Page 59 of The Rainbow Recipe
Pris wished she knew what KK had to say about all this.
Jane muttered in reply, “The necklace was in a photo of Lady Katherine in the Charleston newspaper. Ugly old thing.”
Pris lost patience with Jane’s crabby opinions. “So what happened in Myrtle Beach after you heard them argue?”
“Lady Katherine laughed and asked what Rhonda was going to do, tell Daddy? It sounded like a threat, as if she would retaliate.”
Evie nodded curtly, possibly conveying KK’s agreement.
“Then what happened?” Pris asked cautiously, sensing Jane was reaching a mental breaking point.
Jane scrunched her shoulders. “Vincent Gladwell. He came in the back door, heard everything, and saw me. He shouted awful things. I ran out, but I could hear him hitting Katherine and both women screaming at him.”
Thirty: Jax
LaWanda,the mayor’s eighteen-year-old niece, glanced around Jax’s barren office and sniffed. Not quite as tall as Larraine, considerably skinnier, and bespectacled, she’d be called a nerd in any universe except the fashionista’s. Larraine had evidently dressed her for success in the red jumpsuit, power Afro, and purple glasses frames.
“Do I get a computer?” was all she asked.
Roark and Reuben were crawling all over his inner office attaching microphones and cameras in preparation for the potential client and murder suspect due to arrive shortly. Jax just needed a body at the desk. He hadn’t figured out what to do with her yet. “Eventually. We’re still setting up the office. I need you to learn the phone system and hold visitors out here until I allow them in. We’ll work out a routine later.”
LaWanda sniffed again. “I handled the principal’s phone system. It’s not complicated.” She settled into the mesh office chair Evie had dug out of the attic and began looking for adjustments.
Given the lack of client list, a receptionist who could handle a phone and a chair was all he required. Jax returned to his office to rein in the spooks eager to apply their trade.
Reuben was fixing a microphone under Jax’s desk while Roark checked a totally unauthorized security camera over the door.
“This is overkill, guys,” Jax protested. “I hate having cameras in my private office. Client information is confidential.”
“Nick Gladwell is not yet your client, and he could be a killer for all we know.” Reuben plugged in his earbuds to check the sound.
“La Bella Gente is a client,” Jax argued. “He could be representing them.”
“We’ll remove the equipment and you can throw out the video if he’s here on business,” Reuben agreed, stepping back to test his earbuds.
“Interrogate,bon ami,” Roark said. “It’s what you do good.”
“Yeah, well, it would help if I knew what crime I’m interrogating about.” Jax opened the boutique’s file on his laptop. “I have no idea why he made this appointment.”
“To find out who knows what would be my guess.” The lanky Cajun climbed down from the chair he was using and carried it toward the door.
“Out,” Jax ordered, watching the camera in the corridor. “He’s here.”
His friends picked up their equipment and vanished into the file room. Seconds later, Jax’s teenage receptionist greeted the client’s arrival and paged Jax on the intercom. So she really did know a bit about office equipment.
He would have appreciated the smooth organization his office was finally achieving, except he knew R&R were in it for the money. Insurance had offered rewards for finding KK’s killer and the arson at the bistro. Evie’s hungry team was looking at major pay-outs.
At his visitor’s entrance, Jax stood to shake Nicholas Gladwell’s hand. “Good to see you. How are you holding up?”
The other man looked worse for wear. The Bella team had always been bright and shiny when he’d worked with them before the store opening. Nick was the classic stereotype of a slick salesman, Italian shoes and all. Today, a dark shadow of beard marred his square jaw and his eyes had developed bags from lack of sleep.
“I’ve been better,” Nick admitted, settling into the chair in front of the desk. “The insurance company is giving me grief. I’m hoping you can help.”
“I’ll be happy to try, although I’m not sure what I can do. They’ve sent inspectors?”
Nick nodded. “The arson charge is holding things up. They want to blame our employees. They’re demanding a complete inventory of stock along with receipts. Rhonda is still in shock and refusing to return here. She’s gone over to KK’s store at Myrtle. Matt is hunkering down at Hilton Head, claiming he’s too busy. I’m marketing. I know nothing of the back office.”
Jax frowned and tapped his pen. “Matt is back? Why isn’t he handling all this?”
