Free Playing with Fire by Desiree Holt Page A

urgent it can’t wait until Monday?”
    She told him about Diane’s room. “I’m sure it’s nothing more than my imagination, but it makes me nervous thinking someone I don’t know about has a key to this house.” A thought struck her. “You didn’t happen to come over and go through that room, did you?”
    “I haven’t set foot in this house since Diane died,” he said, obviously angry at her implication. “And if I did, I wouldn’t be sneaky about it.” He drained his coffee. “I don’t like the sound of this, though. Especially with you staying here all alone. Let me make a couple of calls.”
    He pulled his cell phone off the belt clip and scrolled through to find the number he wanted. Cassie listened while he cajoled someone into coming over, in the end almost threatening. “Just do it,” he said. “You owe me enough favors, it won’t kill you to pay one back.”
    “I don’t want you to impose on anyone for me.” Cassie folded her hands on her knees in a prim gesture.
    Griffin disconnected the call. “Phil Morgan does most of the locksmith work in town. He hates to work on Saturday, but I rattled his cage a little. And I’m not imposing. He wouldn’t mind calling me if he needed some work in a hurry.”
    “Thank you.” She didn’t know what else to say. “I appreciate it.”
    “Is the room still the way you found it?”
    She nodded. “I checked everything then put it back the way it was. I thought of calling the police, but I changed my mind.”
    “When I take a break, I want you to show it to me.” He handed her back the mug. “Thanks for the coffee. I need to get to work.”
    Cassie dragged out the cleaning supplies she’d bought, found her mother’s broom and vacuum cleaner, and began methodically divesting the house of its accumulation of dust and neglect. She didn’t know how long it had been since someone had cleaned the rooms, or what her mother had been able to do.
    She made a mental note to call Harley in the afternoon and ask him more about her mother’s condition. She felt bad about not getting back to him yesterday, but her mind had been on other things.
    A lot of other things. And with all the answers she’d been looking for, she seemed to have come up with more questions than ever.
     

Chapter Eleven
     
    Cassie had just finished with the living room when the doorbell rang. When she opened the door, Griffin stood there with Phil Morgan.
    “How you doin’, Cassie?” Phil had been a big player in Diane’s group, but now he seemed intimidated by her little sister’s presence.
    Cassie smothered a laugh. “Fine, Phil. Just fine.”
    “Sorry about your mother. She was a nice lady.”
    “Thank you very much.”
    Griffin stepped into the house and took charge. “Cassie, why don’t you let Phil know what all he needs to do. Then you can show me that thing you were talking about before.”
    “Oh! Of course. And thanks for coming out on a Saturday, Phil.” She made herself smile at the man. “I know I cut into your time off, and I’m more than willing to pay for it.”
    He just nodded then followed her as she showed him all the doors, even the one from the garage into the house. He made notes on a little pad of paper as they walked, nodding to himself.
    “Okay,” he said when they were finished. “Let me get my stuff, and I’ll have it done in no time. I’ve got a portable key machine, so you’ll have a whole new set before I leave.”
    She was more grateful to him than she could have said.
    “I want to see Diane’s room,” Griffin murmured, coming up behind her. “Let’s do it while Phil does his thing.”
    She felt strange standing with him in this room, a painful picture of him and Diane together on this bed slamming into her brain. Could she ever ask him all the questions tumbling in her mind? She tamped down her thoughts to focus on what they were doing.
    “You’re right,” Griff said. “Your mother invented neatness. Her housekeeping may have