Shenanigans in the Shadows by Kari Lee Townsend

Author:Kari Lee Townsend
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oliver-Heber Books

5

“Come on in and make yourselves comfortable,” Jo said, opening the door wide to their brand new home. A cute little modern ranch with a fenced-in back yard not far from my own. A perfect starter house for a new family with a dog.

Jo and Cole had invited Mitch and I and Morty over to join them for Sunday dinner. “I love what you’ve done to the place,” I said, following her into the kitchen.

“Thanks. It’s still a work in progress, but it’s coming along.”

She opened the back door and we stepped out onto the deck, overlooking the yard. Biff lay sprawled out on the ground and didn’t so much as flinch when Morty ran past him and leapt onto the top of his doghouse with a hearty meow.

“What’s up with Biff?” Mitch asked.

She shrugged. “Not sure. Animals are like children. They can tell when Mommy and Daddy are upset. He’s not himself.”

“That makes sense,” I said, nodding toward my illustrious cat using the roof of Biff’s dog house as a scratching pad. “Morty’s been acting weird, too.”

“Morty is weird,” Mitch grumbled, earning a scowl from me that said, You promised you’d try harder.

He sighed long and deep.

“Biff will be fine,” Cole said. “We all will.” He gave Jo a hug and held up two cigars and two longnecks, motioning for Mitch to follow him out into the yard to a pair of Adirondack chairs facing west so they could watch the sunset.

“I’ll let you know when I’m ready for you to cook the steaks.” Jo grabbed me and pulled me into the kitchen. “So, did you find out anything new?” she asked as she poured us each a frozen margarita. She prepared the baked potatoes while I cut up veggies for a salad.

“As a matter of fact, I did. I thought I had a lead with Zeb Erwin. His wife Wanda overheard us talking at Pump up the Volume on Friday about you bringing the rings over on Saturday morning. Granny said they were hurting for money, and he vowed to get what was coming to him because he lost out on the community center bid to Cole.”

“You don’t think they would stoop that low, do you?”

“Actually I did. I thought maybe they were the ones to steal the rings so I went to Perry’s Pawn shop. Turns out they did pawn something late Saturday night, but it wasn’t the rings. It was his grandfather’s watch. Perry wasn’t too happy when I passed on buying it after he shut down his shop early just for me.”

Her shoulders slumped. “Maybe Zeb just hasn’t pawned them yet.” She looked at me hopefully.

“Mitch and I thought that too, but why wouldn’t he get rid of them as soon as he could? We actually talked to him this afternoon, and he says he and his wife were home on Saturday going over their finances and figuring out what they could pawn. They don’t have proof, of course, but I can’t think of a good reason for them to hold onto the rings when they are desperate for money.

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