He held Paradise’s hand, and they walked back to his truck with Drew on their heels. Drew practically vibrated with his need to find out what had happened. His detective mindset might actually solve this mystery. Blake couldn’t wait for the load to be off Paradise. The danger felt ever present, and he wanted it to end.
His phone sounded, and he answered a call from Rod on the dash. “Hey, Rod.”
“Good news, Blake. The state agreed with us on keeping the lemur in your care at The Sanctuary. But be aware that Creed is back in town early. He’ll be coming your way when he hears the news.”
“I’ll be ready. Thanks for the help, Rod.” Blake ended the call and his gaze met Paradise’s. At least they had the law on their side.
Stilts elevated the white bay cottage with its hipped metal roof. A white SUV sat in the drive in front of an open garage door that revealed a blue car parked inside. Blake didn’t spot anyone moving around the yard or in the garage. He pulled his truck into the double-width drive and parked beside the SUV. “Let’s see if we can find them.”
“I hope her husband is home,” Drew said.
Pink azaleas bloomed along the front porch, and a large stand of rhododendrons blocked the view to the neighbors on the left. The breeze carried the scent of salt and fresh paint to his nose. Maybe they were working on the house.
“Wait here,” he told Paradise and Drew. “I’ll bet they’re outside.” Blake went up the steps to the porch and pressed the doorbell. After two more tries, he rejoined them. “Let’s check around back.” He sensed Drew’s impatience to go first, but to his credit, the detective let him take the lead.
The white paint on the side of the house still glistened. In the backyard he spotted paint trays filled with soapy water and brushes by the back steps. An elevated deck had a view of a pier with a boathouse at the end of it. Two figures sat on the pier with their legs dangling toward the water.
“There they are,” Paradise said.
The three of them walked down the sloping backyard, but the Millers didn’t spot them until they stepped onto the boards.
Wes Miller’s face turned their way. He was in his sixties with a neatly trimmed graying beard. He was mostly bald with very short gray hair at the temples. His gaze darted from Blake to Paradise and then to Drew before focusing back on Blake. He nudged his wife, and they both stood to face them. Trisha had white paint on her hands and arms, but Wes was mostly paint free.
Trisha’s welcoming smile was stiff on her face, which was pink and perspiring from exertion. “Blake, Paradise, this is a surprise.”
Paradise stepped closer to them. “We stopped by the shop first and saw it was closed, so we came by hoping to catch you for a few minutes. This is Drew Bartley. Andrew Bartley, my brother.”
The pink washed out of Trisha’s cheeks, leaving her pale. “Y-your brother.” Her gaze lingered on Drew’s face. “You and Paradise both look a lot like Becky, same coloring and all.”
“So we’ve been told,” Drew said. “I’m sorry to bust in on you like this, but Paradise and I are trying to find out who murdered her parents and my father.”
Trisha blanched more. “Your father is dead too?”
“Right before our mother and Granger died. Peculiar, don’t you think?”
Trisha wet her lips. “Coincidence.”
“Unlikely. Especially now that Paradise has remembered an argument her parents had a couple of days before they were killed. A PI was looking for information about me and my father. Did he contact you?” Drew quirked an eyebrow in Wes’s direction. “Either of you?”
Trisha shook her head, but before she could speak, her husband placed his hand on her forearm. “There’s nothing to protect now, honey.” His voice was a deep Southern drawl.
“But I promised—”
“And the truth is already out about Drew. There’s no longer a promise to keep.” Wes nodded toward the house. “I hear some sweet tea calling my name. Let’s settle on the deck and we’ll tell you what we know.”
Trisha set her jaw in a mutinous scowl, but Blake knew her husband would spill it all if she refused. They might get somewheretoday. He took Paradise’s hand, and they all trooped toward the sprawling deck on the back of the house.
A white cat came down the steps to greet them and curled around Paradise’s ankles. “Who’s this beauty?” She scooped the small feline into her arms and followed their hosts up the steps.
“That’s Bunny, named by our granddaughter. She was a stray who wouldn’t leave once Trisha fed her.” Wes headed for the door. “I’ll be right back with sweet tea.”
An awkward silence descended until Trisha gestured to the chairs. “Have a seat.” She perched on the edge of a blue Adirondack chair. “I’m not sure what you think we know. It’s probably not as much as you hope.”
Drew sat across from her. “Do you know my father’s name?”
“I know his first name, but that’s all. I know he came from a wealthy family. In Louisiana I think.”
Blake exchanged a dismayed glance with Paradise. That wouldn’t narrow it down much. Paradise started to speak, then shut her mouth. They’d let Drew handle the questions. He was the expert at interrogation.
