Free Murder in a Basket (An India Hayes Mystery) by Amanda Flower

window. “I imagine I will hear from them soon enough. The school board is dead set on tearing down the bell tower. Personally, I think tearing down the ugly thing is the right idea. It’s a death trap. Don’t tell your parents I said that.”
    My parents’ latest crusade was having the high school’s bell tower declared a historic landmark in order to stop the Stripling school board from demolishing it.
    “ So? What’s up? Mark back in town?”
    I shook my head sharply. “Maybe I should be asking you what’s up. What’s Zach doing here?”
    Lew glanced down at the dog. “Do you know this pile of fur?”
    “ We met at the festival.”
    He focused on the Founder’s Festival emblem embroidered on my polo shirt. “Oh, heck, are you involved in this mess too?”
    “ I discovered Tess’s body,” I said somewhat apologetically.
    “ The detective told me one of the crafters found her, but he most certainly didn’t tell me it was you .” Lew took a drag of his cigarette as if fortifying himself. “Heck in a handbasket.”
    Considering Tess was a basket weaver, I wondered if Lew knew just how appropriate his curse was.
    Lew looked bemused. “You sure have a knack for finding trouble, don’t you?” Then his face turned sad. “Don’t tell me you are going to play gumshoe again.”
    I shrugged.
    “I’m sure Detective Mains will love that. If you’re planning to crack the case, you’re lagging way behind. He stopped by to drop off the dog.”
    “ Why would he give you Zach?”
    “ Victor’s will, of course. I imagine that’s why you’re here.”
    “ Victor who?” I blinked in surprise.
    “ Victor Lepcheck, the deceased owner of that dog—that very wealthy dog, might I add.”
    “ He wouldn’t be any relation to Sam Lepcheck, would he?”
    “ Don’t remind me. He was his uncle and therefore he is also Tess’s uncle, too.”
    I looked at Zach, who had fallen asleep at my feet. “Tess took Zach after her uncle died.”
    Lew nodded and took another drag from his cigarette. “And the sizable trust that came with him.”
    “ How much money are we talking?”
    “ Two million.”
    I nearly choked. “Two million dollars? And it belongs to the dog?”
    “ It’s in a trust.” He flattened his hands on his desk blotter. “Please don’t tell me your parents are also mixed up in this.”
    “ Nope. They are too busy saving the bell tower right now to take on any other causes.”
    His face smoothed. “Well, then, I’ll write a personal letter of thanks to the Stripling school board for putting up a fight against them.” He sat back.
    I just thought of something for the first time. “Where’d Zach come from?”
    Lew squinted at me. “I just told you. Mains dropped him off.”
    “ No, that’s not what I meant. Where was he last night? Tess was at the festival, and Jerry was at the forge. I saw him before he knew about Tess’s death, and Zach wasn’t with him.”
    “ Mains told me he found the dog at Tess’s house. Jerry said he dropped him off there before going on to the forge because he knew Tess would be home from the festival soon.”
    “ So you are the Lepcheck family lawyer?”
    “ No, I only represented Victor and his dog by default.”
    “ How long were you Victor’s lawyer?”
    “ For twenty miserable years. Your parents are a walk in the park in comparison to Victor Lepcheck.”
    I frowned. “That bad?”
    He gnawed on the end of his cigarette. “Zach’s here because Victor never wrote in his will who would receive Zach and his sizable trust if Zach outlived Tess. Because Tess died before the mutt, I take possession of the dog until an agreement can be reached.”
    “ Wouldn’t Zach go to Provost Lepcheck as the surviving family member?”
    “ You’d be right if he were the only one. Tess also had a sister, Debra.”
    “ You’re kidding.”
    He shook his head. “I wish I were. Debra Wagtail. She lives in one of those new condo complexes that are popping up all over