Page 26 of Little Empty Promises

I wanted to tell her I had set a wedding date, but now didn’t seem like the right time.As I considered whether I should or not, I thought of my mother, who’d never been any good at keeping things quiet.

“Giovanni and I have picked a wedding date,” I said.

A smile crossed her face, and she reached out, grabbing my hand and giving it a squeeze.“I’m so happy for you both.When’s the big day?”

“August of next year.”

“Where?”

“We’re having the ceremony and the reception in Giovanni’s sister’s backyard.”

“Ooh, at the family estate in New York.Perfect.”

“I wasn’t sure whether I should talk to you about it or not yet.But Mom knows, and I can’t believe she hasn’t said anything to you already.”

“She’s been away at a girls’ weekend with her friends.If she wasn’t gone, I bet I’d know by now.I’m glad you told me.It’s nice to think about something positive to look forward to next year.”

I tied a knot in the last bag.“Looks like we’re all done here.”

“I appreciate your help.Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you about Mom’s neighbor, the woman who died.”

“Cordelia Bennett.Her sister came to see me this morning.She’s hired me to investigate the murder.It’s the reason I was at Foley’s office today.”

“It’s strange, isn’t it?The murder makes no sense to me at all.”

“You’re over at Mom’s place a lot more than I am,” I said.“Did you ever meet Cordelia?”

“I talked to her a few times.I always thought she was such a nice lady.Did you know her?”

“I met her once, and I’d see her outside in her garden from time to time, but she never made eye contact with me.From what I know about her, she liked to keep to herself.”

Phoebe rolled a rubber band off her wrist, using it to pull her hair up into a loose bun.“If you’ve taken her case, there’s something you should know.”

“Go on.”

She leaned in like she was getting ready to tell me a secret, even though we were the only two people in the house.“About a month ago, I saw Cordelia arguing with her next-door neighbor.”

11

The fact Phoebe had seen Cordelia arguing with her neighbor was good information.Everything I knew about Cordelia so far led me to believe she avoided people—and thereby, arguments—as much as possible.

“Do you happen to remember the exact day of the argument?”I asked.

“It was the first of October,” Phoebe said.“I remember because I’d just gotten my hair cut, and I stopped by Mom’s house to take her to lunch.”

“Tell me what you saw.”

“I’d just pulled into the driveway.Mom said she needed five more minutes before she was ready, so I waited for her in the car.It was such a nice day, I decided to put the window down, and I saw Cordelia open her front door.She walked right over to her neighbor and started talking to her.Everything seemed okay at first, and then the neighbor got angry, and they started arguing.”

“Do you know what they were arguing about?”

She shook her head.“I was too far away to hear their conversation.”

“Which neighbor?”

“The one in the pink house.”

I knew it well.

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