A Justified Murder (Medlar Mystery #2)(8)

Jack took the bag from her, removed the glasses, and slipped them onto her face. “Can’t get what we saw out of your mind?”

“No, I can’t. Who would do such a thing to a little old woman?”

Jack put his arm around her shoulders in a brotherly way and they stood still until she stopped shaking. “I like you in those heels. Really sexy. They make your legs look even longer.”

Kate pushed away from him, gave him a look to cut it out, and they walked to the store. But she was grateful for his smart-aleck remark. It had brought her back to the present.

“My guess,” Jack said as he got a cart, “is money. Somebody needs to look at Mrs. Beeson’s will and see who stands to inherit.”

Kate began tossing in bags of salad greens. “Are you saying her heirs got together and killed her? Just so they’d get an early inheritance?”

“Maybe.” He was filling a bag with oranges.

“But isn’t the heir being the killer too obvious?” Kate got brussels sprouts.

“You mean that killing for money has been done before, so this time there has to be a different reason?”

“I just like to think there are other possibilities. I’d really like to know why someone did that.” Her head came up. “Maybe we should get Aunt Sara to tell Sheriff Flynn that if he doesn’t keep us informed of what they find out, she won’t give him the photos.”

“That’s called extortion. Or blackmail. And/or hindering a case by withholding evidence. Whatever it is, I don’t think it’s going to work.” He tossed in a carton of guacamole. “Besides, do you think the Broward cops will tell him what they’re doing?”

“Probably not. If he thought they would, he wouldn’t have had Aunt Sara take photos in secret. What kind of grapes do you want?”

“Tart. Like my women.” He grinned at her rolled eyes. “I can’t imagine that they’ll investigate this in the right way.”

She looked at him in question.

“It’ll be scientific. Lots of forensics and lab work. They’ll try to find out who was where and when. And they’ll look for other murders done in the same horrible way. But this is a crime of motive. Of anger. Or greed on a big scale.”

“It’s pure hatred, that’s for sure,” Kate said. “This is going to take some digging to figure out who and why.”

For a moment, they paused, looking at each other in silence, not moving until a woman wanted to get to the yellow onions.

“So tell me about your clients,” Jack said. One thing they shared was a love of real estate.

Kate was glad for the change of subject and they talked about work as they picked up the other items they needed and checked out.

When they were in the truck, Kate brought up the subject still strongly in their minds. “If we put our theories about Mrs. Beeson in Aunt Sara’s report, do you think the higher-ups will pay any attention to it?”

“Of course not.” He backed out of the parking space. “If they even find out we were there, we’ll be in trouble. At the least, they’ll say we contaminated the crime scene.”

“If we really are staying out of this, maybe your mom should report directly to the sheriff.”

“That would mean skipping Sara and I don’t think she’d like that.”

“Actually, neither would I.” His look of warning made Kate defensive. “Okay, I’m curious. You caught me. Can’t help it. Could you drop me off on Lime Key? I’m meeting clients there.”

“The ones who want to buy Mrs. Beeson’s house?”

“No. Those people live in Miami and believe that they’re falling down on the social ladder by moving to the rural backwater that is Fort Lauderdale.”

Jack laughed. “You haven’t lived here long enough to have an attitude like that.”

“Being a Realtor gives me a double dose of home snobbery. One woman said it was appalling that there aren’t any gated communities in Lachlan.”

“What did you say?”

“That the individual estates in Lachlan have private security systems.”

Jack gave a snort of laughter. “Private estates! I take it you didn’t show her the Medlar-Wyatt side of town.”

“I did manage to avoid that area. Anyway, she wasn’t buying.”

“Certainly not now.” He stopped the truck at the house she was showing. “Are you planning to ask Tayla if she sold the house to Mrs. Beeson?”

“No. Let the detectives do that. Someone is a lover of violence. Shooting, stabbing...”

“And poison. Wonder what deadly drug they used?”

“Your mom seemed to think this has something to do with Sylvia Alden’s death.”

“Her suicide. I wonder...”

“What?” Kate looked at the house. Her clients were late.

“What if Mrs. Alden didn’t commit suicide? What if she was murdered?”

“And Mrs. Beeson found out about it? Your mom said people took away the bodies of Sylvia and her husband. That sounds like mega money to me. Maybe Mrs. Alden’s heirs killed her for the money, Janet found out about it, and—”

“They killed her before she told. Wonder who ‘they’ are? Where did the Aldens live before here? But maybe Sylvia’s death has nothing to do with this. For all we know, Janet Beeson was fabulously wealthy and had millions in jewels somewhere and...” He looked to Kate to finish it.