Free Defending the Dead (Relatively Dead Mysteries Book 3) by Sheila Connolly Page B

need a bath while I make dinner. Here, take my keys and let yourself in, will you? I want to say good-bye to Abby.”
    “Okay.” Ellie skipped over to the door and unlocked it.
    “So, you two found something to entertain yourselves?” Leslie said, arching one eyebrow at Abby.
    “We did,” Abby replied cheerfully. “Accompanied by a lecture on Victorian society, agriculture, trash disposal, and the alcohol content of patent medicine. It was fun.” Abby decided not to mention the earlier visit to the cemetery. “Ellie was the one who found it—I think it was the trash heap for the house, and while they stopped using it a long time ago, nobody ever bothered to clean it out. Which describes a lot of the house. You know, Leslie—Ellie is one smart kid. She was careful, methodical. She didn’t get bored and run off to do something else—she kept working until we’d finished, or at least the easy stuff. She really was interested. Maybe she does have the makings to be an archeologist, or at least a scientist.”
    “That comes from her dad’s side.” Leslie squared her shoulders. “Well, I’ve got a family to feed. Thanks for filling in on such short notice. I’m glad you two had a good time.”
    “No problem. I enjoyed it, although now I’ve got antique trash strewn all over my backyard. But I learned something about the house. Call me if you need me again.”
    “I will.”
    When Leslie had gone inside, Abby started up her car and headed home. They were working things out, she and Leslie and Ellie. And as she’d said, Ellie really was smart and focused—far beyond her age. Which was another thing that made it hard for her to fit in with her age group at school. Maybe she would benefit from a private school? If Leslie and her husband couldn’t afford it, maybe Ned could help. If Leslie would accept his help, which was not a sure thing. She’d ask Ned what he thought.
    And she wanted to know more about the angry man who had broken all that china.

8
     
    Ned arrived home at the same time she did, after driving back from Leslie’s house. He had much the same reaction.
    “What on earth have you been doing?” he asked, taking in her muddy clothes and grimy nails.
    “Playing archeologist with Ellie,” she told him, grinning.
    “You’re going to have to explain that, you know,” he said with a smile.
    “Can I shower first? Most of this dirt is older than I am. By the way, would you happen to have the title search for this property handy?”
    “In a file somewhere. You shower, I’ll hunt for it.”
    “Deal.” Ned hadn’t even asked why she wanted it. Of course, he’d fielded a lot of strange requests from her over the past few months. It was very comforting to know that he wasn’t easily rattled.
    Abby came downstairs fifteen minutes later, toweling her hair, and Ned handed her a glass of wine. “Okay, tell me all about it.”
    “Am I cooking?”
    “No, I am. You’re entertaining me.”
    “And you’re spoiling me! Anyway, Leslie called after you’d left this morning and said there was some mix-up with her sitter and could I pick up Ellie and keep her amused for the afternoon, and I said sure. So I did—pick her up, I mean. And we came back here, and first she wanted to visit the cemetery.”
    “The one out back?” Ned busied himself chopping onions.
    “Yes. You’ve spent some time there, right?” When Ned nodded, Abby continued. “She made a beeline for the Reeds on the far side. You know, that whole row of them?”
    “Sure. Prominent citizens, if I recall. We know we connect through that line. Interesting that she would pick up on them so fast.”
    “There was something else,” Abby said quietly. “You know that little stone? The one for the baby? She said she could ‘feel’ her. No words, just pain.”
    “Wow,” Ned said. “Was she upset?”
    “No. I asked her that and she said no. I’d never thought about whether babies projected anything, but Ellie knew about the pain