Page 140 of Buried Too Deep

“Was there an aunt who left him an inheritance?” she asked, eyes on her tea.

“None that I’ve found so far,” Antoine said quietly. “I’ll keep looking.”

She felt so damn tired. “Am I a fool for hoping there’s an aunt?”

Phin hugged her to his side. “No. Go on hoping that, Cora. We’ll keep you safe until we prove it either way.”

There were a lot of wes in Phin’s words tonight. He was finally feeling a part of Broussard Investigations.

At least some good had come of this day.

“She lied, didn’t she?” Val asked.

Cora nodded, still not looking up. “Patrick must have done some traveling before they moved. Doesn’t mean he came to New Orleans.”

“No, it doesn’t.” Burke’s tone was kind. “But it’s another piece of the puzzle, and I think you know that.”

She could only nod.

“Is it possible,” Phin asked slowly, “that some of those trips could have been to search for any incriminating evidence in Cora’s house?”

“He would have had to break in,” Val said. “We can check to see if her mother filed a police report.”

“We can ask Harry,” Cora said, her voice barely a whisper. It was like she didn’t have enough air to speak any louder. “If you trust him.”

Phin stroked a hand over her hair. “I don’t trust anyone in your past right now, but I’d like to see the man’s face if and when we do ask him. Although he is an attorney. He might be able to hide his reaction. I’ll go with you.”

Thank you, Phin.

“We can talk to him tomorrow,” Cora said. She gathered her courage and looked up, relieved not to see an iota of pity on their faces. It was more understanding and sympathy, but not pity.

Except for Phin. His eyes were filled with sadness.

For me. It was an unexpected balm on her sore heart.

It gave her enough of a respite to remember that this wasn’t all about her. It was a fair bit about her, but not all.

Joy had been shot.

Minnie had been murdered.

And Medford Hughes and his wife were also dead.

Not all about you.

“So what’s next?” she asked, gratified that her voice didn’t shake.

Phin’s expression shifted from sad to proud. “We keep searching in the attic for whatever your father left behind.”

“We keep trying to break into his partitioned hard drive,” Antoine said. “And I’m going to search Patrick’s family ancestry. I’m hoping to find a rich aunt for you.”

“We dig into that little punk who tried to set your attic on fire,” Val said. She hesitated. “I’m going in with the assumption that Patrick hired him.”

“I understand,” Cora said, because she did. She didn’t like it and couldn’t believe it. But she understood it.

“I’m going back to Houma tomorrow,” Burke said, “to check with all those stores across from the Damper Building. I want to know who was there twenty-three years ago. I want to find out what people remember about the days around the time your dad was buried there.”

Cora needed to ask her next question, but it hurt thinking about. “What about Minnie? Do the police have any leads into her murder?”

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