Page 114 of Death on Gallows Path

He looked down at me. Not totally understanding — couldn’t blame him, since I didn’t either — but no judgment.

“Two more questions,” he said.

“Teague—”

“Café, barbeque, or pizza for lunch? Because if lunch isn’t included—”

“Café.” I expelled a breath I hadn’t known I was holding.

“When?”

“After . . . I know you can’t with the case open.”

“And you don’t want to.” The teasing humor in that reassured me. “Okay.”

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

I took a long nap after Teague left for the sheriff’s department.

As I drifted off, I heard a repeat in my head of the discussion with Teague and Clara about the dog park rumor that Pammy kicked Lucifer.

I’d been defensive, because I’d put my foot on my dog’s butt. Not the toe, not the top of my foot in boots or shoes, but the sole of my bare foot pressed against her fluffy butt.

Teague was right that Gracie enjoyed it.

He had experienced a different part of the elephant.

* * * *

The nap was blissful. With no dreams that I remembered.

I was awake, thinking about opening the manuscript — where had I left poor Alex? — but not moving when Clara called.

“Something interesting.”

I sat up. “Oh?”

“I talked to the ladies and had them ask around. Nobody knows about any neighbor of William Alsup falling for a craft beer scam by Damon Swindell. Or any scam by anybody. But—”

“Alsup was scammed over a craft beer franchise by Damon.”

“Bingo. How many motives are we up to for him now?”

“Depends on if you count the car washes and the craft beer scam as two separate motives or lump them together under financial.”

She snorted. “How about I come over and we can plan how to follow up.”

While I waited for her to arrive, I pondered if Teague knew about this.

Alsup had mentioned lawyers in connection with the neighbor fighting Damon over the craft beer enterprise. If that was true — though with him in the role of neighbor — there’d be a paper trail.

Was the sheriff’s department already mining those records?

Clara came in the back door with her phone up to her ear. She dropped LuLu’s leash to hold up one finger to instruct me to wait a minute.

“Uh-huh . . . Yes . . . . That is interesting. Thank you.” She clicked off. “C’mon, we have to go someplace. We’ll come back for the dogs before training.”

She let LuLu off the leash, then headed back out.