A Splash of Murder by Gayle Susie

Author:Gayle, Susie [Gayle, Susie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Cozy Mystery
Published: 2017-06-12T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 10

* * *

On my way to the front door, Dennis cuts me off at the foyer.

“Will, two minutes?” he asks.

“Sorry, Dennis. One thing at a time. As soon as I’m done here we’ll talk, okay?”

I open the front door to find a solemn-looking man, tall and thin like Lindsay, bald on the top of his head with a neatly trimmed gray and black beard. He wears a blue suit with a black tie and a large gold ring on the hand that he extends to shake mine.

“Hello, I’m Max Barker.”

“Will Sullivan. Please, come in.”

Max enters the foyer and sighs deeply. “Thank you, Mr. Sullivan, for everything you’ve done for my niece today. This isn’t your problem, but we sincerely appreciate your help.”

“Call me Will,” I tell him. “And it’s no problem. Happy to help.”

I usher him into the living room. Upon seeing Uncle Max, Lindsay rises slowly to her feet, but otherwise shows little light in her eyes. He crosses to her in a few long strides and hugs her tightly for a long moment.

“You poor, poor girl,” I hear him murmur. “First your mother, and now this… it’s too much to bear.” He grips her shoulders and looks her in the eye as he tells her, “Don’t worry. I’m going to take care of you.”

I head into the kitchen to give them some privacy. Dennis stands there with his arms folded and his foot tapping the floor impatiently.

“Okay, Dennis. Let’s talk.” This time it’s he and I that go into the den and shut the door behind us. “What’s so important that you need to tell me right now?”

“Alright, listen.” He starts to pace, gesticulating with both hands as he speaks. “When me and Lindsay went to get pizza, we didn’t actually get pizza. We got to the place, and she said, ‘Oh no, I forgot my purse.’ I offered to run back and get it for her, but she insisted that I stay there and wait and that she’d just be a minute. And then she ran off.”

I shake my head. “So?”

Dennis throws up his hands in exasperation. “So? Aren’t you listening? She was alone when Adam was murdered! She wasn’t with me.”

I frown. “You’re suggesting this could have been her?”

He shrugs a little. “Unfortunately… yes.”

I roll my eyes. “No way. They had a business together! They lived together! What motive could she have to kill her own brother?”

“I don’t know,” he says, “and frankly, neither do you. We don’t know these people.”

He’s got a point there. And I did just tell Melinda that anyone was capable of just about anything, under the right circumstances.

“Okay. Thanks, Dennis. I’ll keep that in mind.”

We leave the den and head into the kitchen at the same time that Max comes in from the living room.

“She’s asleep,” he tells us. “I think all this finally caught up to her. I hope you don’t mind if we hang around just a tad longer.”

“Not at all,” Sarah says. “Would you like some coffee?”

“I’d love some,” he admits.

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