Evelyn David - Sullivan Investigations 02 - Murder Takes the Cake Read Online Free PDF Page A

Doesn’t sound like you have any hard evidence to back up your suspicions. What aren’t you telling me?”
    Bridget got to her feet and walked towards the window. She stared out. Mac knew it wasn ‘t the view of the abandoned dry cleaners next door holding her interest. He sat without speaking and waited for her to gather her thoughts.
    Finally she turned and faced him. “Okay, don’t freak out, but today, before I left Boston, a car tried to run me down. The windows were tinted and the license tag was missing. This wasn’t an accident or any kind of a coincidence. If you don’t help me, Uncle Mac, I’m never going to make it to my wedding day.”
     
    ***
     
    “Rachel, are you sure we received the caskets in the first place? I’ve been buying more than usual–bulking up for the holiday season. You know people drop like flies during the holidays.” Jeff paced back and forth in Rachel’s office. “Maybe one of the orders was never delivered; just the invoice. I’m sure the paperwork here is a little more complex than what you were used to at Franklin’s.”
    “ Not really.” Rachel looked back down at the file in her hand, dreading what was coming. It wasn’t the paperwork that was more complex; it was her boss. Although O’Herlihy’s had a reputation for excellent customer service, the chaos behind the scenes was incredible. Jeff had a dozen deals going on at any one time. Half the time she had no idea where he was. “We signed for them.”
    “ We? Who exactly signed for them?”
    “ Well…” Rachel took a deep breath. “These caskets were in a shipment that arrived the Friday I was off. The day I went to visit Sam at college.” That was also the day her son announced he was taking the money his father had sent him for his birthday and going skiing with his girlfriend instead of spending Thanksgiving with her. She worried that Sam was upset she was seeing Mac Sullivan and this was his way of voicing his displeasure. Not that she’d seen much of Mac. Lunch a few times and then a dinner date he’d had to break at the last minute. They had a date planned for that night; dinner at a very nice restaurant and then a late movie. Of course the way her day was going, she might be the one doing the canceling this time.
    “ Let me see that.” Jeff snatched up the file, rifling through the pages. He paused and then flipped back to the first page.
    Rachel knew he was seeing what she ‘d just seen: his signature on the shipping receipt.
    “ That’s strange.” Jeff held the page next to her desk lamp, letting the light shine through the paper.
    “ You think it’s a forgery?”
    “ I know it’s a forgery. I wasn’t here that day either. In fact no one was. Myrna Byrd had a dental emergency, Carrie was out studying for some college test, and…heck, I don’t remember where everyone else was. The point is they weren’t here. I got a tip about Senator Claxton’s funeral, so I locked the place up and put the phones on night ring. Lately, the competition is getting serious about edging us out of the really big funerals. I’ve had to put in some personal appearances where before a phone pitch would have been enough. I remember that day in particular because Kathleen got stuck fielding the calls at our house during one of her bridge parties. She said the calls ruined the mood of the party, whatever that was. I was awarded three days of Kathleen’s best silent treatment for that decision. Didn’t matter that I secured a lucrative job which helped pay for–”
    She interrupted him mid-rant, “So someone broke into the funeral home, took delivery of the caskets by forging your signature, neatly filed the paperwork, and then stole the caskets?” Rachel rubbed the spot over her left temple that had just started throbbing. “That’s not possible, is it? And if it is, why go to so much trouble to hide what they’d done?”
    Jeff resumed pacing, the shipping receipt still in his hand. “That’s the