Free Angel Sleuth by Lesley A. Diehl Page A

coffee in the pot was cold, so she decided to go to the café.
    At the Cappuccino Café, she spied Brittany at the counter ordering a latte.
    “Hey,” she called to Brittany. “What’s up?”
    This morning Brittany looked like a teenager. Her hair was pulled back with a brown scarf, and she had on Capris and white Keds. The only make-up she wore was a pink lip gloss.
    “You look like you’re about fourteen,” said Kaitlin. They grabbed a table at the window.
    “And you look like you haven’t slept in days.”
    “Thanks. I take my compliment back.”
    “Oh, don’t mind me. I’m out of sorts over this will thing.”
    As Brittany was about to explain her statement, Kaitlin noticed Leda’s nephew enter the café and step to the counter to order. He attracted Brittany’s attention also, and she put her nose in the air and sniffed as if she’d caught an offensive odor.
    “I don’t much care for her nephew. I guess I know too much about him from Leda. None of it good.”
    Will looked in their direction and made his way across the crowded café toward them.
    “Oh, no.” groaned Brittany.
    Before he could take a seat, a regular in the café, Lester Darby, owner of the largest contracting company in the area, grabbed his arm.
    “We’ve been saved by Lester, never one to miss an opportunity to make a buck,” said Kaitlin.
    “Good. I was about to go to the ladies’ room and leave you here alone.”
    “Go ahead. I can listen in on what they’re saying by myself.”
    There was no need to snoop because Lester’s voice carried to every corner of the room.
    “Rumor says you’re a rich man. Sorry to hear about your aunt, but I understand she left you her entire estate. We’re all hoping you’ll be persuaded to build a summer home here.”
    “C’mon,” said Brittany. She grabbed Kaitlin’s arm and all but yanked her out of her chair.
    Once outside, Kaitlin grabbed her friend’s arm to halt further retreat. “What is with you this morning?”
    “There’s got to be another will,” said Brittany.
    “Maybe not. Leda could have been mad at her nephew then gotten over it. He was her only relative. Who else would she leave her money to?”
    “To a charity maybe. And she was more than mad at him. She had reason not to leave him anything. She found out he was into gambling, and she knew she’d be feeding his habit with her money. I’m sure there’s another will.”
    “We’ll have to look for it then.” Kaitlin’s hand flew to her lips. “What did I just say?”
    Brittany stared at her friend, a look of total astonishment on her face. “You’ve got an idea?”
    “I need eight hours of sleep to function, and I certainly didn’t get that last night. I’ve stalled out on writing my book, but Leda’s death has sent me down a path I can’t seem to veer from. It’s as if I have to set my book aside and take over where she left off. Isn’t that odd?” Or was it , thought Kaitlin as Mary Jane’s name jumped into her head.
    * * *
    Brittany used her key to let them into the back door of the newspaper building. Once inside Leda’s office, Kaitlin slid into the desk chair and turned on the computer while Brittany hovered over her.
    “Grab a seat,” said Kaitlin. “This may take a while.”
    She waited until the icons appeared, then clicked on “My Documents.” The folders she encountered appeared to be related to Leda’s newspaper column and nothing else, but she surveyed the files in each folder. The room grew stuffy as she worked. Brittany opened a window, but the wind was from the other direction, and the air remained hot.
    “I’ll read for a while,” said Brittany. She moved her chair in front of the computer and took over for Kaitlin. “Tell me about your visit to ARC last evening. I can scan these and listen at the same time,” she said.
    As Kaitlin talked about the odd response from ARC’s director, Lily’s pills, and the note in her car, air from the open window began to cool the