Free Flea Market Fatal by Brianna Bates

door shut. Cody finally stopped barking but her body language was still defensive as she kept close watch on their visitors.
    Loretta stepped forward. "I came to talk to you about Albert. Can we go inside?"
    "It's pretty late and I have to get up early tomorrow," Missy said.
    "Fine." Loretta's voice turned icy. "I talked to the police so I know everything. At least, I know everything you told them."
    "What is that supposed to mean?"
    "Did you talk to Albert before he died?"
    The last thing Missy felt like doing was submit to Loretta's questioning. It had been a long day and being suspected of murder was getting old. "Are you working for the police now?"
    "You didn't answer my question."
    "That's right. I didn't."
    Loretta folded her arms. Her eyes became tiny pinpoints on her face. "I heard they arrested your mother."
    Missy said nothing.
    Loretta stepped closer. Cody tensed. Missy rubbed the back of her neck to calm her.
    “They arrested your mother, but you were the one that admitted to being at the house.”
    “Are you about to make a point?” Missy almost wanted Cody to attack. After what Mom had told her this morning about Loretta essentially torpedoing Dad’s opportunity to go into business for himself, she was ready to lash out herself. The injury might have occurred twenty years ago, but Missy was just feeling it for the first time now and it was acute and painful.
    If she felt this strongly about it, Mom must have raged…as her nails dug into her palms, she could understand how Mom had lost her temper all those years ago. How a shouting match had turned physical. They had almost lost everything as a result. It might have taken Dad ten years to commit suicide, but now that Missy was an adult and facing the grown-up problems of employment and mortgages and loneliness, she understood how this missed opportunity had damned him.
    Loretta was very close now. If it hadn’t been for Cody, she would have been right in Missy’s face.
    “I’m about to make several points, actually. First, your family has a history of violence.”
    “How dare you—”
    “Second, it was your mother that tried to kill me all those years ago.”
    “After you robbed us of financial security, I’m sure you provoked her.”
    “Third, your father was mentally ill. I don’t know if he passed any of that along to you, but he clearly had issues. What type of woman marries a man like that? Someone that’s well-adjusted and content? No. What type of daughter would he have?”
    “Me.” Missy put her hands on her hips. “I own my own home. I’ve always been employed, never been in trouble, and I have great friends.”
    Loretta looked right down her nose at Missy. “Never married either. No children. As for your employment, you’ve always worked at a bookstore. That hardly qualifies as a career. And judging by the state of your house I’d say you’re having trouble making your mortgage.”
    “Get out of here.”
    “And look at you.” Loretta smiled wickedly. “You want to hit me right now, don’t you?”
    “Yes, because you’re a raving bitch.”
    Loretta threw her head back and laughed. It was an ugly sound.
    “What’s so funny?”
    “What’s so funny?” Loretta stopped laughing and looked at her. “I actually came to thank you.”
    “For what?”
    “Albert was such a pain. Everyone in town thinks he’s this sweet man who let me push him around, but he was really not a nice man. Now I don’t have to deal with him anymore, thanks to you.”
    “I didn’t kill him.”
    Loretta stopped smiling. “He had a lot of my personal effects. If you took anything while you were there, you’re going to regret it.”
    It took everything in Missy’s power to not shake with rage. Loretta was such a vicious, vile creature. She kept quiet, afraid if she spoke she’d just explode.
    “I heard that you spoke to him on the phone before you got there,” Loretta said when she didn’t get an answer. “What did you talk