Murder in the Marigolds by Dale Mayer (best young adult book series .txt) 📕

“What?” Nan and Mack both said in loud voices.

“The Jaguar was parked at my house, and we went for a walk. He said that somebody else had picked up the Jag, yet, all the while, when we were walking, he was talking to someone about looking for something. I didn’t put two and two together,” she cried out in horror.

“Two and two what together?”

“He was searching my house. That’s where they were looking for something.” She stared at Mack in shock. “I just don’t know what was there for them to find.”

“Well, it must have been important,” he murmured, “because he managed to get you away long enough for somebody to go in and check it out.”

Chapter 10

Monday Midmorning …

Doreen called the animals to her, as she swept Thaddeus off the table, and raced off the patio, across the lawn, and headed toward the river.

Mack called out, “Wait, damn it. Wait!”

She said, “I’m going home.”

“I have my truck right here.”

She shook her head, lifted a hand, and said, “I’ll meet you there.” And she ran down to the river pathway. Keeping a steady pace, she moved along, past the houses up toward her own backyard. There she increased her speed because the ground was a little softer, as she raced up the path toward her house. She hadn’t even thought about putting on the security system.

Why would she? She was just going for a walk with her ex. And, of course, that’s the tricky part with her ex. Now all his stupid comments that kept her off-balance made some sense. Of course he didn’t want her back. He just wanted her out of the house. It’s not like she’d given going back to him a moment’s thought anyway—although a part of her admitted it would be nice to know that she had no bills looming, that she had a secure roof over her head and a steady supply of food on the table. But that had been nothing more than a fleeting thought that was immediately gone. The life she had now was independent and free, and she marveled at the taste of freedom. It was incredible and was something she wasn’t prepared to give up. At the same time, it was obvious that Mathew had been up to something, and she’d fallen for his ruse. Talk about stupid.

As she bolted through the kitchen door, she saw Mack coming through the front door. They both stopped and stared.

“Now stay where you are,” he said, “and think. Has anything shifted? Has anything moved?”

She froze, even as Mugs and Goliath raced inside to greet Mack, as if they hadn’t seen him in a year instead of two minutes ago. She shook her head at the animals. “I think they prefer you to me.”

He bent down and gently petted them both. “It’s nice to be wanted,” he said.

She wasn’t sure if he meant something by that or not, but she noted that odd tone in his voice. Then she remembered Nan’s words. “You know that Mathew didn’t actually want anything to do with me, right? He just wanted to get me out of the house.”

“Well, I know that now,” he said. “I wasn’t sure if you knew that.”

“I do now,” she said. “I might be slow, but I’m not that slow.”

“You’re not slow at all,” he said. “But I’m not sure how much you might have been taken in by the thought of going back to your old life.”

“I’d be lying if I didn’t say that, for a tiny fraction of a second, there was the thought of having no bills to pay, food on the table all the time without having to worry, and going to sleep at night and then to wake up the next morning knowing that I was okay,” she muttered. “But I can tell you that it went into my brain and right back out again. I could never give up what I currently have.”

“What do you currently have?” he asked curiously.

Her gaze, as it had been circling through the kitchen and around to her tiny little office area, zoomed back toward him. “Freedom,” she said succinctly. “For the first time in my life, I’m free.”

His eyebrows shot up, as he considered her words. “I guess that’s important, isn’t it?”

“I’m free to make breakfast, if I want. I’m free to decide if I get to eat or not, even what I want to eat. I’m free as to what clothes I choose to wear or whether I put on makeup. I’m free to do what I want during the day,” she said. “I’m free to get a job, if I want.” Then she muttered, “If I can anyway.” She shrugged. “As someone on display in a gilded cage, I didn’t realize how much of a prisoner I was, until I got a taste of freedom. Only then did I understand the difference and discovered how very restrictive my lifestyle was before.”

“And I’m sure it was,” he said. “That can’t have been easy.”

“I didn’t see it happening at first, and, by the time I really understood, it was way too late.”

“Let’s forget about all that right now,” he said, “and focus on your house.”

Her gaze returned immediately to the office area and the papers there. She stepped closer and took a careful look. “Well, it looks like everything has been riffled a bit,” she said, “but it will be a little hard to tell if anything’s missing.”

“Do you have any idea what he could be looking for?”

She thought about it and said, “Honestly I’m thinking that he’s probably looking for anything to do with Robin.”

At that, Mack turned and looked at her in surprise.

“He seemed quite perturbed when I told him that her laptop was in police possession.”

“Where else would it be?” Mack asked curiously.

“I don’t know, but maybe that’s what he was looking for and thought she had left it here.”

“Well, that all tracks,” he said, “except for the fact that it’s a murder investigation.