The Next Best Day by Sharon Sala

Author:Sharon Sala
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Published: 2022-08-29T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

It wasn’t late, and Katie was too wired to sleep, so she got into her pajamas, made herself a glass of iced tea, and went to the living room to watch TV. Her cell phone rang as she was searching for something to watch, and when she saw it was Lila, she answered.

“Hello from the piney woods of Tennessee.”

Lila laughed. “You’re sounding awfully happy. Is there something you’d like to tell me?”

“No. Just ate supper with new friends. How are you and Jack doing?”

And that’s all it took to redirect Lila’s conversation. She was raving on and on about him and what they’d been doing, and how fast summer had gone, and she couldn’t believe it was time to start school all over again, when Katie finally got a word in.

“I start to work this Monday. I’ve seen my room. I can’t wait to begin setting it up. I am so grateful that you packed up my room at Saguaro or I’d be starting over.”

“That’s what friends are for,” Lila said. “Have you been keeping up with the latest on Mark and the murder?”

Katie frowned. “You mean there’s more?”

“Oh, girl!” Lila said. “The authorities finally located Walt Lanier. In Monte Carlo. He was killed in a traffic accident, but with fake identification. They found out who he really was because his DNA matched DNA they found on a big-shot gambler named Craig Buttoni who was murdered in the elevator at a casino. And during the investigation into the murder, that led them here to Albuquerque and Buttoni’s connection to the Laniers.”

Katie gasped. “Wait! What are you saying? That they think Walt killed the man?”

“Uh…they know he did from the security footage.”

“I am beyond floored,” Katie muttered. “None of this makes sense.”

“Don’t lose me here. I’m still unwinding the tale. Buttoni has a permanent residence in Albuquerque. They subpoenaed his phone records and matched texts from it to Megan’s phone. Then they found a second set of books at the Lanier residence belonging to Walt and learned he was one of Buttoni’s major drug distributors in the area. They also discovered that Buttoni originally held a huge gambling note on Walt Lanier, and they are guessing that’s how Walt was pulled into trafficking for Buttoni.”

“So this Craig Buttoni trafficked drugs, and Walt and Megan worked for him?”

“They were but two of many.”

“But who killed Megan, and why? Was that why Walt killed this Buttoni? Because he blamed him for his daughter’s murder?”

“They aren’t saying, but gossip around town is that when Mark and Megan began having trouble and she filed for divorce, it was because Mark thought she was cheating on him. And Megan was afraid that he’d hire a PI to trail her and she’d get caught making her drops. So she just decided to leave him and save herself from discovery. Only Mark found a stash she left behind in their house and turned her in. And that is how Humpty Dumpty came tumbling down.”

Katie was horrified. “This is so ugly to hear.

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