reach you once you’re gone?” she asked.
Gabe smiled. “I’m way ahead of you.” He handed her a card with, Jo saw, a cell phone number, home phone, and e-mail address written on it. “My business cards have my website listed, but I thought you might want something that worked quicker.”
“Yes, I do, and thank you. I hope I won’t have to use this much, but I’m afraid unless someone walks into the sheriff’s office soon and says, ‘I did it,’ that I may need to pick your brain some more about Michicomi people.”
“Pick all you want. And I’ve already learned something you might be glad to hear.”
“What’s that?”
“Bill Ewing might be hanging around this area for a bit instead of heading home to Pennsylvania.”
“Really? Why would he do that?”
“I heard he wants to take photos of several interesting old tobacco barns, for one thing, and he has a friend he can stay with.”
“Well, that’s interesting. Any idea where that friend is located?”
“Not yet, but I think I can find out. I’ll let you know when I do.”
“Thanks, Gabe.” Jo pulled out her own card and scribbled her phone information on it.
Gabe’s face grew serious. “Don’t you be worrying too much about this whole business. It might seem bleak with the sheriff giving you the hard time he has. But you’re part of the Michicomi family now, and I want you to know that I’m behind you 100 percent.”
Jo swallowed hard. “That means a lot to me, Gabe,” she said. She reached over to give him a hug, which he returned heartily. But as Jo looked beyond his shoulder, she saw Amy, the woman from the leatherworks booth, watching them through narrowed eyes.
Obviously, Jo realized with a sigh, not everyone in the Michicomi family felt quite as supportive.
Jo carried the last of her jewelry boxes into her house after Dan and Charlie had left her dismantled cases in the garage and taken off. Exhausted, she dropped onto her tattered living room sofa and leaned her head back against its cushion, eyes closed. She briefly thought of fixing herself something to eat, but after a mental inventory of her refrigerator decided what she wanted most for the moment was to rest and to think.
Carrie had urged her to talk to Russ, to enlist his aid for her shaky situation. It was a sensible suggestion, Jo knew, but her immediate and strong reaction had been to resist. Why? she wondered. Did she fear that accepting Russ’s help would draw them closer together or make her indebted to him? Was that such a bad thing? Was Russ the kind of person who would take undue advantage? She didn’t think so. He was certainly someone who would help if he could, with no strings attached. So why shouldn’t she let him?
The situation with Sheriff Franklin was growing serious. People who had believed Linda’s manufactured account of her relationship with Mike had obviously rushed to impress the story on the sheriff. Jo didn’t know how much credence he put in those reports, but the questions he had thrown at her worried her. Couldn’t Russ help balance Franklin’s attitude?
Jo ran her fingers through her hair, scrubbing as she deliberated. Why not? Why not ask? She stopped scrubbing. No reason at all. It made sense and she would do it. She would call Russ tonight and ask for his help.
That decided, she felt better. Even energized. There must be something edible left in that kitchen of hers, she thought as she jumped up from the sofa. If her cupboard truly was bare, she’d call for a pizza, or maybe Chinese.
Jo scoured the shelves of her refrigerator, discovering a forgotten carryout chicken drumstick hiding behind an aging quart of milk. She pulled it out and had just bitten into it when the phone rang. Setting the drumstick down and licking her fingers clean, she reached for it, sincerely hoping the call wasn’t coming from the Hammond County Sheriff’s Department.
“Jo, it’s Ina Mae.”
Ina Mae’s voice had a tone
Gabe smiled. “I’m way ahead of you.” He handed her a card with, Jo saw, a cell phone number, home phone, and e-mail address written on it. “My business cards have my website listed, but I thought you might want something that worked quicker.”
“Yes, I do, and thank you. I hope I won’t have to use this much, but I’m afraid unless someone walks into the sheriff’s office soon and says, ‘I did it,’ that I may need to pick your brain some more about Michicomi people.”
“Pick all you want. And I’ve already learned something you might be glad to hear.”
“What’s that?”
“Bill Ewing might be hanging around this area for a bit instead of heading home to Pennsylvania.”
“Really? Why would he do that?”
“I heard he wants to take photos of several interesting old tobacco barns, for one thing, and he has a friend he can stay with.”
“Well, that’s interesting. Any idea where that friend is located?”
“Not yet, but I think I can find out. I’ll let you know when I do.”
“Thanks, Gabe.” Jo pulled out her own card and scribbled her phone information on it.
Gabe’s face grew serious. “Don’t you be worrying too much about this whole business. It might seem bleak with the sheriff giving you the hard time he has. But you’re part of the Michicomi family now, and I want you to know that I’m behind you 100 percent.”
Jo swallowed hard. “That means a lot to me, Gabe,” she said. She reached over to give him a hug, which he returned heartily. But as Jo looked beyond his shoulder, she saw Amy, the woman from the leatherworks booth, watching them through narrowed eyes.
Obviously, Jo realized with a sigh, not everyone in the Michicomi family felt quite as supportive.
Jo carried the last of her jewelry boxes into her house after Dan and Charlie had left her dismantled cases in the garage and taken off. Exhausted, she dropped onto her tattered living room sofa and leaned her head back against its cushion, eyes closed. She briefly thought of fixing herself something to eat, but after a mental inventory of her refrigerator decided what she wanted most for the moment was to rest and to think.
Carrie had urged her to talk to Russ, to enlist his aid for her shaky situation. It was a sensible suggestion, Jo knew, but her immediate and strong reaction had been to resist. Why? she wondered. Did she fear that accepting Russ’s help would draw them closer together or make her indebted to him? Was that such a bad thing? Was Russ the kind of person who would take undue advantage? She didn’t think so. He was certainly someone who would help if he could, with no strings attached. So why shouldn’t she let him?
The situation with Sheriff Franklin was growing serious. People who had believed Linda’s manufactured account of her relationship with Mike had obviously rushed to impress the story on the sheriff. Jo didn’t know how much credence he put in those reports, but the questions he had thrown at her worried her. Couldn’t Russ help balance Franklin’s attitude?
Jo ran her fingers through her hair, scrubbing as she deliberated. Why not? Why not ask? She stopped scrubbing. No reason at all. It made sense and she would do it. She would call Russ tonight and ask for his help.
That decided, she felt better. Even energized. There must be something edible left in that kitchen of hers, she thought as she jumped up from the sofa. If her cupboard truly was bare, she’d call for a pizza, or maybe Chinese.
Jo scoured the shelves of her refrigerator, discovering a forgotten carryout chicken drumstick hiding behind an aging quart of milk. She pulled it out and had just bitten into it when the phone rang. Setting the drumstick down and licking her fingers clean, she reached for it, sincerely hoping the call wasn’t coming from the Hammond County Sheriff’s Department.
“Jo, it’s Ina Mae.”
Ina Mae’s voice had a tone
Similar Books
Carnforth's Creation
Tim Jeal
Animals and the Afterlife
Kim Sheridan
djinn wars 02 - taken
Christine Pope
Fizzypop
Jean Ure
Girl in the Afternoon
Serena Burdick
Of Midnight Born
Lisa Cach
Stealing Heaven
Elizabeth Scott
Bare Assed
Alex Algren
London Overground
Iain Sinclair
The Daughters of Gentlemen
Linda Stratmann