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The wake was the last place I wanted to be, but if it meant we got some information about who’d killed Declan, then it was worth the awkwardness of going.
Steph and Alan really were our only suspects. Michael Swann hadn’t been in Fox Point at the time and Guy was so unlikely that we’d deemed it a waste of our time to investigate him, so we were down to two.
And of those two, we’d only gotten any information on Steph.
This was probably our only chance to find out anything about Alan Sumpter, the elusive and disgruntled business partner of the victim.
Bloody hell. I was even sounding like a pesky amateur sleuth now.
I pushed open the door to the shop, making the wind chimes above the door jingle, and paused. Gwen, Viv, Betty, and Barb were standing close to the counter, all dressed head to toe in black. Gwen was perhaps the standout of the group given that her mourning attire came complete with a black hat with a small net veil covering the upper half of her face.
At least she hadn’t brought the walking chicken wing.
Ash looked at me. “Thank you, Jesus. Help me.”
“Nice hat,” I said to Gwen. “Bit dramatic, don’t you think?”
She pressed her hand to her chest. “Charlotte. I thought you of all people would appreciate it.”
“I said it was nice,” I replied. “What are you all dressed in black for?”
“Same reason you two are.” Barb nibbled her thumbnail, only for Betty to smack her hand away from her mouth.
That was funnier than it should have been.
“They’ve decided they’re going to the wake with us.” Ash’s eyes held a glimmer of ‘danger, danger’ vibes. “To be snoopy old cows.”
Viv gasped. “Ashley! I’ll have you know that we’re going to pay our respects.”
“You’re going to gossip,” Ash said pointedly, slamming the cash register drawer shut. “You can’t fool me. I know what you lot are like.”
“That’s the only reason you’re going,” Gwen said firmly. “You’re not going for any reason other than your sleuthing crusade.”
Ash gasped and flattened her hand over her boobs in an outright mocking of Gwen’s earlier action. “How rude. You should think better of me, Granny.”
“I don’t need to,” Gwen replied dryly. “You’re my granddaughter, and you spend too much time with me. I know exactly what I think of you, Ash.”
“Shall we just go?” I had a feeling this would go on and on if I let it. “She’s right, Ash. We’re only going to see if we can get information about Alan Sumpter, and another four pairs of ears wouldn’t hurt us.”
“Who said we were going to share any information with you?” Betty sniffed.
Ash shot her a withering look. “Your Monday night wine sessions said so.”
“Let’s go,” I said, opening the door again. “We’re wasting time.”
“Fine,” Ash said, grabbing her bag. “Shoo. Let’s move, grandmas.”
Gwen swatted her on the head with the newspaper she was holding and shuffled across the shop. “Sometimes, I can’t believe you’re my granddaughter.”
“You just said I spend too much time with you. Seems like that’s on you,” Ash retorted. “Do we need a game plan?”
“Yes. Get in, act normal, keep your ears open, and meet somewhere tomorrow morning to discuss what we found out,” I said. “That’s it. It’s that simple.”
“Declan’s family will be there,” Barb said. “I knew his aunt once, so if she’s there, I’ll see what I can get out of her. Betty slept with her husband once.”
Betty glared at her sister. “They were separated.”
“They weren’t,” Viv whispered to me.
