Free Killerfind by Sharon Woods Hopkins Page A

Silver spiral earrings
inlaid with diamond chips danced as did her bright blue eyes when she spoke.
Taller than Rhetta, even in the flat silver sandals, her slim figure in pale
blue slacks and bright print blouse belied her age.
    She was gorgeous, Rhetta had to admit.
    “You have a beautiful home, truly lovely.” Rhetta
said. It was the truth. What she didn’t say out loud, was, “How the heck did
you pay for all this?”
     
     

     
     
     
    s Rhetta
and Ricky wandered
among the guests, Rhetta commented that someone was missing.
    “Where’s Jeremy?” she asked, feigning ignorance
about knowing exactly where Jeremy was. What she didn’t understand was why he
hadn’t yet joined his girlfriend and his guests. She smiled, thinking maybe he
was too sore to walk around. Maybe she could escape before he showed up, thus
avoiding any awkwardness.
    Ricky glanced at her watch and frowned. “He had an
appointment with a client, but he should be here by now.” Then she smiled. “I’m
sure he’ll be along in time to wolf down a steak.”
    Rhetta glanced at her friend. Ricky was stunning in
a pair of green shorts with matching tank top, her long red locks held back
with a simple scrunchie that matched her top. She needed to tell her about Jeremy.
She didn’t need to know whether they were a couple or not to do the right
thing.
    “Listen, Ricky, I….” Before she could finish, Jeremy
materialized at Ricky’s side. He leaned in and kissed her, cutting his eyes
toward Rhetta with a cold stare. She glared back. She wanted to stick out her
tongue.
    Ricky threaded her arm through Jeremy’s. “There you
are. We were wondering where you’d gotten to.”
    Rhetta raised an eyebrow. She’d been practicing that
one-eyebrow raising thing that Woody did so well. She discovered it came in
really handy. That Jeremy had changed into tan chinos from his white shorts was
not lost on her. She smiled.
    Anjanette joined them. “Jeremy, darling, would you
be a dear and check in with the chef to be sure he has enough steaks for all of
our guests?”
    “Of course. Come with me, Ricky,” he added, steering
her toward the patio. He leaned in and whispered something and Ricky giggled.
    Oh, crap, she has it bad.
    “Don’t they make a lovely couple?” Anjanette asked.
“I’m so glad that we called Ricky when we were looking for someone to list our
lots out in the new subdivision.”
    So, that’s how they met.
    “Yes, lovely.”
    Anjanette took Rhetta’s arm and walked her away from
the guests until they stood alone in the foyer. Rhetta wondered what the woman
wanted.
    “Such an unfortunate incident at the barn,” she
began. Unfortunate incident? Yes, indeed, finding a body was quite
unfortunate—especially for the dead guy.
    “I’m told that your husband is a former judge. I was
hoping he would be here with you today.”
    Huh? “Well, actually, Randolph—”
Before she could finish, Anjanette interrupted, laying her slim hand on
Rhetta’s arm. Each of her fingers bore heavy jeweled rings as though to
camouflage the age spots and rather gnarly fingers.
    “I so want to be able to move quickly past this
incident and continue the project. This is such an inconvenience. I imagine the
deceased is some derelict who chose to die in that barn. Now we must put our
project on hold. I was so hoping Judge McCarter could help us with this.”
    Holy crap. This woman is nuts. I
guess the derelict buried himself there, too. Doesn’t she get it?
    “I understand only the barn is off limits for now,
until the investigation is over,” Rhetta said. “What’s so critical about the
barn?”
    “The barn needs to be taken down immediately so that
we can pour a slab there for the tennis courts.”
    “I see. That’s critical, all right.” She
deliberately tried to sound sarcastic.
    Clearly, it went over her hostess’ head. Anjanette
tossed her superbly coiffed head back and laughed. “Well, not just the tennis
courts, of course, but the pool