Island of Deceit by Candice Poarch

own.”
    â€œLisa, what do I have to spend money on? If nothing else, Matthew left me very well off. The house is paid for. I get an income from the businesses.”
    â€œUsually our greatest limitation is our own fear,” Barbara offered. “Good cleaning services are always in need. Why don’t you write up a business plan, even if you don’t actually go through with it? It will give you some idea of what you’d be getting into. Start with cost of supplies and getting bonded, things like that. How would you train your cleaning staff? Where would you set up shop? How would you get the word to customers?”
    â€œOh, my God.” Lisa’s eyes had gone wider with each question.
    â€œIt’s what you would have to do with any business. At least a business plan will tell you if it’s feasible. All that will cost you is time,” Barbara said.
    Vanetta seemed to come out of her trance and reached over to touch her sister’s hand. “I can help you with that,” she said.
    â€œI’d hire you, Lisa, and I’d like to have someone once a week to give the shop a thorough cleaning.”
    â€œYou see,” Vanetta said with a smug look. “You’ll have more customers than you even thought about.”
    â€œMaybe after I find Grandma’s golden bowl.”
    â€œGolden bowl?” Barbara asked. Dorsey had mentioned something about a golden bowl, but Barbara had forgotten about that.
    â€œIt’s lost. Jordan has a list of suspects. I’m going to find out who they are and search for it.”
    â€œYou better leave that to Alyssa,” Vanetta said. “Our ancestor acquired the bowl in the early sixteen hundreds, and now it’s lost,” she explained to Barbara.
    â€œHow long has it been lost?”
    â€œI have no idea. Our Aunt Anna kept it. She died in February, and when Grandma searched for it, it was missing.”
    Anna had died in February, before the Stones stole Dorsey’s money. Maybe they didn’t have it yet.
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    Harper drove directly to the Stones’ home. Someone had broken in. They lived next door to Naomi Claxton.
    Naomi stood in the yard with a knit hat pulled over her hair. Lumps underneath outlined her hair rollers. Alyssa often said her grandmother began her day later than she used to. She was in her 80s, so she deserved to take as much time as she needed.
    John was already on the scene and talking to the Stones as Harper approached Naomi.
    â€œI offered for them to come to my house to get out of the cold, but they certainly are an unfriendly lot,” Naomi said, nodding toward the Stones. “They aren’t as friendly as Wanda was. God rest her soul. Wanda Fisher was a wonderful woman.”
    Harper reserved judgment on Naomi’s opinion and elected not to comment. “Nice” Wanda Fisher had chopped up her husband to fit in the chest freezer. Naomi and her granddaughter, Gabrielle, had found him there after Wanda had died of a heart attack and Naomi went looking for pies she had given her.
    Naomi had been arranging a wake for Wanda. She was famous for her pies. Earlier in the month she had given Wanda several of them and Wanda hadn’t had an opportunity to eat them before she passed away. Wanda’s relatives didn’t live in the area and had refused to give her a memorial service.
    Naomi was so upset over her friend’s death and knew her friend wouldn’t mind her using them. She went to Wanda’s house to retrieve them. The pies were sitting on top of Harvey Fisher’s frozen corpse. Of course, Naomi had commented that he hadn’t been a nice man, as if that was any excuse.
    â€œMrs. Claxton, have you seen anything unusual in the area lately?” Harper asked her. “Anything out of place?”
    â€œI try to mind my business,” she said. “I just got back from a cruise, you know. It was a gift from my grandchildren.”
    Harper tried not to