Her Grave Secrets (Rogue River Novella Book 3) by Kendra Elliot Read Free Book Online Page B

usual tox screens.”
    “What does that mean?” whispered Carly. “Why did Dad take the drug? Did he not know what it was?”
    “Or did someone slip it to him?” Patsy asked softly. “Oh, girls. I knew something was very off about his death.”
    “Someone murdered Dad?” Carly shook her head. “That’s impossible. Who’d do that?” Her voice rose.
    “That’s what we’re trying to figure out. We stopped one distributor of the drug when Ted Warner died, but the drug is very active in the coastal cities. Zane assumes someone else will step into Ted’s shoes, but his main concern—and Seth’s too—is finding the supplier. Someone’s making this drug. Obviously it doesn’t always kill, so either the deaths are from taking too much or from a bad batch.”
    Silent tears streamed from Carly’s eyes. Patsy passed the dog to Carly, who took her without a word and laid her cheek on the dog’s soft head. Patsy held out a hand to each of her daughters and they grabbed them. She looked her girls in the eyes.
    “We’ll get through this. It doesn’t change what’s already happened. It’s just cranked up the pain a few notches. We’ve already been through the worst.”
    “No! No, this is much worse.” Carly straightened and brushed at her tears. “Someone deliberately killed our father! I don’t understand. Everyone loved him. Were they all just being polite to his face? And our faces? I feel like our town has suddenly turned on us.”
    “You’re wrong, Carly,” Patsy stated firmly. “This town loves us and it loved your father. I felt their sorrow when he died, and I still get support from the people of Solitude. When he passed they felt like part of the foundation of our town was ripped out from underneath. They’ve had to rebuild too.” She looked at Stevie. “Zane’s gone a long way in helping Solitude get back to normal. Everyone sees him as a perfect successor to Bill.”
    “That’s great,” Stevie said faintly, thinking of Zane’s worries that the town still saw him as an outsider.
    “What about Roy?” Carly asked. “Seth told me the drug task force is investigating him. Is he tied up in this too?”
    “We don’t know yet.” Stevie picked up the remains of her napkin and tore it into smaller pieces. “We’re looking into it.” She stole a look at her mother, who had her gaze on Carly and the dog. Concern shone from her eyes, but not about her husband’s death; it was about the healing of her daughters. Sometimes holding an animal balanced one’s perspective of the world. The little dog radiated this otherworldly charm in spades.
    “How about Magic for a name?” Stevie suggested.
    Patsy turned understanding brown eyes her way. “That’s perfect.”

CHAPTER SEVEN
    Zane returned the third greeting from someone who’d passed him and Stevie on the sidewalk. He’d convinced her to get out of the office to grab some lunch. Both of their heads ached from sorting through Roy’s bank and credit card records. Luckily it’d been a slow morning. No one had needed the services of the Solitude Police Department and they’d worked uninterrupted for hours.
    Now he wanted a burger and something really cold to drink.
    “It’s freaking hot,” muttered Stevie. “I can’t remember a summer this hot. We’re lucky we haven’t had any fires.” She smiled and nodded at another passerby. “I’ll never complain about the rain again.”
    Zane pulled open the door to the Dairy Queen and sighed as the cool air blew over him. “We need better air conditioning at the office.”
    “I’ve only suggested that a few dozen times.”
    “Not in the budget right now.”
    They ordered burgers, fries, and shakes and slid into a hard plastic booth. Zane wondered if the DQ would mind if he brought in his paperwork and set up shop here for a few hours. Looking around at the packed seats, he doubted they’d appreciate his hogging the space. He noticed several people lingering over empty wrappers and