Free Pushing Up Bluebonnets by Leann Sweeney

judge the rest of the world by the way they act? No sir, this is not the job for me.'' I turned and started to walk away, thinking he should take a good look at himself if he wanted to know how his relatives got that way.
      ''I'm sorry I offended you,'' he called after me. ''I need your help, Abby. And I promise you, I could never murder anyone. I truly regret that remark.''
      I stopped, took a deep breath. This had to be the strangest case I'd ever considered taking on. But Richter reminded me of my daddy in a way. Older money in this family, yes, but both men had that same attitude of invincibility and confidence that comes from having enough power and cash to think you can get anything you want. Daddy and I went a few rounds on living the privileged life. I didn't like his ''events'' and the business meetings and the parties and I sure as hell hated playing dress-up. I got rid of the big house with the greenhouse, tennis courts and pool when I decided to take on my first independent venture—creating Yellow Rose Investigations. Dealing with someone like Richter might be a good reminder of why I do what I do and might also be a way to make a little peace with my past and my father's flaws.
      I faced Richter again. ''You're a man who wants control. But I can't work with you pulling my strings. Is that clear?''
      ''Very. JoLynn needs a bulldog to take charge of this investigation.''
      ''Hold on. Chief Boyd is in charge and he will require everyone's cooperation. As for my role, there will be a few ground rules.''
      ''Certainly. In my business dealings I would never agree to be bound by your rules, but this is not business. This is personal.''
      Personal enough for him to forgo his usual background check on JoLynn last year, something I found very difficult to understand or even believe. Yet now he wanted me to do what he might have already done himself.
    I returned to the table and sat, waiting in silence while
    another servant, an older woman with clear eyes and a stocky build, asked if we wanted anything more to eat or drink.
      Richter looked at me questioningly and I shook my head no.
      '' Danke, no, Eva,'' Richter said.
      She said, ''Bitte,'' and left us alone.
      ''Your ground rules?'' Richter asked.
      ''Give me access to anything connected to JoLynn. I'll need to search her room and interview you and your family, ask any questions I decide are important. And I want to know about Katarina and why you think JoLynn is your granddaughter despite no concrete evidence aside from the lies JoLynn told you and Scott.''
      ''Lies? Scott? I'm confused.''
      ''JoLynn told him that she'd hired Yellow Rose Investigations to find you. You've already discovered that I am Yellow Rose Investigations.''
      Confusion was turning to what almost looked like panic. ''She told Scott she hired you?''
      I nodded. ''And I know that's not true, though she did have my card and did write me a letter.''
      His eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed. ''All right, here is what she told me. She said an adoption registry informed her about me. A registry that Katarina had provided information to before she passed on. According to JoLynn, the people she went to for information at this agency said Katarina informed them she was dying and wanted to give up her baby. If one day JoLynn came looking for her birth parents, which she did, Katarina wanted her daughter to know she gave her up because her daughter deserved a normal, happy family with two loving parents. That's definitely something Katarina would do, so I never questioned this story.''
      I sat back. Was this the truth? JoLynn went through the registry? Why did she tell Scott something different, then? And why write me that letter about wanting to find her birth parents? Richter was looking at me expectantly and I said, ''Why didn't she stick with one story?''
      Richter stiffened. ''I'm sure she had a good reason to lie to Scott, though he is the most