A Willing Murder (Medlar Mystery 1)

“Looks like he’s home,” Sara said. “As soon as he’s been fed and watered, let’s go back to the Morris house and start rummaging through the old stuff.”

“Great idea. What are palmetto bugs?”

“Uglies.”

“Where is everyone?” Jack shouted.

Sara went to the doors, but Kate didn’t move. “I better put on something for getting dirty.”

“Good. I’ve saved some info to tell you both for when Jack got back. Come out when you’re ready.”

Minutes later, wearing a T-shirt and jeans, Kate went into the kitchen. Jack was on a stool eating jalapeño poppers that Sara had set out for him.

“I hear you got a lot of new clothes,” he said.

“I did. Beautiful things. Enough for a hundred dates with Alastair.”

“While I get that!” He nodded at what she was wearing.

Her T-shirt read Windy Refers to the Politicians. Chicago Weather is Zen. There was a picture of an angry man shoveling his car out from under snow. The shirt was faded from many washings. “This is—”

Sara interrupted. “Before you two get started on your bons mots, Heather called me today.”

“What did Mom have to say?”

“That she’d had a long conversation—which she recorded—with Verna’s best friend in Baltimore.”

Both Kate and Jack halted, staring at her. “So?” Jack ate another popper.

“Aren’t those things hot?” Kate asked.

“Kiss me and you can find out.”

With a smile, Kate ate one. Then she grabbed Jack’s glass of ice water and drained it.

Smiling, he turned to Sara. “What did the woman say?”

“Unfortunately, there was nothing new from what Arthur told us. The whole conversation is on my phone, so you can listen, but it’s sad. Verna fell in love with some guy from Lachlan and had his child. Years later she left a very good life to return here with their daughter.”

“And he dumped her,” Kate said.

“We need a name,” Jack said.

“Verna never gave one,” Sara answered. “Kept it a secret even from her very good friend. The woman’s name is Margaret Cheryl Wheeler. She named her son James Vernon.”

“They named their children after each other,” Kate said with a sigh. “It must have been some love affair to make Verna leave such a close friend.”

“Something that struck me,” Sara said, “was the question of this guy’s wife. Did she know about the affair? If so, why didn’t she let him go?”

Jack was holding up the last popper. “Like you did Granddad after he married my grandmother?”

“Exactly like that.” Sara eyes were steely.

“Granddad used to go away on long fishing trips, but at home I never saw him touch a pole.”

“He probably needed to get away from Donna’s inability to c

arry on an intelligent conversation.”