Page 17 of Murder on the Boardwalk

“You don’t mind if we tag along?” Birk asked. “I’m curious.”

“Nope. We could probably use your expertise, whatever it is they discovered.”

Jade began clearing the dishes. “What do you think it is?”

Kelly frowned at Jade. “Aren’t you coming?”

Jade made up an excuse on the spot, the best she could think of, and angled toward Birk. “I don’t want to leave the dogs in their crates for long. But you go ahead. Go with everyone else. I’ll clean up here and lock up.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Brogan said, grabbing her bag off the kitchen counter. “I’ll clean up later.”

Jade waved her off. “Don’t be silly. I’m fine with staying behind and doing the dishes. The dogs will keep me company.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I wouldn’t offer if I weren’t,” Jade explained. “Get out of here. All of you. But somebody better text me and let me know what’s going on, though.”

“Will do,” Birk promised as he kissed her forehead.

Standing at the counter, Jade watched her friends file past her, disappearing into the garage. She heard Lucien start the engine on his truck and listened to the pickup back out of the driveway.

Stella and Poppy let out a mournful wail.

She dropped to one knee to try and comfort them. “You feel it, too, don’t you? It feels like death to me.”

The greyhound nudged her face while Poppy licked her hand. “Let’s hope the situation isn’t as dark as it feels. I can’t explain it, but I’m pretty sure we’re about to learn Vera Lockhart’s dirtiest little secret.”

5

Someone had recently painted Vera’s shotgun-style house white with turquoise shutters, an upgrade to its former dull gray exterior. After six months of neglect, her lawn had turned brown from the lack of rain. The only thing green was the knee-high deerweed flourishing in patchy spots despite no one watering it.

Lucien spotted Brent’s cruiser pulled to the curb and parked at an angle. He came to a stop behind the SUV. “He got here fast.”

A few neighbors had wandered into the street to see what was happening. Cramped into the backseat of the pickup, Beckett took notice. “This could be big.”

“We should’ve taken two cars,” Kelly grumbled, sandwiched between the two brothers. She wriggled in the middle to see out the window. “Look at the crowd forming.”

Beckett nudged Kelly. “This looks serious. Maybe Logan and Kinsey stumbled on a dead body.”

“A break-in?” Brogan said trading looks with Lucien.

“I don’t think that’s what he’s saying,” Lucien remedied. “Unless there were two burglars and one killed the other, I think Beckett’s suggesting the body was already in the house.”

“We won’t learn anything sitting here like gawkers,” Birk muttered, opening the back passenger door and striding up to the house.

The others scrambled out of the truck to catch up.

Kinsey met them at the front door. A quick scan of faces said she was shocked to see Brogan’s friends. She quickly found her speech. “Logan’s still upstairs in the bedroom with Brent. But there’s not enough room for everyone, so I recommend staying outside until Brent gives the okay.”

“What’s going on?” Brogan blurted out.

Kinsey took a deep breath before detailing the rest. “We opened a blanket box upstairs in what used to be Vera’s master bedroom. The chest sat at the end of the bed where most blanket boxes go. Anyway, I opened the lid. The room suddenly filled with a weird, musty odor. I started to reach for the comforter on top, but Logan stopped me. He’s the one who lifted the coverlet. There was a body underneath. Mummified remains. Brent thinks it’s an adult male between his mid-twenties and forty years of age. It’s been there for a very long time.”

“Define a ‘very long time,’” Lucien prompted.

“Possibly as long as Vera owned this house. Fifty years or so. I got out of there fast. I offered to phone the police. I ran downstairs and started with Brent. That’s all I can tell you firsthand. I never went back upstairs. Logan and I have been communicating by text ever since.”

Behind them, another squad car screeched to a halt at the curb. Colt Del Rio got out. The mob of neighbors surrounded him and began tossing out questions. “I don’t know what’s going on—that’s why I need to get inside first. I promise I’ll let you know as soon asIknow anything. Okay?”

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