Free Death Takes a Ride (The Cate Kinkaid Files Book #3): A Novel by Lorena McCourtney Page B

were real or if she had an instant supply of them at her disposal. “Matt dislikes me so much that he isn’t about to give me a clue about what’s really going on. I wouldn’t put it past him to threaten me with a private investigator even if you were a termite inspector or spark-plug salesman.”
    Hmmm. Why would Candy think a private investigator was a threat if she hadn’t done anything?
    “You threatened him with a lawyer,” Cate pointed out.
    In a mercurial switch of emotions, Candy laughed as if she were delighted with herself. “I did, didn’t I?”
    Cate didn’t laugh with her. Bluntly she said, “Maybe what really upsets you is that you figured Kane would be forking over that thirty thousand by now, and he isn’t. Why was Kane getting the money for you?”
    “He wasn’t! I didn’t know anything about—” Candy broke off and thrust her head forward as if she might go into earring-attack mode. Instead, she straightened and offered another smile. “I have questions. You have questions. Maybe we can help each other out here.”
    Cate hesitated. There were questions she’d like to ask theex–Mrs. Blakely. But Candy’s suggestion smacked of underhanded collusion between them. “I don’t think so.”
    “Matt and Radine told you a lot of unflattering stuff about me, didn’t they?”
    “They didn’t tell me all that much, but I don’t think you can count on a helpful reference for a résumé from either of them.”
    Candy’s second big sigh struck Cate as melodramatic. “Maybe we could just back up and start over?” Her nicely shaped eyebrows lifted hopefully. “I know I’ve come off as the Wicked Witch of the West here, but I do have some redeeming qualities.”
    Maybe a snake had redeeming qualities too, but Cate wasn’t inclined to get close enough to the forked tongue to figure out what they were.
    Candy smiled again, and now the smile was rich and warm as a fresh cappuccino. “I brush my teeth and see my dentist regularly. I make great lasagna. I dote on babies and kittens and puppies. I even like that big, hairy mutt of Kane’s. In fact, the dog must have been down here with Kane, and I’m worried about what’s happened to him. I don’t suppose you’d know?”
    Candy’s concern about the dog made a small dent in Cate’s antagonism toward the woman. “A friend of mine is taking care of the dog temporarily. I’d have done it, but my cat and Clancy didn’t get along.”
    “Really? He and my Persian do fine together.”
    Several surprises in that offhand statement. One, that Candy had a cat. Two, that the cat and Clancy got along. Three, that this must mean Candy and Kane had some relationship close enough to involve her cat and his dog.
    Was it possible Candy Blakely wasn’t quite the obnoxious,money-hungry witch that Halliday, Radine, and Shirley had made her out to be? Although, if she wasn’t, she’d certainly done a credible impersonation of one back there in the office.
    Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to see what information she could glean from Candy.

10
    “I could use a cappuccino,” Cate said tentatively. “How about you? The Valley River Center mall isn’t far from here. Are you familiar with it?”
    “Does a duck know where the closest water is? Of course I know where the mall is! One of my favorite places when I lived here. I’ll meet you at the food court in fifteen minutes.”

    At the food court, Cate spotted Candy already in line at the espresso stand. Cate got in behind her. They both ordered caramel cappuccinos. With their drinks in hand, Candy wound through the maze of tables to a far corner. She draped her fur jacket over the back of a chair. Cate decided she’d let Candy take the lead in this unexpected discussion and see where she ran with it.
    “So, are you a Eugene native?” Candy asked. She spooned a fluff of whipped cream off the cappuccino.
    The ask-you-about-yourself approach, no doubt to be followed by a good-listener response.
    “I came up