A Pour Way to Dye (Book 2 in the Soapmaking Mysteries) Read Online Free PDF Page B

dispute between my mother and
grandfather.
    “ Think of it this way, Ben.
We’re doing him a favor. Who knows how much longer they would have
tried to soak him if you hadn’t stepped in? Just do it.”
    I reluctantly agreed, then asked, “Aren’t you
the least bit worried about Paulus?” I knew the two of them had had
their share of troubles over the years, but there had to be a
glimmer of mutual respect between them. I’d seen it myself
occasionally in the past.
    “ Of course I am,” she said.
“After all, we need to know exactly what Earnest Joy is talking
about. So you’ll find your grandfather and get him to tell you. Now
I’ve got to go. We’ve got a delivery truck, and no way to unload
it.”
    I hung up and saw that Jeff had been
eavesdropping on my conversation.
    “ I’ll pay you for three
days,” I said, not willing to give him the satisfaction of winning
without a fight.
    “ You’ll pay for the entire
stay, or I’ll see you in court. Believe me, you won’t
win.”
    Well, at least I’d be able to tell Paulus I’d
tried. I could barely stomach it as I handed him my business credit
card and said, “I want a signed receipt for payment in full.”
    “ Of course,” he said as he
ran it through his system. I signed the slip, had him sign the more
formal bill he’d thrust at me before, then walked away. The
encounter had left me with a bad taste in my mouth, but at least I
had one lead to follow up on.

Chapter 3

    It took me ten minutes, but I finally got
Molly Wilkes on the phone. She was my onetime girlfriend and
sometimes date, as well as being the best cop on the Harper’s
Landing police force. Things had been a little dicey between us
since I’d started going out with Kelly, but I was hoping our
friendship could transcend the momentary riff between us.
    “ Hey, Molly. It’s
Ben.”
    “ What do you want?” she
asked curtly. Okay, maybe this wasn’t going to be as easy as I’d
hoped.
    “ I need a favor,” I
admitted.
    She sighed into the receiver, then said,
“Ben, I’m not sure I should help you, even if I can.”
    “ Hey, it’s nothing, really.
I just need to find an address for a telephone number.”
    She snapped, “It’s something, believe me.
Ben, I can’t just drop everything I’m doing whenever you get into
trouble. Go to the library and find a reverse directory. It’s not
that hard.”
    “ If I can find it at the
library anyway, why won’t you help me?”
    Her sigh was one I was all too familiar with.
“Because you’re asking me to do something during my shift that
can’t possibly be part of my job description. I have to answer for
my time, you know.”
    “ Don’t you even want to know
what this is about?” I asked. I had some serious fence-mending to
do with Molly, more than I’d realized, but I couldn’t imagine that
she’d just turn her back on me.
    “ Fine, go ahead and tell me.
What is it about?” she asked in a tired voice.
    “ My grandfather’s missing,
and this number is the only lead I’ve got.”
    That certainly got her attention. Molly and
my grandfather were friends, something I’d never really fully
understood. He’d called me a fool on more than one occasion for not
marrying her, and threatened to ask her himself if I was too
stubborn to do it.
    Molly said, “I’m listening. Tell me what
happened.”
    After I brought her up to date, she asked,
“Why didn’t you call me about the fence? I thought I’d be first
person on your list. Well, second, anyway.”
    It was pretty obvious she meant Kelly was
probably first. “I haven’t told anyone outside the family,” I said.
“I’ve been trying to find Paulus first, because he might have an
idea about what’s going on.”
    She hesitated, then said, “This may take a
few minutes. Are you on your cell phone?”
    “ Yeah, but I thought you
just had to punch a few numbers into your computer. I don’t mind
holding.”
    She let out a snort. “Benjamin Perkins,
believe it or not,
    I’ve