Free The Ties That Bind (Sarah Woods Mystery Book 11) by Jennifer L. Jennings Page B

to sit down very often because a lot was expected of her. No wonder she was so thin. Poor girl barely got a second to herself. I wonder if she knew what she was getting into when she married Graham. Perhaps all of it was tempered by the fact that the trust fund was waiting for them.
    When I looked around the room I realized Perry must have taken his plate back to his room to eat alone. I thought it was kind of rude but, then again, I couldn’t really blame him. He must be sick of hanging out with family.
    Zoe jumped up to clear everyone’s empty plates and took them to the kitchen.
    Mary leaned toward us expectantly. “I’m so pleased you were able to join us this morning. What do you have planned for the day?”
    “We might take a hike,” Carter said. “Or maybe we’ll just visit more antique stores.”
    “Perfect,” she said. “Might I suggest you take a drive up to Mount Lunar? The views are spectacular.”
    “Maybe we’ll do that,” he said, grabbing my hand to leave. “Thank you for breakfast. It was nice meeting everyone.”

Chapter 15
     
    As soon as we got back to the room, Carter said, “Is it just me, or was that a strange conversation during breakfast?”
    I lay down on the bed, feeling lethargic and bloated after eating all that food. “What do you think of the Garcia family?”
    “Mary rules the roost, that’s for sure.” Carter lay down on his back, scooting close to me. He stared up at the ceiling with his head resting on the pillow. “Her controlling nature is resented by her family. They do exactly what she says because they’re all afraid of her. Especially Zoe.”
    “How can you tell?”
    “Did you see the way she got right up to make our coffee? First of all, the coffee probably wasn’t gone. Second, she could have come back out while the coffee was brewing but she stayed in the kitchen.”
    “Maybe she had things to do in there?” I said.
    “I observed her facial expressions while Mary was boasting about the family legacy. I can tell Zoe has contempt for her mother-in-law. She puts on a good show because she doesn’t want to get chastised, but she doesn’t want to be here, just like the rest of them.”
    “Perry certainly seems like he wants nothing to do with his family. Especially his mom. He’s gonna get an earful today for being so rude at breakfast.”
     
    Carter sat up and reached into his luggage. “There’s a new toy I’ve been wanting to show you. Cost me an arm and a leg.” He produced a small, microfiber pouch and placed it on the bed as I sat up to inspect it.
    “What is it?”
    “Open it up and take it out.”
    I loosened the tie and a black box slid onto my hand. When I opened it, a miniscule object, no bigger than a pea, was nestled inside. “I’ve never seen anything like it. What does it do?”
    “It’s a voice activated recorder. It only has three hours of battery life but it works with magnets. I haven’t actually tried it yet to see how it works.”
    “How much did this cost you?” I asked, in awe.
    “Too much. That’s why I’m almost afraid to use it.”
    “How much?” I persisted.
    “Four grand.”
    I gasped. “Holy crap.”
    “No kidding. Anyway, I’m thinking we need to take this investigation to the next level and shake things up a bit. When we go to the bar later today, I need you to be a little flirty with Perry after a few glasses of wine. Nothing too obvious, but you need to place this on his watch. Preferably on the side where the dial is.”
    “Okay,” I said. “And then what?”
    “We tell Perry the truth. That Bernice Chapman hired us to look into Nina’s death. If Perry is involved, he’s going to panic when we mention Jason’s name. He will probably try to contact Jason and when he does we’ll have our answer.”
    “Brilliant.” I removed the device from its cushioned bed and held it up close to my face. “Let’s say I manage to get this on him without him knowing, how do we plan to get it