Free Hard Truth by Mariah Stewart

oh,
gullible
?”
    “
Gullible
could work.” He smiled. “Can you think of any reason Billie Eagan would lie about being your mother’s friend?”
    “Not offhand. The truth is, I don’t have any more reason to believe her than to not believe her. I just don’t know.”
    “But you jumped in with an offer to help, all the same.”
    “An emotional reaction, I’m afraid. One I’m not certain I’m not beginning to regret.”
    “Hey, so far, this has cost you nothing but a little bit of your time. Like I said before, there’s no fee for talking to me about it. You can take all the time you need to think it over. And if you decide to go forward with an investigation, you can call it off whenever you want. Two hours or two days, it’s up to you. I work for you.”
    She did like the sound of that.
    “I would like to think it over before I sign anything with you.”
    “I won’t hold it against you, either way.”
    “You’re awfully accommodating. How do you stay in business with that take-it-or-leave-it attitude?”
    He laughed. “Well, actually, we just sold the business, my partner and I. He got married and moved to Ocean City, Maryland, and it got to be too much for him to be driving back and forth to Baltimore. There’s too much work for one person, and after these past three years working only with my partner—who’s also my cousin—I’m not inclined to hire another PI. There was someone interested in buying us out, so we sold the business, the building, the whole works. So, basically, I’m more or less unemployed right now.”
    “Oh.” Lorna frowned. “Maybe it isn’t a good time for you to take this on.”
    “I still have my license, and I’m coming off a month at the beach. I’m ready to get back to work. And I have all the time in the world.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “I would have referred Mitch to someone else if I weren’t. This doesn’t sound like a very complicated case. If you’re still undecided, I can always get copies of the police reports and look them over with you, see if there’s anything there that’s worth pursuing.”
    “I don’t know what I want.” She stopped rocking. “I think I’d just really like to know what happened to Melinda and Jason. I want to know the truth.”
    “And if the truth leads back to Billie Eagan and proves she killed one or both of her kids?”
    “Then I hope she’s convicted and rots in prison.”
    He nodded. “Fair enough.”
    “So, where do we go from here?”
    “You tell me.”
    “Where would you start if I hired you?”
    “Like I said, I’m going to want copies of the old police reports. Then I’d track down the kids Jason was with that last night, talk to them. Talk to Billie. And I’d like to take a look at the place where his body was found.”
    “That’s easy enough. It’s across the back field.”
    “Maybe we could take a look while I’m here.”
    “Sure. I’ll get my keys and drive us over,” she said, rising from the rocker.
    He stood as well, asking, “How far is it?”
    “Not far. But it’s already so hot and humid, I figured you’d be more comfortable driving.”
    “Won’t bother me if it won’t bother you.”
    “Then we’ll walk.” She smiled in spite of the fact that the very thought of walking in the hot sun across acres of dry, dusty field made her want to whine unpleasantly in protest. “Ready?”
    “Sure.”
    They started toward the porch steps, then Lorna paused and said, “Be right back,” before grabbing the near-empty glasses of iced tea and disappearing into the house. She returned in less than a minute, carrying two bottles of water, one of which she handed to T.J. “Just in case.”
    “Good idea.”
    He moved closer to the steps, then stopped while she locked the house behind her.
    “We didn’t used to have to do that,” she explained, “but since I’m here by myself, I try to remember to keep the door locked. It annoys me that I have to do it, but you never know.”
    “I