An Ill-Fated Invitation (Getaway Bay Cozy Mystery Series Book 9) by Lee Catherine

Author:Lee, Catherine [Lee, Catherine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-08-11T00:00:00+00:00

19

“S he said what?” asked Layla. They were back at the winery, seated for lunch at a table for six, although Sarah and Adam hadn’t returned yet. Olivia and Layla had spent the morning questioning Sophie and Josh respectively, and were waiting their turn to report, but Addison got in first with her summary of Paula Santillo’s claims.

“She said Bailey was most definitely in love with Emily. Those were her words,” Addison confirmed.

“How would she know?” asked Olivia, a defensiveness in her voice usually reserved for her brother.

“She did live under the same roof as him for three years,” Isaac pointed out.

“Yeah, but…” Olivia frowned.

“It’s okay,” said Addison. “Even if it is true, it doesn’t mean Emily felt the same way. She may not have even been aware.”

“Unrequited love,” Layla announced. “That has to be it. Our young murder victim was quite shy by all accounts. And Emily has been with Justin for some time, hasn’t she? Perhaps the poor boy loved her from afar, as they say.”

“That could explain him keeping the Valentine’s card from when they were younger,” said Isaac.

“Good point,” Addison agreed.

“What’s a good point?” Adam appeared at Addison’s side and took a seat at the table, closely followed by Sarah.

Olivia explained Paula’s revelation about Bailey’s feelings for Emily while the rest of them studied the menu. Addison wasn’t terribly hungry, but felt she should eat something. And as nice as it was to have someone else cook for you, she was really beginning to miss her own kitchen back at the beach house. She eventually chose a chicken salad, and signalled to the waiter when they were all ready to order.

Food on the way, they took turns reporting on the morning’s intelligence gathering exercises. Layla, in addition to learning all the ins and outs of the fickle world of working as a television actor, had discovered Sophie was quite jealous of Bailey and Sebastian’s ‘overnight success’. She believed she worked harder than them and therefore deserved to be more successful, but instead she was struggling to find work and was barely making ends meet.

“It’s not the glamorous lifestyle it appears to be in the media,” Layla said with a wave of her hand, imitating Sophie.

“Not much of a motive though,” said Isaac. “Unless she stood to gain financially from Bailey’s death?”

“I don’t see how,” said Addison. “That’s down to Sebastian and George, right?”

“Correct,” said Sarah. “My sources tell me Bailey had a will drawn up after his parents died, and George was the sole beneficiary. He gets everything, including Bailey’s half of BaiSeb.”

“Which will be a decent payday now Sebastian is free to sell the company,” said Adam.

“So Sebastian and George, and by extension Paula, all have financial motive to want Bailey out of the way,” Isaac summarised. “Back to Sophie for a moment,” he said to Layla. “Any other motive you could see?”

Layla shook her head. “I don’t think they were that close, to be honest. She spent most of the morning discussing Josh and his attempts to make her jealous with his date at the wedding.

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