craftfield 01 - secrets untold by brooklyn shivers Read Free Book Online Page A

her mom back.
    “Sorry, I’ve got classes until this afternoon.” Worry etched Amanda’s face. “But I can skip.”
    “No.” She shook her head. “I’ll be fine. Really, I need to do some studying anyway.” Like she’d be able to concentrate on anything. Maybe binge watching TV with a bucket of buttered popcorn would make the day pass by faster.
    Lily plugged in her phone and finished her coffee while she waited for the screen to light up so she could check her messages. When the phone buzzed, Lily scrambled from behind the bar to answer it.
    "Hello?"
    "Miss Thomas," a male voice said. "This is Deputy Garza. We met at the crime scene."
    Her gut sank, and she glanced up to Amanda who gave her a sympathetic look. She cleared her throat. "Y-yes? How can I help you?"
    "Sorry, we need you to come down to the station for some questions. Where are you? I'll send someone to pick you up."
    "I'm at a friend's house." She gave him the address, turning down her friend's offer to drive her. Amanda had already done a lot for her and Amanda was busy today and couldn't play chauffeur.
    An hour and a half later, Lily sat in a freezing room with a table and two chairs between her and the door. The overhead fluorescent light hummed, filling the silence.
    The knot tightened in her stomach. She just wanted this over with. And she had the funeral arrangements to take care of. Her throat stung.
    The door opened. Garza and an elderly Deputy entered. The latter laid a folder on the table in front of her. "Thank you for coming, Ms. Thomas. I'm Deputy Wells." His ebony skin was smooth and wrinkle free.
    "I know this must be difficult for you," Garza said. "But in your own words, what happened the morning until you left the ice cream shop?"
    Brushing a shaky hand through her hair, she said, "Our freezer has been running cold. Mom asked me to go to Joe's and pick up a new thermostat for it."
    "And did you two argue about it?" The elderly gentleman took out a pen from his pocket and clicked it on.
    "No, nothing like that." She crossed her arms as her mind drifted back. Her head had been pounding and she hadn't wanted to leave her mom the day before. Then, she’d thought her premonition was a flunky dream. Should she tell the deputies about the vision? Garza gave her a small smile while the elder man scribbled over a piece of paper.
    "We checked your mom's bank account. Seems like the store was paid off years ago, yet you took minimum wages... why is that? Did she hoard money and you resented her and knew you would inherit the business if she died?"
    "What?" Her head spun. Money, inheritance, the shop was paid for? Last she knew, it had been on lease for another thirty or so years. "I mean, no. I didn't know about the shop or money. Growing up, I got used to not having a lot. My salary was enough to pay my bills and, since I'm going to college, I live at home until I get another job and can afford to be on my own." She had seen what her Mom went through to raise her at sixteen, and the sacrifices she'd made. The ice cream shop was her chance to be her own boss and be with Lily instead of being so tired she couldn't make breakfast on her day off.
    "So you resented her not telling you and, in a moment of anger, lashed out. Fearing what would happen, you took off to this Joe's so you'd have an alibi."
    This was absurd. Her mom was dead. "Why are you questioning me and not looking for her killer?"
    She stood, her chair scraping backward with a screech.
    "It's okay." Garza pulled out another handkerchief and pressed it into her hands. "We're not blaming you for her death. Even though it looks like an interrupted burglary, we want to rule out everything and everyone."
    She dabbed at her eyes. God, she hadn't even known she'd been crying. It sure seemed like they blamed her. “It wasn’t a burglary.” Couldn’t be. She knew the dollar bill her mom had framed was gone along with the register being pried open and the money was taken, but it just