AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Looks like,” I agreed, then turned back to her. “Can you let me know when they come talk to you and what they ask?”
She lifted the notepad. “I’ll text you.”
“You don’t think it’s strange that I asked that?”
“Nope. Half the town knows they’re incompetent. I feel better knowing someone else is looking into it. I’ll help however I can, including not telling them you came by asking questions.” When I gave her a stare of disbelief, she rolled her eyes. “What? I watch true crime shows, and I don’t plan to lie, so don’t you worry about that.”
“Thank you.”
“Just go find that girl.” Then she shut the door in my face.
Chapter 10
I hurried down the steps, then cut across the yard diagonally, heading toward Lisa Murphy’s house. As far as I could tell, no officers had noticed.
I stayed on the Petermans’ side of the street until I was directly across from Lisa Murphy’s place, a solid stone two-story house. The yard was manicured, and I suspected Lisa Murphy judged her neighbors’ less polished lawns. Based on the fact she knew that Ava was missing before the sun rose and Celia said she watched everything, she might be a busybody, but she also might be able to help me.
I walked up to the front porch and barely had time to register that she had a doorbell camera before she opened the door. I guessed her to be about my mother’s age. She was wearing dark brown slacks and a cream silk blouse. Her makeup was understated, and her dark, shoulder-length hair was perfectly styled.
No wonder she was friends with my mother.
“Mrs. Murphy?” I asked.
She glanced down the street toward the crowd then back at me. “Well, Harper Adams. What are you doing at my front door?”
I needed to handle this carefully. “I’d like to ask you a few questions if you’re up to it.”
“About Ava Peterman?”
“Yes.”
She glanced down the street again, then gave me a smug grin. “I just made a fresh pot of coffee. Come in.” Without waiting to see if I listened, she turned and headed into the house.
I followed, shutting the door behind me, and trailed her to the back of the house. From the quick glimpses I caught of the living room, dining room, and entryway, the house was tastefully decorated.
She was pulling a coffee cup out of the cabinet when I entered the kitchen. “How do you take your coffee?”
I stood at the entrance, taking in the older kitchen. A breakfast nook full of windows was to the left, overlooking her back and side yards. “I’ll take a glass of water if it’s not too much trouble.”
“Sure thing.” She grabbed a glass out of a cabinet and filled it with water from a pitcher in the refrigerator. As she handed it over, she gestured to the small table and chairs. “Have a seat, Harper. I’ll pour myself a cup before I join you.”
I sat in a chair against the wall, giving me a better view of the yard. With the exception of a few evergreen bushes, all the plants were dormant, but it was easy to see that Lisa Murphy was a member of the garden club.
She opened her fridge and brought the creamer and a spoon to the table. Sitting in a chair opposite me, she held my gaze. “Are you looking into this kidnapping?”
I gave her a weak smile. “Mrs. Murphy, the police haven’t made a determination as to what happened to Ava Peterman.”
She tipped her head back and snorted. “Please. We both know that child didn’t run off.”
“Most children run away and aren’t—”
“Don’t come into my house and bullshit me,” she said in a cold tone. “I know why you walked into the Peterman house, came out and looked at the ground, then went to Celia’s house and now mine. If that little girl had run away, you’d be asking her friends where she was. Not asking neighbors if they’d seen anything.”
I started to say something then stopped. Kudos to Lisa Murphy for not only being observant but also deductive. “I’m not a member of the Jackson Creek PD, Mrs. Murphy.”
“And yet you’re investigating her disappearance.”
“I’m merely asking questions.”
