Free A Mother's Day Murder (Mt. Abrams Mysteries Book 1) by Dee Ernst

bus came and went, and I started back up the hill. It was raining harder, and I had the hood of my slicker pulled up over my head, so I didn’t hear the car as it drove up beside me, not until a voice was calling my name.
    “Ellie, how about a lift?” It was Doug Mitchell, his window rolled down, smiling at me.
    “Ah…” This was odd. Doug had never said more than five words in a row to me. Was he really trying to suddenly be a good neighbor? Why? “I’m good.”
    “Ellie, it’s pouring.”
    It was pouring. What could I say? “Sure. Thanks.”
    I ran around to the passenger side and jumped in the front seat. I was dripping all over his nice leather interior.
    “Oh, Doug, I’m sorry. Everything is getting wet.”
    He was driving slowly. “No worries. I’m glad I saw you walking. I need to ask you a question.”
    I was busy with my seat belt. Yes, I was only two minutes away from home, but well, it was a thing. “Sure. What?”
    “Why were you in Jordan’s room yesterday?”
    I opened my mouth. Then I shut it. I swallowed hard. “What are you talking about?“ I said, very proud that my voice did not tremble, squeak, or crack. My heart started to beat a little faster. I was a terrible liar. More than that, I was guilty as charged.
    “Well, you see, Ellie, when Jordan was little, he kept insisting that someone came in his room at night. So Lacey and I set up a nanny-cam, just to show him that it was only his imagination, you know? These days, I just automatically reset it every night for him. It’s a very sophisticated piece of equipment. Motion activated. So imagine my surprise when I looked at the log and saw that the camera went on when no one was supposed to be home.”
    I stared straight ahead, barely breathing. His voice had started out calmly enough, but he was talking faster and faster, and his tone was changing. He sounded angry. He had a right to be.
    I was trying to think a way out of this, but seriously, how could I? Caught on nanny-cam. I thought that sort of thing only happened on reality shows.
    “We walk past your house every morning,” I told him. When caught, try the truth. My father used to tell me that all the time. “And yesterday, Boot chased a rabbit into your yard, and we followed, and Shelly saw that your back door was open, so we went in to check to see if anything was wrong. It was a good deed sort of thing.” Oh, God, that sounded so lame.
    “I see.” His voice was tight. “And you went upstairs because…?”
    Very good question, Doug. I stared out the window. We were almost to my house. I could leap out of the car, run inside, lock my door and avoid him for the rest of my life.
    “Did she send you?” he whispered hoarsely. “Did she?”
    He suddenly sounded afraid. Of what? I turned to him. “Did who send me?”
    His jaw was clenched, and his hands gripped the steering wheel like it was his last link to the real world. “I didn’t think she made any friends, but of course, she’d use you against me.” He seemed to be talking to himself more than to me. He was white as a sheet, and sweat had broken out across his forehead. “What did she send you there for?”
    “Doug,” I said slowly and a little loudly, because, honestly, I was starting to panic. He was freaking out about something. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    He jammed on the brakes, put the car into park, and turned in his seat. He looked desperate, and I was suddenly afraid. This was not about me being in Jordan’s room. This was a lot more than that.
    “What did she tell you?” he asked harshly. “You know she’s a liar, don’t you?”
    I laid my hand slowly on the latch to open the car door. I needed to be away from here. This had gone from embarrassing to scary to something totally beyond scary in just a few heartbeats. I lifted the latch gently, but of course, it was locked. “Doug, who are you talking about?”
    He lunged forward, his face suddenly inches from mine. “She