulled out four mugs in an array of colors, all of which had white polka dots on them. I plunked tea bags in the four mugs, poured boiling water in them, and brought them to the living room with spoons, napkins, sugar, and milk.

Jacquie added hefty doses of sugar and milk to a mug and handed it to Roxie, whose pale skin now bore cherry-red blotches.

Roxie’s fingers trembled.

Frodo laid his head on her knees as if he knew she needed comforting.

“Why would you think Finley was dead?” I asked.

Roxie heaved a great sigh and massaged her forehead. “Someone tried to kill my father. How do I know that Finley isn’t next? My mind sometimes gets the better of me. I worry about everything. The truth is that he’s probably with that woman.”

“What woman?” asked Jacquie.

“Florrie saw her. She was at the bookstore the other day, stalking him.” Almost as an afterthought, Roxie added, “She’s quite attractive.”

Veronica tilted her head like a puppy. “You’re afraid she’s having an affair with him or that she killed him?”

“I don’t want to think either of those things happened. He hasn’t come home tonight. That woman was standing outside our house the other day,” said Roxie.

“That’s quite brazen.” Jacquie frowned. “What did she say?”

“Oh, she didn’t knock on the door. She hung around on the street like she was spying on us or she wanted to see where Finley lived.”

Poor Roxie. I longed to think that her imagination was running wild, but Veronica had been fairly sure about Finley’s infidelity. I needed to get Roxie focused on reality. “When did you last see Finley?”

“This afternoon. He said he was joining some friends for a poker game tonight.”

Jacquie shot her a sad look. “Has he lied to you before?”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come here.” Roxie massaged her forehead.

“Of course you should,” I protested. “We’re your friends.”

She gazed around at us. “You are. I’m so embarrassed about this. I wish I had never seen that woman. I feel my marriage slipping away and I don’t know what to do.”

I wanted to be nice and reassure her despite my misgivings. Wasn’t that what a friend would do? “I trust you have called him. He’s not answering his phone?”

She shook her head. “I have called, texted, and emailed.

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