Dead Broke in Jarrett Creek: A Samuel Craddock Mystery (Samuel Craddock Mysteries) by Terry Shames Read Free Book Online Page A

big deal, that Gary was simply being friendly.”
    “You said you had another argument Tuesday?”
    Dellmore hits his knee with his fist. “Gary was right back at it. Tuesday morning I walked in, and there he was in her cubicle again like some teenager with hormone problems. I told him I wanted to talk to him in my office, he gave me some back talk, and it escalated from there.”
    Suddenly from the doorway, a woman’s voice says, “What’s going on? I thought you two were going to lie down for a while. We’ve got people coming into town once we make funeral arrangements. You’re going to need your strength.”
    A young woman who’s the image of Clara is standing in the doorway.
    Alan says, “Annalise, come on in here.” The girl walks a few steps into the room. “I don’t know if you remember Mr. Craddock. He’s been appointed temporary chief of police. He’s investigating your brother’s death. Samuel, this is our daughter, Annalise Whittier. She lives in San Antonio with her husband.”
    Annalise strides over to me and shakes my hand. She has a more confident manner than Clara. “I remember your wife from the front office at school. She was always so nice. I was sorry to hear she passed away.”
    “Thank you. She did enjoy the students. I’m glad you remember her. And I’m sorry about your brother.”
    “I couldn’t believe it when Daddy called me. I still can’t believe it. As soon as I heard, I came home to help Mamma and Daddy.” With her brisk tone, she strikes me as the kind of person who will always take charge in a crisis.
    “Where’s Mikey?” Clara asks, rising from the sofa.
    “He’s having a snack in the kitchen.”
    “He shouldn’t be left alone when he’s eating,” Clara says, moving toward the door. “He might choke or fall out of his high chair.”
    “Mamma, he’s fine. He’s all strapped in, and you know how he likes to eat.”
    In the doorway, Clara pauses. “Samuel, do you need me for anything more?”
    “No, you go on and see about the baby. I’ll talk to Alan a few more minutes.”
    I ask Dellmore if there were any other incidents between him and his son, and he hesitates. “Not really incidents.”
    I wait. He’ll tell me.
    Dellmore studies his hands, gathering his thoughts. “You know, Gary didn’t plan to come back here and work for me. You may remember that Barbara’s daddy had a tractor/trailer business over in Bryan-College Station. When she and Gary got married, her daddy hired Gary to handle the financial side of things. Said he was grooming Gary to take over. But somewhere along the line, things took a downturn and the business went under. After that, Gary had trouble finding another job. He didn’t want to come back here, but I offered to hire him, and frankly I was surprised when he said yes. He never thought he was cut out to be a banker, and I’m afraid I have to agree.”
    “I was under the impression that your son was going to take over the bank when you retired.”
    He sighs. “I always hoped that would happen. But when it came down to it, Gary didn’t have the right attitude to go into banking. He didn’t always do things the way I thought they should be done.”
    “So the flirtation with Jessica Reinhardt wasn’t the first time you two had words?”
    “No.” He draws a deep breath. “And I had to defend him to the board more than once. They weren’t satisfied with the way he handled business. I kept hoping I could guide him, and I thought I was making some progress.”
    He gets up and walks over to a wall covered with pictures of the family and looks at them for a few seconds before turning back to me. “Gary was a good uncle to Annalise’s kids and I think he would have been a good father. Maybe that would have settled him down. But Gary said that’s one thing he and Barbara agreed on, that they didn’t want kids.”
    “You get along okay with your daughter-in-law?”
    “Who, Barbara? We get along fine with her.” He glances