Page 19 of The Murder Club

Bailey hesitated, telling herself to put down the phone and walk away. Instead, she clicked the link. She had no intention of joining a private club with anyone, let alone a stranger from the Internet, but she couldn’t deny she was curious.

The Grange Police Department have revealed that eighty-three-year-old Pauline Hartford, longtime superintendent of the Grange School System, was found dead in her empty swimming pool. Her body was found this morning by her cleaner, who arrived to find the back door left open and Mrs. Hartford lying in the pool. Her death is currently being ruled an accident.

Bailey read the story twice. It was certainly the sort of case they would investigate in the old Murder Club. A tragic death that had been ruled an accident. There didn’t seem to be anything special about it.

Whoever was pestering her was obviously hoping to create an intimate relationship using their mutual interest in solving crimes. It was only her raw nerves making it feel ominous.

Busy reassuring herself that her life hadn’t somehow gone completely into the gutter, Bailey dropped her phone on the table when it loudly pinged with another text.

Crap.

Bracing herself for some new disaster, Bailey nearly cried with relief when Dom’s name popped up.

Good morning. If you’re not working today I would be eternally grateful if you could bring out Bert and Ernie to play with Nanny and Elmer. They are missing their owners and have spent the morning moping by the front door.

Bailey didn’t hesitate. She desperately needed to get out of the house. Otherwise she’d spend the entire day pacing the floor. Worse, she’d probably bake a thousand sugar cookies and shove them in her face.

That’s what she did when she was upset.

On cue, her stomach rumbled in warning. The muffin wasn’t going to last forever. She sent back a text.

I’ll bring pizza.

Perfect. I have the wine.

Feeling better, Bailey shoved herself to her feet and headed into the spare bedroom. She’d been putting off a deep clean of the house. Something her grandmother had always insisted had to be done before the hard winter set in. This morning was a perfect opportunity to get it accomplished.

Four hours later she pulled her aging Ford-150 through the gates, using the electric opener that Lia had given her. She’d bought the truck when she graduated from high school and used it only when necessary. It was going to be a long time before she saved up for a new one.

She shut down the voice in the back of her mind that whispered she was about to inherit enough money to upgrade her vehicle. From the bottom of her heart, she hoped Gage got the will overturned and she never had to hear another damned thing about the twenty thousand dollars.

Bumping up the driveway that hadn’t been paved yet, she admired the clean lines of the sprawling brick home. At Lia’s insistence it was only one floor, but it was built in a U-shape, with an inner courtyard that framed an in-ground pool. On one side was a sturdy, fenced-in area for the two strays who’d appeared shortly after they’d started construction on the house. And in the distance she could see the roof of Lia’s private office that was near the lake, as well as the long garage where Kaden stored his collection of motorcycles, rare cars, and even an airplane.

But it wasn’t the expensive house or outbuildings that was the showstopper. It was the amazing view of the rolling hills and clusters of trees that made it such a special property.

Parking in front of the house, Bailey opened her door and hopped out before the dogs could scramble over her. She also grabbed the pizza box and the sugar cookies she ended up baking despite her best intentions.

The dogs bounded toward the side of the house, and Bailey watched a gate open as Dom stepped out and moved just in time to prevent getting run down by the two eager Labs. The excited yips filling the air assured Bailey that Nanny and Elmer were already outside and eager to play.

Shutting the gate, Dom strolled toward her with a grin. Bailey froze in place, the breath being ruthlessly squeezed from her lungs. He wasn’t beautiful like Kaden. His features were bluntly carved and his large body moved with purpose rather than elegance, but there was something irresistibly charming about him. At least as far as Bailey was concerned. And when he smiled . . . it felt as if something inside her was melting, altering her until she’d never be the same again.

Bailey cleared a strange lump from her throat, suddenly wishing that she’d taken more care with her appearance. As usual, she’d coiled her hair into a messy knot on top of her head and pulled on a pair of casual jeans and a sweatshirt. She hadn’t even bothered to put on makeup.

Thankfully, Dom didn’t seem to care as he halted next to her, his smile widening as if he was pleased that she’d agreed to join him.

“You’re a lifesaver.”

The awareness remained, sizzling through Bailey, but thankfully, weird awkwardness dissipated with his teasing words.

“Because I brought you dogs or pizza?”

“For the company,” he clarified. “It’s nice to have the privacy. Especially since I live behind the pawnshop and hundreds of Kaden’s fans show up to take pictures of Money Makers day and night. And this is a beautiful place.” He grimaced. “But this morning I found myself asking Elmer if he’d read any good books lately.”

“Did he answer?”

“He was more interested in the bacon I was cooking.”

“Ah. Well, you can’t blame him. It’s hard to concentrate when bacon is involved.”

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