Free Kee Patterbee - Hannah Starvling 01 - The Chef at the Water's Edge by Kee Patterbee

almost to arch around his face. “That’s my girl.”
    Louie’s assurance made Vera beam. “It was her way. When I was older, I wanted to enter university. My parents had some money saved, but it was not enough. I was ready to resign myself to working at the shop for the rest of my life when Julia once again stepped in. She provided me with the money to attend. I was … am still … so grateful.”
    Hannah continued her assessment of the story, considering all possibilities, even ones that she did not want to contemplate. Could this all be smoke and mirrors? Could underneath this love and devotion be the unthinkable? Hannah did not like the last question. It did not feel right. But her training taught her to think beyond ‘instinct’.
    It was a big part of the investigator’s tool kit. Assess everything based on its own merit. Consider all the facts. After a moment’s lapse, Hannah pushed all thoughts aside and returned to Vera’s story.

Chapter 7
    “Now, that’s a generous woman,” Buster piped in.
    “Oh, yes. But it was more than that. She set me up a trust fund. It funds me in part to this day.
    “Interesting,” Hannah noted. “That must be some account.”
    “I have never asked the amount. I am just thankful that it provided me with an opportunity to finish school and come to America. For now, administration is through lawyers. But I will have direct access to it when I’m thirty. I planned on turning the money over to my parents until they pass on. Then return it to Julia.”
    “How’d she take that?”
    “Not well. I had discussed it with her. While she had no objections to sharing with my parents, she did not want the money returned to her. ‘It’s for you,’ she always insisted.”
    Hannah rolled her tongue around the inside of her mouth as she thought. This was one of her tell-tale signs that she had a theory. And she would not share it until assured of its absolute certainty. Of all the quirks that Hannah had, this one was the most frustrating to others.
    “Who else knows about this fund?” Hannah asked in a pointed manner.
    “No one, to my knowledge. Julia told me not to talk of it. The lawyers even had me sign a confidentiality agreement before I went off to school. But now that Julia’s gone …” Vera shrugged her shoulders, leaving her words unsaid but clear to all.
    “Would it be in the public record?” Cate inquired of Hannah.
    “I’d imagine so. Question is, who would look into it?”
    “I would think Asa,” Louie offered.
    Hannah expected this answer from Louie, given his suspicions and attitude toward his rival. She also knew he was right. Nonetheless, she did not want to give Louie reason to single out one individual because Asa had obtained what he desired. So she added to the possibilities. “Or Jazlyn.”
    Hannah’s implication of Jazlyn caused Buster to bristle, so he, too, added to the possibilities. “What about that Miller guy? Wouldn’t he have reason as well?”
    Louie frowned but said nothing. The frustration and disappointment on his face suggested to Hannah that he wanted the focus to remain on Asa. Buster’s reaction to Jazlyn’s consideration worked to the same effect. Both men had tainted opinions, a factor Hannah now had to both work with or around for the purposes of this investigation. Deflecting potential resentment, she spoke in broader terms. “All would have reason.”
    “Do you know of any enemies Julia had?”
    Vera shook her head, almost lost. “No. Everyone seemed to love her. I can say in all honesty that I know of no one who would hurt her.” She raised her head to meet Hannah’s gaze. “But I know this. Someone did.” She then turned to look at Louie. “You said you thought it strange that Julia was out alone at night also?”
    “Damn right, I did. She had night blindness. She couldn’t see anything after dark unless there was plenty of light. And there wasn’t.”
    Hannah paused to take these details in and compare them to