Page 19 of Merry Murder Season
Now those angry green eyes were aimed at me. “I shouldn’t have to tell the council. Isn’tthat your job?”
I laughed and shook my head. “Nope. Sorry. I bring the business group together to talk about marketing and ways to help each other. I told the group last year about the change and how to protest. But no onedid anything.”
“Well, that’s beside the point.” Matty started on another tirade, but I held up my hand, stopping her.
“Sorry, I only discuss business council issues during our monthly meetings. If you want something added to January’s agenda, you can send an email to my council account. I’ll add it and you can talk then.” I turned to Josh. “I’m surprised you didn’t tell her how to get something on the agenda, both for our group and the city council. You’ve followed the procedures enough.”
“Whatever.” Matty took off, then realized Josh wasn’t following. “Are you coming?”
He shook his head. “Sorry, I need to talk to Jill about something. I’ll see you at the next council meeting.”
Her mouth dropped open, then she narrowed her gaze. “Maybe I’ll just talkto Mandy then.”
She turned away and stormed off the beach, sand flying.
“I bet she wishes she was on hard ground so she could stomp off,” Beth observed.
I laughed, then turned to Josh. “Boy, you need to stay away from her. She’s trouble. You loveMandy, right?”
“Of course I do,” Josh sputtered. “This wasjust business.”
“Maybe for you, but I think that woman would do anything to hurt someone else. You need to call Mandy and tell her you took a walk with Matty on the beach. Because that woman is telling her as soon as she can find Mandy’s phone number. I don’t think she’ll be as truthful about what really happened. And the worst thing is, even if you are in love with her, all she wants is to cause trouble. She won’t be there once she breaks upyour marriage.”
“Jill, it’s not like that. Matty wouldn’t do that,” Josh defended her. “Besides, she knowsI love Mandy.”
Beth put her hand on his arm. “I know I’m an outsider, but I could see what she was doing. You need to talk to your wife. Now. She can’t beblindsided by this. If you tell her before Matty does, she won’t be wondering if you still love her. Take it from me, it’s hard to rebuild that trust.”
Josh’s eyes widened. “You really don’t think…”
“Yes, Josh, I do think Matty would torpedo your marriage just for fun.” I squeezed his arm. “Call Mandy, now.”
He met my eyes. We’d become friends as much as anyone besides Mandy could with Josh during a stressful situation a few months back. He knew I would do anything for him because I had. I had proven my loyalty. He nodded as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Sorry to hurry off, but I need to make a call.”
Beth and I watched as he hurried toward the stairs, his phone to his ear.
“I hope he’s calling his wife and not that other woman,” Beth mumbled.
That thought hadn’t occurred to me. I’d assumed that he would call Mandy, but it wasn’t my decision either way. But it was interesting that Matty was trying to point a finger at Dom for Chip’s killing. And if not Dom, one of his guys.
Josh wasn’t the only one who needed to make a call. But first, we needed to finish our walk and plan out our week. I needed some time to do some research into Matty Leaven. As a jewelry store owner, she had high-end merchandise in her shop. I wondered where exactly she was sourcing those items from.
Okay, maybe I was being a little passive-aggressive. Just because I didn’t like the woman didn’t mean that she’d killed Chip. But at least it wasn’t one of my favorite townsfolk that I was researching. It was oneI didn’t like.
And sometimes, my hunches played out. I needed to visit Mandy soon and make sure she was okay. Without divulging Josh’s secret in case he hadn’t told her.
Chapter 8
We’d decided to eat a late lunch at the seafood place today. If Greg came home for dinner, we’d do something simple like soup and sandwiches. If not, we might just split a quart of ice cream. Beth and I were soul sisters in our love of good food.
“Tonight, I’ll get my notes together and make up a plan for the research I need to get done while I’m here. Then tomorrow, I’ll pick you up at the shop and we can go to Bakerstown. You can use my car if you need to run around while I work. Or I could go in the morning without you,” Beth said.
“No, I want to go.” I had my own to-do list running through my head. I needed to talk to Doc Ames about Chip’s death as well as see what I could find out about Chris. And drop off the donation jar money to the charity. “And I’ll drive. I’ve got some stops I need to make anyway.”
Beth’s eyes twinkled. “You’re not investigating, are you? Amanda told me about how you and she went to the New Hope open house together. Speaking of, is there any way to get on the property? Do you know the realtor who has the listing?”
“I might.” I was interested in seeing the site of South Cove’s first, and hopefully last, cult. “The last time I was there, we were only allowed in the meeting house. I’d love to see the other buildings. My friend, Amy Newman-Cole, is the city planner. She might know who’s representing the estate.”
The problem with the land was there were too many lawsuits attached to the property. Families of cult members who had lost everything when their loved one joined were trying to attach the property value to get at least some of the money back. I had a feeling that the land would be tied up in the courts for years.
