Death By Chocolate 6 (Mystery and Women Sleuths) (Josiah Reynolds Mysteries) by Abigail Keam Page B

Brinkman!”
    “Where are you?” she asked.
    “Uhmmm. I’m at home.”
    “No, where are you calling from? What city?”
    “Lexington,” I told her.
    “I’m at the Bluegrass Airport on a stopover for New York. Can you meet me here?”
    I was so stunned that Susie was in Lexington that I was taken aback for a second. “Yes, I can be there in forty-five minutes.”
    “My plane leaves shortly after that. If you want to talk, you’d better hurry. I am wearing a grey pantsuit with a white silk top. I’ll be in the downstairs lounge.”
    “Yes. Yes. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Please don’t leave until I talk with you. Goodbye.” I rushed to find my city cane, car keys and purse. “Baby, get out of the way!”
    Slamming the door behind me, I gave it a tug, making sure it was locked. Rushing only made my limp more exaggerated. It was ugly to witness but I had no choice. I had to get to the Bluegrass Airport and pronto!!!

35
    I burned rubber, honey, and made it to the airport in record time. Swerving into a handicapped parking space, I was only fifty feet from the front doors.
    Hurrying inside, I went to the lounge, which was packed with holiday travelers, and strained my neck looking for a grey pantsuit.
    A pretty young blond thing waved at me. As I approached the table, she stood motioning to the waitress. “Do you want anything?”
    I was breathing heavily and ordered a Coke. Coke always seems to help my asthma.
    She waited for me to collect myself but kept looking at her watch. “I’m sorry. Your name again?”
    “Just call me Josiah.”
    “I’ve got very little time. Let’s hurry this along. You are telling me that Dwight is missing?”
    “He went on a fishing trip in early July and never came home.”
    Tears welled in Susie’s eyes at the mention of Dwight. She pulled a handkerchief from her purse and began dabbing her eyes. “So that’s what happened. I always wondered.”
    I looked at Susie dumbfounded. “Are you telling me that Dwight is not with you?”
    Susie shook her blond head. “Has everything been done to find him?”
    “Yes.”
    “Does Selena think he’s dead?”
    “No,” I replied, watching her closely. “She thinks he is with you, but she is pretending that he is missing.”
    She began to softly cry in earnest. Her shoulders shook. “I’m sorry. It’s a shock to hear this, but I always wondered what had happened. I thought he had decided to stay with Selena. I called and called his cell phone, but he never picked up. Dwight didn’t like confrontations and I thought he didn’t want to tell me . . . oh well, it doesn’t matter now.” She looked up at me. “This is terrible, but oddly I feel better about the situation now.”
    “Are you telling me that you and Dwight had a thing going on?”
    Susie nodded and looked at me over her tear-soaked handkerchief. “We fell in love. Oh, Dwight had a horrible time with it. He loved Selena, but he was in love with me. We weren’t on the make, you know. It happened innocently.”
    “Was Dwight to meet you in Houston?”
    “Yes. Dwight finally made the decision to leave Selena. He was going to tell her in June but then she invited people for this huge birthday party before he could. Dwight decided to wait until after the party so as not to embarrass Selena in front of all their friends.”
    “I thought the party was his mother’s idea.”
    “Oh, no. It was Selena’s.”
    “Do you think she knew about the two of you and was trying to postpone the inevitable?” I asked.
    “I don’t know. We were very discreet, but I think Dwight told Farley about us when he took the money.”
    “The two hundred thousand dollars?” I asked, fishing.
    “Yes. It was a down payment on Farley buying out Dwight. The rest of it was to be paid on a monthly installment for the next two years.”
    I sat back in my chair. “Really?”
    Susie nodded. “I went ahead to Houston with the belief that Dwight would follow me as soon as he told Selena