Murder and Salutations by Elizabeth Bright

Jennifer. You change places more often than I change fabric softener. There must be some real advantages to keeping your roots shallow.”
    I looked at the mess I was in the middle of. “It’s not as positive as you think. I hate packing and unpacking, but it’s a part of moving.” I looked around the attic apartment. “I’ve grown quite fond of this place,” I said. “I’ll miss it.”
    “ How about your cats? Will they miss it too, do you think?”
    “ As far as Oggie and Nash are concerned, as long as their meals come on time and they have one of my pillows to sleep on, they couldn’t be more content.” I put a few more books on the pile, then said, “What about Luke Penwright? How are you going to get him to talk to you?”
    “ Actually, we’re having lunch tomorrow at Hurley’s. I was going to suggest The Lunch Box, but he surprised me by asking me to meet him where his ex-wife was murdered. I find that rather odd, don’t you?”
    “ I think he’s crazy,” I said.
    There was another knock on the door, and I told Lillian to be quiet.
    I retrieved my bat from the couch, then asked, “Who is it?”
    “ Jennifer, it’s me. Use your peephole.”
    I unbolted the door and let my brother in. He nodded to Lillian, then bolted the door behind him. “Good girl. I’m proud of you for watching out for yourself.”
    “ I learned my lesson,” I said, remembering the time recently when someone had broken into my place. “I don’t answer the door without my softball bat. So what brings you out this late? Cindy’s going to have your hide.” Bradford’s wife liked him at home.
    “ I’m working. She understands it’s about family.”
    I nodded. “So, have you had any luck clearing Sara Lynn’s name?”
    “ Jennifer, that’s why I’m here. Do you have any idea where Bailey is right now?”
    I didn’t even have to think about it. “No, not a clue. How about you, Lillian?”
    My aunt shook her head. “He could be in New York by now, for all I know.”
    “ What makes you think he’d go there?” Bradford asked.
    “ It was just a figure of speech. I could just as easily have said San Francisco.”
    “ But you didn’t,” Bradford pushed. “You said New York.”
    “ Perhaps I said it because I’ve been thinking of going back sometime soon. Fifth Avenue is my Mecca, you know.”
    Bradford shrugged. “I’ll take your word for it. I just wish I knew where he was.”
    “ Did you hear he stole Sara Lynn’s money before he took off?” I asked, instantly regretting the slip when I saw his face.
    “ She didn’t say a word to me about it, and I was with her three different times today. What happened?”
    “ You know what? Maybe I was mistaken,” I said, trying to backpedal as fast as I could.
    “ We both know better than that,” he said. “Now tell me.”
    Lillian stepped in before I could tell him. “If you must know, Sara Lynn noticed that he’d taken five hundred dollars from their emergency fund and left an IOU. Sara Lynn couldn’t be sure when he’d taken the money. Most likely it has nothing to do with what happened last night.”
    “ Lillian, I might not be your biggest fan, but I know you better than to think you’re stupid. Do you honestly expect me to believe the money vanishing isn’t tied into Bailey’s disappearance?”
    “ I don’t expect anything from you,” Lillian said. “I’m just giving you a plausible alternative to the conclusion you just jumped to. It could just as easily have happened that way.”
    He shook his head. “If you don’t mind, I’ll ask Sara Lynn if that’s the conclusion she reached as well.” His hand was on the doorknob when he said, “Oh, and do me a favor. Don’t call her. I’d like to see what her honest reaction to the theft is without you coaching her.”
    Lillian shook her head. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
    After Bradford was gone, my aunt reached for my phone. “Who are you calling?” I asked.
    “ Your sister, of