SC 04 Dirty Deeds by Barritt Christy

Author:Barritt, Christy [Barritt, Christy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Cozy Mystery
Published: 2013-07-17T04:00:00+00:00

***

I dropped the maid uniform and key back off with Shirley and was walking to my room when someone called my name from behind.

I pivoted and glanced behind me. Jackie’s mom. She wrung her hands together and her eyebrows formed a V on her forehead. The poor lady. I couldn’t even imagine.

I paused and nodded toward my door. “Let’s go inside.”

She caught up with me as I slid my card into the slot. Tension stretched through her voice. “What was that about up there earlier?”

“I didn’t know Clint was there. I didn’t want him to hear,” I whispered.

My door made that gentle buzzing sound to let me know my card had worked. I twisted the handle and pushed it open. Jackie’s mom followed me inside.

With the door locked, and Jackie’s mom staring at me like a lunatic, I began to pace. Just like any good lunatic would.

Mrs. Harrington’s hands twisted together, ever so subtly. She didn’t bother to sit or to even move for that matter. She just stood there by the door, staring at me, her only sign of anxiety those fingers that rubbed together. “Why didn’t you want Clint to hear?”

“Can we sit down?” I walked toward the couch and hoped she’d follow. She did. I sat on one end, and she sat on the other. I wished I had something to offer her to drink, but I had nothing but a half empty bottle of Mountain Dew. “Tell me about Clint.”

Jackie’s mom shrugged, her face vacant in a way that only grief and stress could be responsible for. Even her voice lacked a lot of emotion. It simply sounded raw from too many hours crying. “What about him? I certainly don’t think he’s good enough for my daughter, nor do I feel he’s equipped to handle the family’s money. Jackie’s our only daughter. The estate will go to her when I’m gone one day.”

“Did you tell Clint that?”

“In so many words, I suppose.”

“Do you think your daughter loves him?”

Her fuchsia-colored lips twisted into a frown. “Yes, I do think she loves him. But I think there’s more to love than feelings of infatuation. You have to take a multitude of things into consideration, and I don’t think she realized that.”

Riley and I had talked about that a lot, how we couldn’t base our relationship just on our emotions or our attraction to each other. Truth be told, I would have probably never thought about it had Riley not brought it up. My past dating record proved it. “How about Clint? Do you think he loves your daughter?”

Mrs. Harrington’s eyebrows twitched. “What are you getting at?”

“I’m still trying to put all of the pieces together. I know the questions may not make sense, but I have to ask them.” I swallowed, softening my gaze when I saw a touch of moisture in the woman’s eyes. “Do you think he loves her?”

She nodded curtly, quickly, but her neck muscles looked strained. “He certainly appears to.”

I shifted in my seat,

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