Page 29 of Little Empty Promises

“Is there anything else we should know?”Hunter asked.

I stood, walked over to my desk, and grabbed the letters Claudette had left with me.I returned to the sofa, handing one letter to Hunter and the other to Simone.

“Our client left those with me.As you know, Claudette and Cordelia were sisters.Cordelia sent two letters to her sister before she died,” I said.“Hunter, I gave you the first letter.Go ahead and read through it.”

She nodded and unfolded the letter, her eyes scanning over it until she was finished.“There was bad blood between the sisters.Did they ever work through their issues before Cordelia died?”

“They did not.”

“Do you think it’s the reason Claudette hired you?”

“I do.There’s an element of guilt, regret there—that they hadn’t resolved matters before Cordelia’s death.”

“Why was there bad blood between them?”

“They were both in love with the same man.In the end, he chose Cordelia, and they got married.Claudette never forgave her for it.”

“Talk about sibling rivalry at its finest,” Simone said.

“Your letter is similar, Simone,” I said.“But there’s one big difference.”

“I’m intrigued,” Simone said.“Let’s get right to it,”

She read the letter aloud.

As she neared the end, she gasped, clasping a hand over her mouth.

“What is it?”Hunter asked.

“At the end of this letter, Cordelia says she fears for her life,” Simone said.“How long was it between the time Cordelia sent this letter and her death?”

“A few days.”

“If someone was planning to murder her, it looks like she had good reason to be concerned,” Simone said.

“I saw Phoebe earlier today, and she told me something interesting,” I said.“About a month ago, she was at our mother’s house.Cordelia lives across the street.While Phoebe was in the car, waiting for our mother, she saw Cordelia fighting with the next-door neighbor, a woman named Rosalyn Westwood.”

“Did she know what the fight was about?”

“She couldn’t hear their conversation, but Cordelia was crying at the end of it.When Phoebe found out Cordelia had been murdered, she told Foley about the conversation she’d witnessed.He talked to Rosalyn, and she told him their interaction wasn’t a big deal.According to her, they had a disagreement over Cordelia’s cat coming into the yard and riling up her dog.”

“I don’t see how that would lead to murder,” Simone said.

“Truth is, Rosalyn could have given any reason for the argument,” I said.“As far as I know, no one else witnessed what happened or heard their conversation.”

“Do you think Rosalyn could be lying?”

“I’ll have a better idea after I speak to her again.I’m going to stop by and see her in the morning.”

I heard a strange clicking sound and then all went quiet.

“Hang on a minute,” I said.“I’ll be right back.”

I walked to the kitchen.Popping my head inside, I noticed nothing was on—the refrigerator wasn’t running with its usual hum, and the time wasn’t displaying on the microwave.

I returned to Simone and Hunter.“Looks like the power is out.”

“Hope it won’t be for long,” Hunter said.

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