Treacherous Tart by Ellie Grant Page A

her.
    â€œAll right. You want me to ask Ryan about his information.” She gleaned what she could understand from his words.
    â€œNow you’re talking. I know our boy has been investigating Mr. Wickerson for a while. I spoke with people from the families of his late wives. Unless one of them hired a hit man, they didn’t do it. None of them were near Durham at the time of the shooting.”
    â€œThere are so many of them,” Maggie retorted. “Maybe they got together and hired a hit man.”
    Frank ate his last forkful of pie. “You know, I’d like to believe that. These people have suffered trying to find justice for their loved ones. But I can’t buy that theory—unless they hired some third cousin who has a nine millimeter he was dying to try out. The hit was amateurish. No pro kills like this.”
    Maggie had no answer for that. While Ryan was feuding with Frank, she’d have to act as the go-between and encourage Frank to look in another direction.
    â€œWhat do you want to know from Ryan?”
    â€œI want to know the names he’s gathered during his investigation. I want his facts and figures. Does anyone here in Durham have ties to Mr. Wickerson? He can save me some time.”
    â€œI’ll talk to him.” Maggie frowned. “You know how juvenile this is, right? You and Ryan should sit down and resolve your differences.”
    â€œI’d be willing to do that if your boyfriend was willing. I didn’t shoot him for messing up everything with his stupid story. I thought that was pretty generous. What is it about these media people anyway?”
    â€œI don’t know. You aren’t serious about Aunt Clara, right? That was just a cruel way to get my attention, wasn’t it?”
    Frank slid his chair back and got to his feet. “I wish I wasn’t serious. You’re a smart girl, Maggie. Pump Ryan for that information and then dump him. You could do better. Maybe you should try that singles’ site. My sister found her new boyfriend online.”
    â€œYou’ve got to be kidding me!”
    â€œOh! Frank!” Aunt Clara noticed him in the dining room and waved through the opening between the two rooms. “Nice to see you.”

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Ten
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    E ven though Maggie thought Frank was mostly pushing her buttons with his talk about her aunt being a suspect in Donald’s death, she still worried about it the rest of the day.
    They closed up Pie in the Sky early as the winter weather was getting worse. There was little point in being open when everyone was at home, waiting for the cold rain to go away.
    Aunt Clara encouraged the tortoiseshell cat to follow them home. The cat was still too skittish to allow them to pick her up. Instead, they used someleftovers to keep the animal moving along the icy sidewalk.
    â€œMaybe we should call her Crusty,” Maggie suggested as the cat followed them into the house with no problem. “You know, like piecrust.”
    â€œThat’s even worse than Miss Kitty. We have to keep thinking. What about Esmeralda? I had a cousin with that name when I was growing up.”
    Maggie shook her head. “Too long. What happened to her?”
    Aunt Clara closed and locked the back door after they were inside. “The cat? She’s right here.”
    â€œI’m talking about Cousin Esmeralda. I don’t remember ever meeting anyone with that name in the family.”
    â€œOh no.” Aunt Clara hung her jacket on a rack by the door. “She died, tragically, before you were born.”
    Maggie’s coat joined hers on the wall. The cat circled their feet, purring and rubbing against them. “How did she die?”
    â€œShe entered a hot-dog-eating contest and choked to death. It was such a pity. She was so young. Well on her way to being a champion eater too.”
    Maggie hid her smile. She suspected that few of her aunt’s stories were actually true, but