Free Good, Clean Murder by Traci Tyne Hilton Page B

Crawfords’ breakfasts, lunches,
and dinners. No one was going to go hungry while she was in charge of the
kitchen.
    She half-expected
Jake to pop in while she arranged the food, but he didn’t. She carted the first
tray out to the library where Marjory was meeting with the business associates,
a twinge of disappointment nipping her heart.
    She let herself
into the room as quietly as she could, her slippered feet whispering across the
polished hard wood floor. At a nod from Marjory, Jane walked to each of the three
businessmen with the tray held out in front of her.
    The men were all
in suits with polished shoes. All but one looked old enough to be her father.
Considering they had some kind of important role in the Roly Burger corporation
they probably knew her father. She kept her eyes down. When she had made her
way around with the fruit and veggie tray, she exited.
    She’d refill
coffees in about five minutes, offer the meat, bread, and cheese, and then
close with the sweet rolls. She was making it up as she went along, but no one
seemed to mind.
    They barely
noticed her at all, in fact. Their discussion seemed heated, and their angry
voices carried down the hall. Not quite all the way to the kitchen, but as she
toted her emptier, lighter trays back she could still hear them speaking.
    “This is what Bob
wanted.” The speaker’s deep voice was like a growl. He was the man who was
wearing wire-rim glasses, she was sure. A Mr. Vargas, who she had met at past
Roly Burger company picnics.
    “But until the
investigation is over we shouldn’t make any changes.” Marjory didn’t sound
angry, but she was loud and forceful.
    “If we shouldn’t
make any changes, then I say the plan that is already in effect needs to keep
going.” Jane didn’t recognize this voice so she assumed it was the man in a
green tie, someone she had never seen before.
    “How can it keep
going if we haven’t begun? I blame the newspaper. I don’t know how they got
wind of Bob’s plans.” This was Vargas again.
    “We can’t let some
reporter make business decisions for us.” Marjory’s sentence faded away as Jane
entered the kitchen.
    She could see
their dilemma. Did they continue to shut down all of the local Roly Burgers the
way that Bob had planned and had been reported or did they wait, keep the status
quo, and let the new leader make his or her own decision?
    And who would the
new leader be? Did Bob’s sister-in-law Marjory come into leadership now or did
his eldest son, Jake? For as long as Jane could remember Marjory had been a
social member of the company—at all of the picnics and openings, not running a
location of her own, or a member of the board. At one time Marjory’s deceased
husband had been a board member, but that was years ago.
    Jane carried the
coffee carafe to the library door and waited. She didn’t want to walk into the
middle of an argument—but from the sounds of it, she would have to wait a long
time before they cooled down.
    As before, she
tried not to eavesdrop but certain words grabbed her attention. Words like
“murder” and “motive” and “we’ll call our lawyers.” She lost track of who was
making the worst of the accusations, but Marjory had said “motive” in a shocked
kind of voice. And Vargas had said he’d be calling his lawyers. The fourth man
in the room, a man she remembered was called Walker or Waller…something like
that…was trying to calm the group down. At least that was what it sounded like
to Jane. When she heard him say “Peace, peace” for the third time she turned
the knob and slipped into the room.
    Marjory was
standing, red-faced, staring at the man with the green tie. He was also
standing. He looked flustered, ashen-faced even. He was blubbering something.
It sounded like “but Bob, but Bob, but Bob,” over and over, the most literal
blubbering Jane had ever heard.
    “Ahem.” Jane cleared
her throat into her fist.
    Vargas stood up
with a violent thrust. “I will