Secrets in a Bottle by Shelly Von West

Author:Shelly Von West [West, Shelly Von]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-01-14T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

The drive back gave Abigail and Grandma time to digest all the new information. Abigail started, “So Piper really hates Reginald’s guts, doesn’t she?”

“Yes. I suspect she must be tickled pink to know he’s no longer amongst the living.”

“You don’t think she has a good motive for murder?”

“Piper’s a firecracker, but I highly doubt she’s a murderer on top of that. Sure, I wouldn’t put it past her to kick a man in his nether regions, but she doesn’t have the disposition to murder someone.”

“I dunno. She has the money. Even if she couldn’t stomach it, she could’ve hired someone.”

“If a squabble between two strangers was all it took to drive one to murder, then we’d all be dead. We’ll need better evidence than what we have.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Abigail stopped at a red light and thoughtfully ran her hands around the oversized steering wheel. “Well, you might not want to hear it, but I think we should look into Lee next.”

“I’ll hear it. What’s your theory?”

“Whoever was in your store that night, they didn’t force their way in. Lee has a key to the place, doesn’t he? That, and his father Ernest had sold some letters to Reginald—letters Lee might have felt entitled to.”

“What are you getting at?”

“A motive for Lee to kill the man. And another thing: How did Ernest die? Could Reginald have had something to do with it?”

“Sounds like a bit of a leap. Ernest had a huge drinking problem, and eventually it caught up to him.”

“How?”

“He’d often get terribly drunk when he fished, and so one day the inevitable happened. His boat washed up on shore empty, without its captain.”

“That’s not a nice way to go. But I still think Lee could have it out for Reginald. The letters Ernest sold him could be worth something, considering their history. Lee hates doing boat repair. Maybe he saw those letters as a way out? A way to pursue something else he’d rather be doing? I mean, I keep going back to him having a key to the place. When I was staying at your store by myself, he had tried to return early in the morning. Maybe he wanted to tie up loose ends.”

Grandma’s brows furrowed at she tapped on her lips. Finally she relented. “Oh, all right. Now you’ve got me curious. But we need to be casual about it. If he’s innocent and he realizes I suspected him, I don’t think he’d ever forgive me.”

“We don’t have to ask him directly. I remember him saying he had an employee.”

“Oh, right. The young man he works with, Antonio. Good thinking.” Grandma’s eyes lit up. “And lucky us, Thursday is one of Lee’s days off from the repair shop, leaving Antonio to take the reins. Let’s first stop by the house. I’ll grab some cookies to butter him up.”

Abigail smirked. “The game is afoot!”

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