Unexpected: A Humorous and Romantic Cozy (Cassie Baxter Mysteries Book 2) by Cindy Blackburn

Author:Cindy Blackburn [Blackburn, Cindy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-12-10T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 24

Jason Sterling poked his head around the door, and I caught a glimpse of Amy giving me a thumbs up from across the reception area. I tossed aside the terrible essay I was grading and asked him to please close the door.

“You’re frowning again,” he said as he took a seat.

“Essays.” I found a few pencils and rolled them in his direction.

He looked down. “Will I need those?”

“If history dictates. What’s up?”

“Your father’s right.”

I hate it when that happens, but I asked about what, and Jason said he’d changed his mind about publicity.

“Maybe it is a good thing.” He admitted he was ready to ask the media for help. “Newspapers, radio, the Internet, TV. It’s short notice, but I hope to schedule a press conference this afternoon. I want everyone in Vermont to know about Judy Tripp. No more secrets.”

“Hopefully one secret,” I said. “About the little kidnapping thing. Promise you won’t tell on me?”

“Tell on you? You’ve been hanging out with a five-year old too long.”

“Five and a half.”

He promised my secret was safe, but I didn’t feel much better. More publicity meant more danger for Truman. “He’s had enough trauma,” I said.

Jason reminded me that Truman was fairly secluded at Lake Elizabeth. “And we have Lynette Riley watching out for him at the Lake School. She’s good, Cassie.”

Maybe. But I still had a problem and asked him to hold off on the media angle until later that evening. “It’s Wednesday,” I said. “It’s Bingo at Lake Bess night.”

“Everyone in that town goes to Bingo.”

I nodded. “And everyone will have enough questions after seeing Maxine’s article. I’m already concerned Truman will overhear something.”

Jason agreed to postpone the press conference to coincide with Bingo. “That way it will make the eleven o’clock news and tomorrow’s papers—”

“—but won’t keep everyone buzzing at Bingo.” I agreed to the new plan and asked what he thought the publicity would accomplish.

His answer was a lot. In particular, he hoped someone had seen Judy’s car on Sunday, or knew why Ryan Webb was with her.

“Even better, maybe someone knows where they were going,” he said. “And there’s the boyfriend angle. In a perfect world, the mystery man, if he’s not Ryan, will come forward.”

“I keep telling you, Sarah says there was no boyfriend.”

“And Ms. Tripp’s co-workers keep saying otherwise.”

“The co-workers believe in ghosts,” I said. “Have you heard about that? About the supposedly haunted office?”

He shrugged. “They’re just joking, Cassie.”

“And maybe they’re just joking about the boyfriend. Maybe they make things up. Are you going to believe gossip or Judy’s best friend?”

Jason grabbed a pencil. “Maybe Sarah Bliss is the one making things up.”

“About what?”

“About their friendship. If they were so close, why wasn’t she named as next of kin, instead of you? A complete stranger.” The pencil snapped. “As you finally saw fit to tell me.”

I squinted at the pencil parts. “Sarah has children of her own,” I said. “Judy didn’t want to burden her.”

“So she burdened you instead.”

“If you’re implying there’s some other reason, you’re wrong.

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