Page 38 of Montana Manhunt

Mrs. White gasped. “Violet.” She hugged her, the hold tight. “Oh, Violet. It’s been so long, honey. I didn’t think I would ever see you again.”

She released Violet and cupped her face between trembling hands. “You’ve grown into a beautiful woman.” Tears filled her eyes. “I’m so sorry you returned to town for such an awful reason.”

“May we come in, Mrs. White?”

“Oh, of course, dear. Where are my manners?” The older woman stepped back and motioned Violet and the others into her tidy apartment. “Please, do come in.”

She gestured to the sofa and love seat. “Make yourselves comfortable. Who are your friends, Violet?”

“This is Rayne. Beside Rayne is her boyfriend, Grant.” Violet hoped they didn’t mind her adding to their cover story.

“Nice to meet both of you. Now, who is this handsome young man sitting beside you?”

She touched Noah’s knee. “This is Noah Mann, the man I’m dating.”

“It’s great to meet a friend of Violet’s,” Noah said. “She’s been showing us around the town where she grew up.”

“It’s a pleasure, young man. Did you know Camilla, Noah?”

“No, ma’am.”

“I see.” Mrs. White turned to Violet. “I’m mighty glad to see you, dear, but you can’t fool me. You came to me for another reason than checking up on an old friend. How can I help you?”

“You’re too smart for your own good, Mrs. White. What can you tell me about Cami’s boyfriend, Bradley Melton?”

“Oh, he was crazy about Camilla. The boy has a good job. He’s a lawyer, you know. He treated your sister like she was the queen of England.”

If Bradley was such a great guy, why hadn’t Cami told her about him? Violet had talked about Noah almost nonstop since the day they met and had been the recipient of gentle teasing by her sweet sister. “Had they been having any problems?”

Mrs. White shook her head. “I’m sorry, dear, but I only heard good things about Bradley.”

“Did anything seem to bother Cami in the last few days?”

She frowned. “Well, now that you mention it, Camilla seemed upset the last time she was here.”

“Did she tell you what upset her?” Noah asked.

Mrs. White sighed. “I’m afraid not. She said she didn’t want to worry me and that I should forget she’d mentioned a problem to me if anyone came around asking questions.”

That sounded like Cami thought a private detective or a cop might look into whatever was bugging her and she wanted to protect Mrs. White from scrutiny. “Is the problem related to her job?”

“That was my impression. When I asked her what was wrong, she said things at work had been difficult. After that, she refused to say anything else.”

Violet frowned. What did that mean? Was someone in Cami’s office hassling her? Or was a parent or guardian responsible for upsetting her sister?

“The thing is,” Mrs. White continued, “I don’t think Camilla was telling me the truth.”

“Why not?” Noah prompted.

“Just a feeling that she was trying to protect me. I know her job as a social worker is difficult. However, this seemed to be more than work trouble.” She shook her head. “I can’t explain why, but I’m sure she wasn’t telling the truth.”

That left Violet with no clue what troubled her sister before she died. The problem could have originated at work or in Cami’s personal life.

She squared her shoulders. Fine. Violet and her teammates had two leads. Cami’s workplace and her boyfriend, Bradley Melton. No matter how long it took, she’d find out who murdered Cami and take them down.

CHAPTER SEVEN

AS MRS. WHITEand Violet continued to talk, Noah and Grant watched the police activity across the street in the hospital parking lot. Noah frowned as the officers finally set up a perimeter.

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