Patches In the Rye by Kassandra Lamb

Author:Kassandra Lamb [Lamb, Kassandra]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: misterio press LLC

Chapter Fourteen

Lexie didn’t go inside. Instead, Marissa stepped out on the porch and closed the door behind her.

I let out the breath I’d been holding. At least Lexie wasn’t in the lion’s den yet.

The two women were talking, and from the body language, it didn’t look like a friendly chat. I couldn’t tell who grabbed who, but suddenly they were attached to each other, and Marissa was trying to back up into the house, dragging Lexie along with her.

I was out of the car and racing down the sidewalk before I’d had a chance to think. “Let go of her!”

Both women’s heads spun in my direction. They broke apart and Marissa disappeared into the house. The door slammed.

Lexie ran down the porch steps and toward me, her face twisted. “Why’d you do that?” she screamed.

I grabbed her by both forearms, resisting the urge to shake her. “What did you think you were doing?”

“Getting her to help!” Her voice was high-pitched, bordering on hysterical. “If I could get her to say that there was no way she could know if Shawn… That it was a bogus charge back then, so why would he kill somebody over it.” Her voice broke. She started sobbing.

“Aw, honey.” I wrapped my arms around her. “It doesn’t matter now what happened back then. Shawn’s a suspect because he was being blackmailed.”

Lexie practically collapsed in my arms.

“Come on.” I half led, half carried her back to the muddy-mobile.

She stopped a few feet from it and stared at the Bonneville. “This is your car?”

“It’s a loaner.” I opened the passenger door. “Get in. We need to talk.”

My own words were niggling at my brain. It doesn’t matter now what happened back then.

Maybe it did.

“Why should I?” She tried to pull loose from me. “You’re working for my brother.”

I held on. “Not anymore. I gave him my final report.”

“Oh, and what did you report?” Her tone was still hostile.

I let her go. “The truth. That Shawn had been in some scrapes in the past but I thought he’d learned his lesson and was now a responsible person.”

Lexie clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. “Oh, I hate him!”

“Your brother?”

“Yes.” She spit out the word. “He threw that assault charge up in my face a few months ago and I told him then that I already knew about it, and it didn’t matter. And then he went and hired you to find even more dirt on Shawn.”

My chest and throat tightened. I’d suspected as much, but she’d now confirmed it. Roger had used me. And he’d used his disability to fool me. That whole smacking-the-arms-of-his-wheelchair, helpless act had been a bit melodramatic, looking back on it.

Note to self: Screen potential P.I. clients much more carefully!

Ya think? Ms. Snark added.

I pointed to the muddy-mobile. Without further objection, Lexie got in on the passenger side.

By the time I got around to the driver’s side, Buddy had stuck his head over the back of the seat. Lexie was rubbing his ears and he was licking her hand.

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