Remodeled to Death by Valerie Wolzien

Author:Valerie Wolzien [Wolzien, Valerie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Endeavour Media
Published: 2019-10-30T22:00:00+00:00

EIGHTEEN

“That’s some story,” Josie commented as Susan finished her explanation and her second glass of wine at the same time.

“Is this the first you’ve heard of Simon Fairweather’s death?” Susan asked, tossing a cracker to the dog.

“No wonder she’s always begging,” Josie said with a grin. “And to answer your question, no. The crew has talked about little else. But these guys don’t feel comfortable around me yet; they tend to shut up when I’m in the room. I’ll hear a lot more as they loosen up.”

“And do you think Frankie could have made that call?” Susan asked.

“Sounds like it’s possible. I walked in on him right before I came down and introduced myself to you, so the time is right. But …”

“But what?” Susan asked.

“Well, Frankie doesn’t strike me as stupid. Why would he call the police department from your house? Everyone knows that the police have access to phone records, so why make the call from here? Why not wait until he could get to a pay phone someplace else?”

“That’s a good question,” Susan muttered, trying to think of a good answer.

“In fact, why would Frankie call at all? Why would anyone who’s a member of the crew call and make an accusation like that? Now you and the police are going to investigate everyone connected with Cory Construction. What does Frankie—or anyone else—gain by that?”

“A murder investigation always starts with more questions than answers,” Susan muttered.

“What do you know about murder investigations? You weren’t a cop, were you?” Josie asked, putting down her unfinished beer and sticking out her hand. Clue immediately jumped up and placed her head on the carpenter’s lap.

Susan knew it was ridiculous to be jealous. Clue had always preferred whoever was closest to the food. She passed the platter of cheese to Josie, making sure that was the reason for the retriever’s allegiance. And then she answered the question.

“I’ve helped solve a few,” she said modestly. “Actually, more than a half-dozen. Kathleen, my friend who had the baby today, was once a police officer and we’ve worked together.”

“Oh. Is that why you hired Cory Construction? Is someone on the crew a suspect in the murder of this Simon Fairweather?”

“I don’t think the police have a list of suspects yet,” Susan said, realizing that she wasn’t actually answering the question.

“What about Frankie?” Josie persisted.

“What about him?”

“Do you think he made that call? You don’t think he’s the murderer, do you?”

“They’re two separate issues,” Susan answered. “The person who made that call may just know who the murderer is, like he said. And I don’t have any idea if it’s Frankie. The call may have been to someone else and be perfectly innocent.”

Josie was silent a moment, scratching the dog with one hand and twisting a lock of her own hair with the other.

“Is something bothering you? Are you feeling guilty over telling me about Frankie?” Susan guessed.

“No. Not really … well, maybe.” Josie stopped fidgeting and spoke up. “You see, Frankie grabbed a few minutes alone with me while we were winding down for the evening.

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