Taking Chances (A Hope Herring Mystery Book 13) by J A Whiting & Nell McCarthy

Author:J A Whiting & Nell McCarthy [Whiting, J A & McCarthy, Nell]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: J A Whiting Books and Whitemark Publishing
Published: 2023-08-02T16:00:00+00:00

11

“That would be me,” Cori answered.

“Have a seat. Start when you’re ready. Just tell me what you did.”

Cori sat and went through the arrival at Brad’s house and her discovery of the corpse.

“No one else was there?”

Cori shook her head.

“No mess, no sign of robbery?”

“No, sir. Everything looked all right to me.”

“Good. So, you called your mother. Then what?”

“It was only a few minutes before Mom came. She checked for a pulse. I called 911.”

“Again, you didn’t notice anything amiss?”

“No, sir. I was too upset, and anyway, I’ve only been in Mr. Edie’s house a couple of times.”

“Then what happened?”

“We waited outside for the police to come.”

The detective nodded and turned to Hope. “Anything to add?”

“Not really. When I didn’t find any sign of life, I thought it best to wait outside. We’d already contaminated the murder scene. There was no need to do more.”

“Exactly, and thank you for that. Now, do you own a firearm?”

Hope nodded. “An automatic pistol. I keep it at home.”

“What caliber?”

“Nine millimeter.”

“Do you mind if we test it?”

“I’ll bring it to the station.”

“Great. Look, I can’t ask either of you to be involved in this case. As of right now, you’re not suspects, but you did find the body. So, we’ll start there. We believe the deceased died the night before you found him. Therefore, I have to ask you what you were doing between the hours of eight and midnight that night.”

“We were home,” Hope said. “We can’t prove that, but it’s the truth. I teach. Cori goes to school. We get up early. We don’t stay out late.”

“That works for me. If either of you remember something more, contact me. Thank you for your time.”

Hope waited until she was certain the detective had left before she turned to Cori.

“That’s over. We’re off the hook.”

Looking tired and worn out, Cori stood. “How do I erase the image from my brain?”

“Time. Time will blur the edges and remove the colors. It’s like an old photograph. Over time, it becomes a blurry impression. Crazy, but true.”

“I can’t wait until that happens.”

Back at home, Hope went up to her attic office and saw Max. The ghost was wearing a hip-hop outfit of sagging jeans, an oversized T-shirt, and high-top sneakers. To Hope, he was the oddest-looking rapper she had ever seen.

“I must confess that I was listening, Mrs. Herring,” Max said. “It appears that you won’t be involved with the case.”

“I won’t be, and I have to admit it feels kind of nice for a change.”

“Do you want me to go online and look for a new voice coach for Cori?”

“No, Max, that’s her job. We can’t want a singing career for her more than she does.”

“Well said and very true. I must return to my gig now. There is a lot to learn about modern music.”

Hope started to consider just how Brad had died, but stopped herself. The murder was not hers to work.

Murder?

Was it murder?

Or, had Brad shot himself in the chest? That might make sense, if they had found a pistol at the scene or a note.

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