Forgive and Forget: (A Geeks and Things Cozy Mystery Novella #2) (Geeks and Things Cozy Mysteries) by Sarah Biglow Read Free Book Online Page A

picked up the overnight bag and headed out across town. She supposed she was lucky that Ellesworth was small enough to only have one motel. If anyone came to stay in the area, they usually stayed in Salem and drove down to the beaches here. She reached the parking lot some ten minutes later to find only one car there bearing a familiar license plate. Adam hadn’t left yet. What was Chris waiting for? She paid the front desk a quick visit to get the right room number and walked down three doors and stopped. She could hear voices coming from inside the room.
    “I don’t understand why he wants to talk to you alone,” Nadine said.
    “Don’t worry about it. Everything is going to be fine. I promise.”
    “You’re hiding something. I can tell. What is it?”
    “Nadine, just let me worry about it. I’m looking out for you.”
    Kalina raised her hand to knock when the door flew inward and she nearly collided with Adam.
    “Sorry!” she said and stepped out of his way.
    “I didn’t see you there,” he said and headed for his car.
    Nadine sat on one of the small twin beds with her knees drawn up to her chest. She looked paler than she had two days before when her father’s death was fresh in her mind. Her hair was damp and hung around her face in stringy clumps. Adam had probably gotten the call when she was still in the shower. Kalina stayed in the doorway for a moment longer to be sure Nadine registered her presence. Then she crossed the threshold and set the bag on the floor.
    “Hey, how are you holding up?”
    Nadine scrubbed at her face and let out a long sigh. “Honestly, I don’t know what to think anymore. Detective Harper just called Adam down to the station for some questions but he didn’t want me there. He wouldn’t say anything else.”
    Kalina just nodded. She didn’t want to admit she’d overheard part of their conversation. Instead, she sat on the other bed and said, “I’m sure if either of them have anything to tell you, they will.” Should she say anything about Adam returning in the middle of the night?
    “I wish I could remember something … anything.”
    “Was there anything you didn’t tell Detective Harper in your interview?”
    “Like what?”
    “I don’t know. The reason your father drugged you all those years ago.”
    “God, you think I did it! You think I had a motive.” Nadine jumped from the bed and took a defensive posture.
    “No, of course I don’t.” Kalina held her hands up in front of her. “I am just trying to understand how the family I knew growing up could be torn apart so violently. What happened?”
    Nadine turned to face Kalina, resting her chin in her hand. “I guess it started after I turned eighteen. My parents needed to redo their wills to get rid of the need for a guardian or something. They ended up waiting an extra year. I’m not sure why. I didn’t know the details but my dad got really upset that my mother was keeping the house only in her name and she was passing it to me when I turned 25. It was supposed to be held by the estate lawyer until then.”
    “What’s so special about the house?”
    She shrugged. “It’s been in the family for a long time. I think my mom wanted to keep it in her side of the family. They had a pretty big knockdown, drag out fight over it right after I got home from school for the semester in June. He insisted on going to the party on the fourth of July. My mother didn’t want to go. She didn’t tell me but I could tell he’d been drinking more often. He wasn’t the same. Always on edge and angry.” Tears shone in her eyes and she tried to blink them away. “I wish she’d just given him the damn house. Maybe then he wouldn’t have insisted on going to the stupid party.”
    “So you blamed him for what happened to your mom.” It came out as more of a statement than a question.
    “Maybe. I think I resented him for being so obsessed with the house. You know, that’s why he drugged me and had me