First Impressions (Edenton 1)
“What about you?” the agent asked. “Find anything?”
Jared started to make a joke about finding millions in sapphires and diamonds but thought better of it. Years of training had taught him to trust no one. He bid the man good night, then walked to the far side of the house and called Bill Teasdale.
“So what has forensics found out about the men who ransacked the house?” Jared asked.
“Nothing yet. There were lots of hairs, but none from strangers. And thanks for leaving that sample of Ms. Palmer’s hair. You find out anything?”
Jared gave a snort. He wasn’t fooled by Bill’s faked ignorance. “Saw the tapes, did you?”
“Yeah, we watched the whole thing. Most exciting thing to happen around here in years. A real treasure hunt. So what’s she going to do with that thing?”
“I don’t know,” Jared said, pulling the necklace out of his pocket to look at it in the moonlight. “I can’t figure out if this necklace has anything to do with all this or not.”
“You know what I think?” Bill asked but didn’t wait for an answer. “I think that if Applegate stood up and said that he’d been looking for that necklace, you’d still come up with an excuse to stay there. If you could have seen your face when Ms. Palmer kissed Granville!”
“Had a good laugh at my expense, did you?” Jared said tightly.
“The best.”
“If the necklace is what they’ve all wanted, then how was Applegate connected to the goons who ransacked this place and put the snakes in Eden’s bedroom? It doesn’t make sense to try to kill her.”
“Her death would get her out of the picture, wouldn’t it?” Bill said. “I’m sure her heirs would put that old house up for sale. Who’d want to live in Arundel if you weren’t born there? No jobs, nothing to do.”
“It’s a nice place and the house is great,” Jared said defensively, then had to listen to Bill chuckle. “Okay, so I like her and I like this place. I admit it. But whether or not I like anything has nothing to do with this case. If you can get your mind out of the gutter for a moment, maybe you’ll remember Tess’s death and that someone tried to kill Ms. Palmer.”
“All right,” Bill said. “What do you have?”
“Nothing but instinct. Something isn’t what it seems, but I don’t know what it is. When Eden told me that story about old man Minton I knew that he’d killed his wife. If I figured it out, others can too. But who heard the story?”
“Anyone with an Internet hookup. I found it in three hundred and eighty-one sites. Lots of people are interested in missing treasure.”
Jared groaned. “I want you to check out Braddon Granville.”
“Ah,” Bill said.
“Cut the crap!” Jared snapped. “This isn’t personal. He knows too much, figures out too much. And it’s been my experience that normal people aren’t suspicious, but Granville is.”
“He’s a lawyer, isn’t he?” Bill said. “What do you call ten thousand lawyers at the bottom of the ocean?”
“A good start,” Jared said, bored. “I just want you to check this guy out. Anything you can find out about him, I want to know.”
“You know what I think? I think you’re falling for this Eden Palmer so hard that I’m beginning to wonder if we should put someone else on the case.”
“What I feel for her isn’t hindering my judgment,” Jared said tightly.
“What about your vow to stay away from ‘good’ women?”
“Bill, you wanta cut this out? What I think of Ms. Palmer has nothing to do with anything. I want this guy Granville checked out.”
“He broke a man’s jaw.”
Jared grimaced. “You’ve already done the research, haven’t you?”
“Yeah, but I couldn’t resist hassling you. I did some checking, and a few years back, Granville broke a man’s jaw, but the guy didn’t press charges.”
Jared waited for Bill to continue.
“The police report said that Braddon Norfleet Granville walked into a party that was to celebrate the recent marriage of Tredwell Norfleet Pembroke…Norfleet in both names. Think they’re cousins?”