A History of Murder by Brook Peterson

Author:Brook Peterson [Peterson, Brook]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: GS Books
Published: 2020-12-18T05:00:00+00:00

If the Tables Were Turned

THE MIDDAY SUNSHINE made the police chief's blond hair glisten. He was back in uniform, and I couldn't help but notice how handsome he looked. Butterflies flitted around inside of me, but I wasn't sure whether they came from simply seeing him or knowing that he would ask us some difficult questions.

He approached us, adjusting his leather belt filled with all his policeman necessities. “Good afternoon,” he said ceremoniously. “I wasn't expecting to see you two in Lakeview. You sure have a way of popping up, Chloe.”

“I'm full of surprises,” I said, trying to sound lighthearted, which I wasn't.

Anthony put an arm around my shoulder. “We're out for some sightseeing,” he said.

Shut up, Anthony.

Chief Garner's eyes narrowed. “Hello, Anthony.” Was there a sneer in his tone?

Anthony gave a single nod. “Chief.”

Garner's gaze fell on me. “Tell me what you're really doing here.”

Anthony squeezed me closer. “As I said, we came to hang out at the marina, for old times' sake.”

Old times' sake? Anthony and I had never come here together before.

Garner's jaw clenched. “I see. So your spontaneous trip here has nothing to do with Art Macmillan's murder?”

“No connection at all,” Anthony blurted.

My stomach clenched at his lie. I took one step towards Chief Garner and away from Anthony's embrace, situating myself in neutral territory.

“Anthony is only trying to protect me, Chief. We did come here because of Art. He used to work at Fabiani's.”

“And...?” said the chief.

I told Garner that we spoke with the owner, Mr. Fabiani. But I relayed only the basics; that Art didn't work there for long because he found a new job and resigned.

“I came to speak with Mr. Fabiani myself,” said Chief Garner, clearly perturbed that I had bested him.

“He's at the restaurant now,” said Anthony. “We'll leave you to it.” Anthony yanked my hand and pulled me toward our car.

Chief Garner watched us. Before I got into the driver's seat, he said, “We'll talk soon, Chloe.” Then he turned and walked up the block.

Once in the car, I rubbed my hands together and then on my upper arms. I wasn't cold, but I had a serious case of the chills. There was something about Garner's comment that frightened me, like an ominous prediction. It was promising that the chief was following up on other leads. But at the same time, I knew that he was about to find out that Art scammed old women. Would it add to the suspicion of my grandma?

“Are we just going to sit here?” Anthony teased.

“Oh, sorry.” I started the engine and carefully eased out of the space we were wedged into.

Anthony was oddly quiet on the return trip. I was grateful for the silence, using the time to mull over the things I'd learned at Fabiani's, but also a little suspicious. Where was the chatty, outgoing man who had weaseled his way into accompanying me to Lakeview? Where were the assumptions I expected him to voice that Art was trying to con Grandma Lily out of her money? For whatever reason, his affect had changed.

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.