Free The Telltale Turtle (The Pet Psychic Mysteries) by Jim Lavene;Joyce Lavene Page B

knows you and Charlene were together and I don't think Mindy was there, was she?"
    "Maybe not." He fidgeted with his broken glasses. "I might've told Aunt Ferndelle that Charlene was Mindy. It was only a misunderstanding."
    "Misunderstanding? Colin, how could you do something like that? Does Mindy know?"
    "I don't know what to say." He sat down abruptly on the sofa, then slid to the floor. "I feel really weird."
     
    Before she could decide if she should call 911 or Danny, there was a knock on the back door. She looked out the peephole and saw Charlie waiting on the stairs. In this case, it became better the devil she sort of knew or at least was familiar with than some devil she didn't know. "Come in quickly." She grabbed his hand and yanked him into the apartment.
    Charlie didn't complain, even when she locked the door behind him. "I was hoping you'd had a change of heart. I didn't realize you'd changed this much."
    "I haven't changed anything," she told him briskly. "I need your help."
    Charlie studied the young man on the floor. "You like them young, huh?"
    She smirked. "I wouldn't need your help to get him off the floor if that were the case. Could you help me and save the smart remarks for later? I might have a client for you"
    "This guy?" He picked Colin up without her help and put him on the sofa. "He really needs a bath."
    She was surprised and a little thrilled watching him. Charlie was obviously one of those strong, wiry types like her third late husband had been. They could be deceptively strong.
    Baylor cautioned her about getting involved with anyone just because he could pick up a human as scrawny as Colin. If he could catch a mouse, that would be a different story.
    "This is Colin," she explained to Charlie. "Ferndelle Jamison's nephew."
    "Thanks, but no thanks. The Wilmington police and I have an agreement about open cases. They leave me alone to do what I do and I don't mess with their problems. What's he doing here anyway?"
     
    Mary Catherine explained about the threat to Colin's life and his inheritance. "He might've been set up by this Cousin Bob to take the fall for the deaths in his family so Bob can inherit everything."
    "Then why would Bob bother threatening him?" Charlie sat down at the kitchen table as he took in everything around the room. "If Colin goes to prison, it would all go to Bob anyway."
    She considered what he'd said. "Maybe he doesn't want to wait. Or maybe he's afraid the police will find Ferndelle's real killer and Colin would inherit everything anyway."
    "Got any coffee?" Charlie sat back in his chair. "What's your connection to Colin? I know you aren't letting him stay here because you work with him."
    "He needed someplace to go. Danny found him wandering around the radio station. I thought he'd be safe here," Mary Catherine said as she poured a cup of tea for Charlie.
    "So he's a puppy who needs shelter." He nodded. "I get it now."
    "I don't think he's a puppy and you don't have to sound so disparaging. What's so terrible about wanting to help people?"
    Colin moaned and Mary Catherine went to him, not noticing as Charlie used his camera phone to take pictures of the room. She wet a washcloth and used it to clean Colin's dirty face. He needed a good dunk in a tub, but that was going to have to wait.
    "You can't be right," Colin said. "Charlene can't be involved."
    "He knows Charlene Tate?" Charlie put away his phone and paid attention to the conversation.
    "Who's he?" Colin struggled to sit up. "Is he a cop?"
     
    "Man, you never lose the look." Charlie went to shake Colin's hand. "I used to be the police. Now I work for myself. Charlie Dowd. Are you by any chance sleeping with Charlene Tate?"
    Colin looked up at the older, larger man and passed out again.
    "Do you look like Charlene's husband by any chance?" Mary Catherine guessed.

    Charlie waited around for Colin to wake up. He drank some chamomile tea, but Mary Catherine could see he didn't enjoy it. "How well do you know Colin?"