A Death in Duck: Lindsay Harding Cozy Mystery Series (Reverend Lindsay Harding Mystery Book 2) by Mindy Quigley Page B
Authors: Mindy Quigley
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sighed. For almost 50 years, her mother had put all of her energy into becoming an object of desire and adoration for men. Now, with her looks fading, like the foolish man in the Book of Matthew, she was realizing that she’d built her whole world on a foundation of sand.
“Okay,” Lindsay said. “So he said if you paid him back, he’d leave you alone? But couldn’t you see that he was lying? From what you’ve said, he hadn’t exactly proven himself to be a generous and forgiving person.”
“Even I’m not that dumb. I didn’t believe him, but he reminded me that he knew where you lived.” Tears welled up in her eyes. “He said that you looked real pretty while you were sleepin’.”
Lindsay wrapped her arms around herself to try to keep from shaking. Suddenly, she, too, was icy cold. She opened her mouth to speak, but found the words would not come.
“I knew it was my fault that you got dragged into this mess, but it’s okay now. We don’t have to worry. Patty promised he’s not gonna come back. We’re all safe.” Sarabelle smiled like a child presenting a straight-A report card.
Lindsay wasn’t reassured in the least. “Where’d you get the money to pay him back? Don’t tell me you socked away what you took from him last summer under a mattress somewhere?” Lindsay couldn’t imagine her mother would’ve managed to curb her natural inclination to spend money the moment it came into her hands.
“No, that money’s long gone.”
“So I guess you saved up nine thousand dollars working part-time at the Food Lion bakery for three weeks,” Lindsay said flatly.
Sarabelle waved her hands as if shooing away a fly. “Never you mind the details. All’s you need to know is that it’s over now.” Lindsay heard a quiet buzzing from her bedroom. “Oh, your phone’s been going off while you been gone, sugar. You better see who it is,” Sarabelle said.
Lindsay hurried to the bedroom, catching the phone on the last ring before voicemail picked up. “Hello?”
“Lindsay?” Warren’s exhalation of relief travelled down the line. “Where are you?”
“Aunt Harding’s house. The weather is awful out here. Can you bring some extra sweaters for me when you come? And I forgot my toothbrush. I don’t know what I was thinking when I packed. I remembered the Jell-O, but it melted into boobs.”
“Whose boobs?” Warren asked, not catching her meaning.
The phone gave three beeps in quick succession. “Never mind. Looks like my phone battery’s about to go. What’s up?” She shut the door and sat down on the bed.
Warren inhaled sharply. “I’m heading out there first thing tomorrow. We need to talk to your aunt. It’s about Lydia Sikes’s murder.”
“Lydia Sikes? What does my aunt have to do with Lydia Sikes?”
“We’re not entirely sure yet. But you know how there was something strange with the gun?”
“Yeah.” The phone beeped again. “Do you want to give me a 30-second update before my phone dies? Or should I find the charger and call you back in a little while? Actually, I’m not totally sure I packed the charger, but I could call you on Aunt Harding’s phone.”
She heard urgent voices in the background. “No, it’s okay. I’ve gotta go anyway. I’ll tell you all about it first thing tomorrow,” Warren said. “I just needed to check that everything is okay with you. Take care of yourself, okay?”
The phone went dead and Lindsay collapsed onto the pillow, exhausted. So many thoughts and emotions competed for her attention that she couldn’t even begin to process them. What did Aunt Harding have to do with Lydia Sikes’s death? Had Sarabelle drawn the old woman into some dangerous plot? Was that somehow related to her aunt’s promise that Leander Swoopes wouldn’t return? And how much of what her mother had told her was even true? Overloaded, the circuits of Lindsay’s mind shorted out, and before she knew it, she was fast asleep.
Chapter 10
“Okay,” Lindsay said. “So he said if you paid him back, he’d leave you alone? But couldn’t you see that he was lying? From what you’ve said, he hadn’t exactly proven himself to be a generous and forgiving person.”
“Even I’m not that dumb. I didn’t believe him, but he reminded me that he knew where you lived.” Tears welled up in her eyes. “He said that you looked real pretty while you were sleepin’.”
Lindsay wrapped her arms around herself to try to keep from shaking. Suddenly, she, too, was icy cold. She opened her mouth to speak, but found the words would not come.
“I knew it was my fault that you got dragged into this mess, but it’s okay now. We don’t have to worry. Patty promised he’s not gonna come back. We’re all safe.” Sarabelle smiled like a child presenting a straight-A report card.
Lindsay wasn’t reassured in the least. “Where’d you get the money to pay him back? Don’t tell me you socked away what you took from him last summer under a mattress somewhere?” Lindsay couldn’t imagine her mother would’ve managed to curb her natural inclination to spend money the moment it came into her hands.
“No, that money’s long gone.”
“So I guess you saved up nine thousand dollars working part-time at the Food Lion bakery for three weeks,” Lindsay said flatly.
Sarabelle waved her hands as if shooing away a fly. “Never you mind the details. All’s you need to know is that it’s over now.” Lindsay heard a quiet buzzing from her bedroom. “Oh, your phone’s been going off while you been gone, sugar. You better see who it is,” Sarabelle said.
Lindsay hurried to the bedroom, catching the phone on the last ring before voicemail picked up. “Hello?”
“Lindsay?” Warren’s exhalation of relief travelled down the line. “Where are you?”
“Aunt Harding’s house. The weather is awful out here. Can you bring some extra sweaters for me when you come? And I forgot my toothbrush. I don’t know what I was thinking when I packed. I remembered the Jell-O, but it melted into boobs.”
“Whose boobs?” Warren asked, not catching her meaning.
The phone gave three beeps in quick succession. “Never mind. Looks like my phone battery’s about to go. What’s up?” She shut the door and sat down on the bed.
Warren inhaled sharply. “I’m heading out there first thing tomorrow. We need to talk to your aunt. It’s about Lydia Sikes’s murder.”
“Lydia Sikes? What does my aunt have to do with Lydia Sikes?”
“We’re not entirely sure yet. But you know how there was something strange with the gun?”
“Yeah.” The phone beeped again. “Do you want to give me a 30-second update before my phone dies? Or should I find the charger and call you back in a little while? Actually, I’m not totally sure I packed the charger, but I could call you on Aunt Harding’s phone.”
She heard urgent voices in the background. “No, it’s okay. I’ve gotta go anyway. I’ll tell you all about it first thing tomorrow,” Warren said. “I just needed to check that everything is okay with you. Take care of yourself, okay?”
The phone went dead and Lindsay collapsed onto the pillow, exhausted. So many thoughts and emotions competed for her attention that she couldn’t even begin to process them. What did Aunt Harding have to do with Lydia Sikes’s death? Had Sarabelle drawn the old woman into some dangerous plot? Was that somehow related to her aunt’s promise that Leander Swoopes wouldn’t return? And how much of what her mother had told her was even true? Overloaded, the circuits of Lindsay’s mind shorted out, and before she knew it, she was fast asleep.
Chapter 10
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