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“A likely assumption. He was probably trying to catch you and Ian together and accidentally came across the guy you knocked down in the cellar fleeing through the woods,” my dad said.
I nodded finishing up for my dad. “Leaving the guy, no choice but to kill him since Raider could identify him. But you said likely assumption. Do you think otherwise?”
“They could have been working together,” my dad suggested.
“Why kill him then?” I asked, that not seeming probable.
“That’s a good question and brings us back to the obvious—wrong place, wrong time.”
I knew what was troubling my dad. It was a murder that most likely wouldn’t be solved until the murderer was caught and the pieces could fit tight. “You’ll solve the case, Dad,” I encouraged.
“This one has me stumped, Pep,” my dad said, shaking his head. “Lots of pieces but none fit quite right. Like a puzzle you drop out of a box. You know they all will fit, so you start sorting them in colors, possible scenes, until they start connecting. But there’s always that one piece that gives you trouble. The one that connects a bunch of them and without it you can’t finish the puzzle.”
“The key,” I said without thinking. “It unlocks everything.”
Back home, I unloaded my truck; you can’t have enough mums. Pumpkins I grew so I had plenty of those. Of course, I had to get a scarecrow and small bales of hay to do a creative design on my porch not only for Halloween but to follow into Thanksgiving as well.
My cell rang as I got the last of the mums unloaded and I smiled when I saw it was Ian. “Hey there,” I said.
“I miss you.”
His voice was soft and far too sexy and, of course, it poked at more places than I wanted it to.
“You know where I live,” I said playfully.
“I do. Unfortunately, I have to go into the New York City tonight on business. Is there any way I can tempt you to come with me?”
GO! GO! GO!
That was my neglected hormones jumping up and down and screaming in my head. Rushing in behind them was… slow down. He’d said tonight, which meant he was most likely staying over at his apartment in the city.
“Silence tells me you are either thinking it over or trying to find a way to tell me no,” Ian said.
“The latter,” I hurried to say before I changed my mind and rushed to explain. “While I don’t mind the city, Ian, I’m a country lass at heart. When we more than spend the night together, since we’ve already done that more than once, I’d rather it be in a place I’m familiar with.”
“I love your honesty, Pep. It makes it so much easier for me to plan our first more-than-spend-the-night-together.”
“Planning that are you?” I teased.
He chuckled. “Every day.”
“Give me a hint,” I encouraged.
“Your place. Your bed. No Mo,” he said with a laugh.
I laughed along with him. “Mo is going to be devastated to be chased out of the bedroom.”
“We’ll let him in when we’re ready to sleep.”
I loved that Ian wouldn’t mind having Mo in the bedroom, though he might think twice on it after Mo practically pushes him out of the bed.
“You’ll be back tomorrow?” I asked and hurried to add. “I’m missing you already.”
“As early as possible and I miss you more.”
His words touched my heart and I wondered how I had become such a romantic. Amy would be proud of me.
“Did you speak with your dad about last night?” Ian asked.
Again, he captured my heart, his eagerness to solve mysteries as strong as mine. I told him what my dad said and finished with, “It’s the key and somehow it’s connected with you.”
“That’s the logical assumption, but for the life of me I cannae think what it might be. Uncle Max’s will was clear. All that he owned went to me. He owned the lodge, therefore, I inherited it. It did take a while to collect various documents and make sure all was legal and file papers. I own Willow Lake Lodge. I have no idea at all what Struthers wanted with me. Besides, anything Struthers had would have come from his uncle’s files and would predate the most recent will where he left everything to me and would have been useless.”
“Maybe your uncle had money stashed away somewhere and that key unlocks the hiding spot and Struthers wanted it for himself,” I suggested.
“His murder would suggest he had an accomplice.”
“One who possibly didn’t want to share in the fortune,” I said.
“I’ve only found you, Pep. Ah cannae lose you,” he said. “Promise me you’ll stay safe while I’m gone.”
When his Scottish brogue was more pronounced, it always managed to tingle my insides and had me thinking I should hurry and pack an overnight bag. I wisely got control of myself. “Not to worry, my dad keeps watch on my outside cameras, and I have Mo. And please don’t be like my dad and tell me Mo is useless, he’s a far better guard dog than anyone knows.”
