Page 42 of Tessa's Trust

“Hey, it’s Eddie Brando. I had a message from my aunt Sadie that you and I were supposed to go out this week. Are you looking for some sort of arranged marriage or something? Because I’ve got to tell you, that’s not my thing.”

I had wondered which of the two remaining Brando brothers would call first. It was nice they wanted to make their great-aunt happy, even though she’d disappeared. “No, I’m definitely not looking for an arranged marriage. I think your aunt just wants one of you boys to get married while she’s still alive. I’m not looking for marriage at all, Eddie. I’ve got to be honest with you.”

His chuckle sounded relieved. “Oh, good. Neither am I. Sorry. I’ve been hitched twice before, and it just didn’t work out. However, I did promise my aunt that I’d go to dinner, and I’m here in town for the day. What do you say?”

“I’m in town, too. Dinner’s fine. Where do you want to go?” The sooner we got this over with, the better.

“I was thinking we should try out the Crème de la Crepe. They opened right before Christmas over on Cedar Street.”

Surprise kept me immobile for a moment. The last place I would’ve expected Eddie Brando to want to meet was at the new French restaurant in town. “I was thinking something more casual,” I admitted.

“Let’s live a little. Plus, we’re talking Timber City. Even French is casual.”

He wasn’t wrong. “All right. I’ll meet you around six?” I’d have to change out of my jeans.

“Sounds great.”

“Hey, Eddie?” I asked. “Do you have any idea where your aunt Sadie is?” I had tried to find Eddie’s number earlier to question him but couldn’t find it. It was a good thing he’d called me.

Eddie snorted. “I have no clue. I’ve been trying to call her for days, and I’ve got nothing. My brother has, too.”

I perked up. “I need his number, too. Do you mind sending that to me?”

“Not at all. I’ll forward it to you right now.”

That did beg the question: “How did you get my number anyway?”

“Aunt Sadie sent it to me, of course.”

Yeah, that made sense. I had no idea if I owned the property or not, but I planned to stick to the rules of the contract until I found out. I only had a week to go on a date with each of the guys. Plus, meeting Eddie would give me a good chance to question him about where Sadie or Jonathan might have gone. I didn’t know much about Jonathan except that he lived in Montana, was an attorney, and wasn’t married.

Since Eddie seemed to be in a sharing mood, I decided to push my luck. “Eddie, do you know anybody who would’ve wanted your cousin Rudy dead?”

Eddie snorted. “That dude wasn’t my cousin. I don’t know who he was, but I think he was full of crap. Oh, hey, Tess, I gotta go. I’ll meet you in an hour.” He clicked off.

Didn’t anybody say goodbye any longer? I rubbed my chin. This was getting weirder and weirder. A ding sounded, and the contact information for Hank Brando flashed across my screen. Well, I knew many people didn’t like Eddie, but so far, he’d been decent, and he’d come through.

I quickly dialed Hank’s number and reached his voicemail.

“Hi, Hank, it’s Tessa Albertini. I promised your great-aunt that we would go on a date this week. I assume you already know about that. Also, I’m looking for her. Would you give me a call when you get a chance? Thanks.” I clicked off.

If I were completely honest with myself, I had to admit that I wouldn’t mind going on a date with Hank. He was a semi-professional snowmobiler, and the guy wasn’t bad to look at. He was actually a couple of years younger than me, closer to Anna’s age, but I remembered him being pretty handsome in high school. Either way, it would give me another line on finding Sadie and my money.

I finished the glass of wine and then stood, wondering what I should wear to dinner to meet Eddie. This was more of a contractual obligation than a date, and the last I heard, the guy was a little slimy, although he’d seemed pretty decent on the phone. I decided to go with black slacks and a pink cashmere sweater that I borrowed from Donna.

My phone buzzed again, and I looked down to see a text from Nick. My heart started to beat faster, and I cursed myself. I had to get over this little crush I had on him. It just wasn’t going to work out. And then I read the text.

Nick: I hope you’re staying safe tonight. Let the authorities do their jobs.

I rolled my eyes. It was a little disconcerting how well he already knew me. So I decided to shoot off a quick reply:

Me: Don’t worry about it. I’m just watching movies.

Nick: Why don’t I believe you?

Me: Because you’re a prosecutor and suspicion comes easily to you?

Nick: Huh. More likely, I understand the Albertini need to solve crimes and get into trouble.

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