Poisoned: an Ava O'Neill Mystery by Kristi Torkildson

Author:Kristi Torkildson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 2020-11-30T18:33:29+00:00

22.

James

Taking a hiatus from this case seems unlikely, and even I have to admit I want to be involved now. I do manage to break away this morning to go look at a few condos with Annie and the twins. We’ve already received an offer on our house, and I accepted it even though it was significantly below my asking price— I figure, the sooner we get rid of the house, the better. I can’t even use our bathroom anymore – just looking at the tub where I found Lacey makes me want to vomit.

Annie isn’t thrilled with the idea that we won’t have a yard, but where will I cartwheel? she had asked me when we toured the first option. I didn’t have an answer for that, so I just shrugged and drove on. The third condo we looked at was amazing; it’s a 3,200 square foot penthouse, with great views of Downtown Dallas. Annie’s room has a little ladder leading up to a loft, and her woes about a yard were instantly replaced by her dreams of playing make-believe in the loft.

“I think we found a place,” I tell Ava when we meet up for lunch.

“That’s great! Where is it?”

“Preston Center.”

“Oh that’s perfect! I can’t wait to see it.”

“What have you been up to this morning? You and Sally solve the case yet?” I jibe.

“Ha ha,” she sarcastically replies. “Not yet. I went for a run and then was in the office for a bit. I couldn’t find anything that suspicious in Clint’s desk, but I did stumble across this, what do you make of it?”

Ava hands me a hand-written card on Papyrus stationary. I already know what it is before I open it, because unfortunately, I wrote it.

“What aren’t you telling me?” she asks.

“Ava, it’s not what you think.”

“What do I think?”

“You think Clint and I were mixed up in something bad, but we weren’t.”

“Explain the note then. How much money was it?”

I shift uneasily in my seat. “Five thousand dollars in cash,” I admit.

“FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS?” she yells angrily. “What for?”

“Don’t yell at me!” I shout back. A few patrons in the restaurant turn to look in our direction. Ava smiles sheepishly and waves them off, but I just stare at her.

“Sorry,” she whispers. “Please, tell me what it was for.”

“It was for his March Madness debt. Look, he already paid me back, it wasn’t a big deal.”

“I’m sorry but, you’re going to need to explain a little better. Clint is slowly poisoned and then I find that note on his desk, and now you’re telling me he borrowed a large sum of money from you?”

I look down at the note which reads Money for your Madness—your secret is safe with me. “Look, Ava,” I say, “we made March Madness brackets—everyone does it. Only, the stakes were a little bigger this year, and apparently Clint did some extra betting on the side. He lost a lot of money and didn’t want Marian to see a huge cash withdrawal on their account.

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