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

coffee and handed him one. “And you’re right. I should have thought about that this time. But it was a dinner invitation.”

“And dinner at a level that you haven’t had before, or at least not in a long time.”

“We used to go out for dinner all the time,” she said.

“But Vancouver is a very different place for restaurant selection than here.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s bad though,” she said. And then she added, “I like it when you’re jealous.”

He stopped and stared, his eyebrows lifting.

She shrugged. “At least I know you care.”

At that, his gaze softened, and he shrugged. “Of course I care. You know that. We’re friends.”

“I know we’re friends,” she muttered, as she headed for the deck outside. “But are we more than that?”

“Wow,” he said, “I’d say no because you have to ask.”

She flushed because she’d spoken loud enough for him to hear. “We are friends, the dearest of friends,” she said. “I just, I’m not so sure that I’m ready for anything more.”

“No, you’re obviously not because you’re questioning it,” he said. And he shrugged. “Just my luck.”

“What?”

“I find a fascinating, irritating, very unique woman, and she’s not ready for a relationship.”

“I am ready for a friendship though,” she said quietly. “I’ve never had one before.”

He looked at her in surprise, then reached across. She smiled when she saw he held out his open palm, with fingers toward her. She immediately put her hand in his.

“Seriously?” he asked.

She nodded. “Seriously. You have to remember the life I led. I wasn’t allowed friends, outside of him.”

“Madness,” he muttered, as he squeezed her fingers gently. “I still don’t like you going out to dinner with him.”

“No, but understand why I’m doing it, and maybe that’ll make it easier.”

“No,” he said, with a derisive laugh. “Hell no. Just think about it. It’ll just put you in his target zone.”

“Yeah, well, I already am,” she said. A moment later, Doreen looked at him and asked, “What about the cold case file?”

He glared at her.

She beamed. “It might be connected, huh?”

“No, I can’t guarantee that.”

“So tell me. Do they have student loans?”

He shook his head.

“Aha,” she crowed.

“That proves nothing. They inherited a lot of money. So they put it to good use. You can hardly call that criminal action.”

“Do I get a list of the jewelry that was stolen or the other items?”

“There was one attached,” he said thoughtfully. “That’s public knowledge. I can get that for you.”

“That would be good. Also, what about alibis?”

“They didn’t live in the same house as the parents. James and Robin were at their home, together, having a nice quiet evening as a married couple. In other words, they alibied themselves.” She nodded. “But remember. That doesn’t make them guilty.”

“Nope, but it doesn’t mean they’re innocent either,” she said. “I really like this idea.”

“That’s because you’re just guessing. You want it to fit because you want to have some reason to go in after them.”

“Of course. I know, and I get that,” she said, “but maybe you should ask the husband about it.”

“Ask what?” he said. “What we need is a way into the victim’s life.”

“But that’s your job,” she said, with a bright smile. “You can look at her bank accounts, her assets, debts, … safety deposit boxes. You can look at all of it. Including whether she has any little hidden secret folders on her laptop.”

“Maybe,” he said. “I’m waiting on forensics for that.”

“They haven’t got back to you yet?”

“They are busy, just like I’m busy,” he said, pulling out his buzzing phone, but then he winced. “But I’ve got a message from my guy.”

“Call him,” she urged. “The sooner we find out, the better.”

He rolled his eyes, picked up his coffee, had a sip, and then called the number that sent the message to his phone. She waited, but he looked at her, and she shrugged, then appeared to pull out her phone to look uninterested in what was happening. The fact that Robin was murdered, and now to find out her in-laws were murdered too, meant that was two cases too many. Most families went through an entire lifetime without being touched by murder.

“Got it,” he said in a low tone. “Yeah, send the report, please.”

She looked at him in surprise when he hung up. “That was fast.”

“Only in the sense that I have a lot to pore over,” he said. “Looks like I’m heading back to the office. I’d have to cancel on dinner anyway.”

“Something on the laptop?”

His face turned grim. “A lot is there,” he said. “I’m even more worried about you going out with your ex tonight.”

She hesitated, then shrugged. “He’s had lots of opportunities to kill me,” she said quietly. “I think he is looking for something, and he is really hoping I have it.”

“What happens when he finds out you don’t?” he asked. “What happens when he finds out that you have absolutely nothing on any of this?”

“Then what? I guess I’ll face that when I get there,” she said, “but I can’t imagine that anything is different about tonight.”

“He hasn’t had anything to do with you in eight months. His mistress, who replaced you, comes here and is murdered, and now he shows up out of the blue, and you think it’s got nothing to do with this?”

“I just don’t see that, after all those years of marriage, when he could have done something easily to me, why would he wait until now? I’ve been privy to all kinds of information,” she said. “I probably still have some of that.” At that, Mack stopped and stared, until she shrugged. “I had some USBs full of information. They came with me, but I hadn’t actually found them until recently, when I discovered them in one of my old purses.”

“What information?”

“I’m not exactly sure,” she said. “I haven’t taken a close look.”

He stared at her. “You know you just dropped a bombshell, right?”

She shrugged. “For all I know, it’s just his accounts. You know? The water bill,” she said,