The View from Rainshadow Bay by Colleen Coble

Author:Colleen Coble
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2017-11-09T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

Zach stood outside Rings and Things and looked in the windows. Several shoppers stared down into the display cases. The young woman assisting them had to be Dorothy’s daughter, Penelope, but he saw no sign of the older woman.

They had a couple of hours to kill in Vancouver while waiting to transport a patient, and he’d convinced Valerie to help him scope out the situation here. After apologizing to Shauna, he couldn’t stop thinking about how much she wanted to have answers about her family. Maybe he could get some from Dorothy.

“So what am I supposed to do?” he asked Valerie. He’d been planning to just walk in and ask to see Dorothy, but Valerie didn’t think that would work.

She rolled her baby blues. “I’m pretending to be your wife so you can buy me something special. I want it designed by Dorothy so we’ll ask to speak with her back in her office.”

“Good grief, all the cloak and dagger. Why not just walk in and ask to talk to her about the Duval family?”

“She won’t see you. You said even the sheriff had trouble getting her to meet with him. What chance do you think we’d have if you just asked? Zero, zilch.”

“And you think she’ll actually answer our questions after we lie to get in? She’ll toss us out the door. Look, let’s just go in and ask to see her. I’ll say it’s regarding a personal matter.”

Valerie shrugged slim shoulders. “It’s your funeral.”

He yanked on the handle and opened the door for her. As they stepped onto the plush plum-colored carpet, an older woman entered through the side door. She carried a velvet tray holding several pieces of jewelry that matched the vivid hues of the flowing caftan she wore.

Zach moved to intercept her before she got within earshot of the customers and her daughter. “Ms. Edenshaw? I’m Zach Bannister, a friend of the Duval family.” She tensed, and he reached toward her. “This isn’t about the murder. I know you really have nothing to contribute to the investigation. This is personal.”

Her dark-brown eyes studied him. She nodded and jerked her head toward the door she’d just come through. “This way.”

He shot a triumphant grin toward Valerie, who shrugged. Dorothy led them through a labyrinth of wooden shelves to a workroom in the back. A table held gold chains, gemstones, and soldering irons. The hot smell of solder burned his nose.

She stopped and set the tray of jewelry on the battered table. “Let’s get this over with so I can return to work. This is a busy time for me, gearing up for the holidays.”

“And I’m sorry to bother you. How well did you know Lewis and Theresa Duval?”

Dorothy’s eyes flickered away from him, and she said nothing. Then she sighed and met his gaze. “As persistent as everyone seems to be, it’s probably going to come out. I’m surprised it’s been secret this long.” She held his gaze with an air of defiance. “I knew Lewis better than Theresa.

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.