The Police Chief's Pitch by Janice Sims

Author:Janice Sims
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2023-12-08T19:16:48+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

“MOM, WHAT ARE you doing here?” Darla asked her mother. She glanced around nervously to make sure Mr. Jenkins wasn’t within earshot.

Lily had opened the door when the bell rang, and she was now ushering her mother into the house. Lily looked as surprised to see her mom as she was.

Her mom was stylishly turned out, as always. She was wearing a pastel yellow sundress with a pair of beige espadrilles. Her shoulder bag was also beige. Her short salt-and-pepper Afro was perfectly coiffed. She walked into the house with her mouth slightly ajar. “I’ve driven by this house dozens of times but never imagined I’d be inside of it. So this is where you come every weekday.”

Darla gave Lily an apologetic look.

Lily shrugged and turned to leave. “I’ll go get Mr. Jenkins.”

Darla rushed to Lily’s side. “Hold that thought. Let me see what this is about first. You know how he can be.”

Lily seemed pleased to have the problem taken off her shoulders. She shrugged again. “All right. See you later, Evie.”

“Okay, thank you, Lily, dear,” said her mother pleasantly. Darla remembered Lily and her mother were old friends. Her mother had lived here all her life. It stood to reason she would know quite a few people.

Now that they were alone, Darla asked her mom, “What are you doing here? Is something the matter with Bastian? Someone else in the family?”

Her mother calmly set her shoulder bag in one of the padded chairs at the kitchen table. “I’m not here because of you, sweetie. I’m here to see a Theodore Jenkins.” She rummaged in her bag and removed a letter-size sheet of paper. She handed it to Darla. “Read this.”

Darla took the sheet of paper. She couldn’t believe her eyes. An anonymous benefactor had donated a hundred thousand dollars to Silver Seniors, her mother’s charitable organization. The donation amount was unprecedented.

She looked at her mother. “That’s wonderful. I’m happy for Silver Seniors. But this says the donation was anonymous. What are you doing here?”

“Because I sweetly asked Stewart who the anonymous benefactor was. And, in his own way, he gave me the information.”

Darla knew that Stewart McInnis was the bank manager at her mother’s bank. He was also one of her ex-students.

“You strong-armed poor Stewart? What if he loses his job because he gave you privileged information?”

“I’ll never tell,” her mother said, still excitedly looking around them. “I’m here because I have a theory. I know it’s a longshot, but the name Theodore Jenkins sounds vaguely familiar to me. But the Jenkins I knew a long time ago was known as Teddy to me. Teddy can be short for Theodore, though, can’t it? Theodore Roosevelt, Teddy Roosevelt. Get me?”

“I can’t believe Stewart gave you the identity of an anonymous benefactor,” Darla said, outraged.

“He didn’t,” her mother calmly informed her. “He stepped out of the room and I saw it on his computer’s screen.”

“Mother, you have gone too far!”

“Darla, I’m too old to live life at a sedate pace.

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