A Justified Murder (Medlar Mystery #2)(9)

“And three kids from Miami broke in and stole the jewels from a secret safe. But Janet interrupted them and they...you know. Took turns.”

“Not a gang rape but a gang murder. Although, the poison must have been difficult to get down her.”

“Was there an empty teacup nearby? I didn’t notice.”

“Ah, come on. Give ol’ Janet a break,” Jack said. “At least put the poison in a shot glass of tequila.”

“No. I’m sure Mrs. Beeson was a tea drinker. I wish I could hypnotize myself and remember her every moment at the memorial.”

“Do you think it’s significant that she was so very unmemorable? Don’t spies work at not being noticed?”

“What’s she going to spy on in Lachlan?” Kate asked. “How much money the church took in? She was the secretary so she knew that. Is there something going on in this town that I don’t know about?”

“Based on what we saw this morning, there is something really evil going on that neither of us knows about. Your clients are here. They’re not going to buy this place. The house is too small.”

Kate saw the young couple. He was pushing a dual stroller of toddler twins and she was pregnant. “Sometimes bank accounts and square footage aren’t equal.”

“After they see this place, send them over to me. If they’re willing to wait, I might be able to squeeze a few more feet out of one of my houses.”

She smiled at him. “Thanks.” She got out but held the door open. “Can you get my car to me here?”

“Sure. And what else do you want, Princess Kate?”

“Put the groceries in the fridge. Oh no! We forgot the prawns for Aunt Sara. I’ll pick it up on the way home.” She shut the truck door. “See you tonight.”

With a nod, Jack drove away.

Kate turned to the clients and introduced herself.

As they walked to the house, the woman said, “Your husband is gorgeous.”

“He’s not my husband. He—” Kate cut herself off. House sales were about the client, not her.

The woman put her hand on her belly. “Be careful. You see where love for a beautiful man leads.”

Kate couldn’t help laughing as she unlocked the door. “I think this might not be the right house for you, but I do have something that I think will fit. It’s in the Morris community. It’s new and upcoming. There’s going to be a clubhouse with a pool.”

“And I wouldn’t have to take care of it,” the husband—a very good-looking man—said.

“That’s all being arranged by Wyatt Construction.”

“Kate’s boyfriend,” the woman said. “The name’s painted on the side of his truck.”

“He’s not my boyfriend either. Just a friend.” Kate was glad when the twins let out a howl that they wanted out of confinement. She didn’t want to go into an explanation of her personal life.

Jack’s men dropped off Kate’s car and she drove home after showing the couple one of the houses in Jack’s new development. With Sara as his silent partner, Jack had purchased several houses in the area of Lachlan that was the least developed. Rotting foundations, crumbling sidewalks, weeds that hid critters unique to Florida—and Australia thought it got the prize for weird and dangerous. Ha!

During the summer, Kate had worked with Jack and his sister, Ivy, an interior designer, on planning the remodel of the houses. Creating open floor plans was at the top of the list. Mom and Dad could cook as they watched the kids.

Someone had suggested that they make the house that had belonged to the Morrises—mother and daughter—into a sort of clubhouse, and they’d liked the idea. In the backyard that had once held derelict farm machinery and an old poinciana tree, they were putting in a swimming pool. The house had been enlarged and divided into two parts. One side was an apartment for a retired couple who would look after the place. The woman had been a state swimming champ so she was the lifeguard. Her husband was the handyman for the whole development that Jack had planned.

“I want to buy all of the horrible old houses,” Jack had said.

Sara agreed. She’d grown up there, as had Jack’s grandfather. And Jack had spent the first years of his life there. He and Sara had a life goal of reconstructing the whole place. “Change ugly into beauty,” she said.

Kate’s young couple had liked what they saw in the house and they were willing to wait for it to be completed. Jack wanted the deal done with a handshake, but she presented papers to be signed and arranged for money to be exchanged.

While they were viewing the partially completed house, the woman had asked why she wasn’t putting her hooks into Jack. “If you don’t watch out, some other woman is going to lay claim to him.”

“Jack’s for fun, not for keeps,” Kate replied.

The woman had laughed in understanding. “When it comes to men, pretty packaging isn’t a guarantee of the best content.”

After the showing, Kate was smiling. It was all working out well. She stopped at a Publix and bought prawns, picked up Jack’s favorite hot sauce, and pickles for Aunt Sara. At home, she put the seafood away, then called out, “Where is everyone?”

“Out here,” Sara answered.

She and Jack were sitting in the shady part of the patio, looking out at Sara’s beautiful tropical garden. “Did Jack tell you he sold another of the Morris houses?” she asked as she sat down, and Sara nodded, pleased.