Murder and Salutations Read Online Free PDF Page B

closet that wouldn’t have hidden one of my cats, let alone the neatest burglar who’d ever hit Rebel Forge. Sara Lynn reached to the back of the top shelf and pulled out a cylinder of oatmeal.
    “ If you’re hungry,” I said, “Lillian’s making brownies, remember?”
    She ignored me and pulled off the canister’s lid. To my surprise, Sara Lynn stuck her hand into the container, and after rooting around inside it for a few seconds, she pulled out a piece of paper. “Hey, I didn’t know those things came with prizes.”
    Her face was grim as she read the paper, then she handed it to me. It was Bailey’s handwriting; there was no mistaking his sloppy printing.
    “ Sara Lynn, this is my IOU. I’ll pay it all back, hopefully before you even realize it’s gone. I’m sorry, about everything. —Bailey.”
    I handed it back to her. “What’s this all about?”
    “ We’ve kept five hundred dollars in here for emergencies since we first got married. It was our agreement that we would never touch it unless there was a dire reason.”
    “ So maybe Bailey had an emergency,” I said, trying to ease my sister’s troubled mind.
    “ Jennifer, you don’t understand. We made it a ritual of each of us putting in half. Neither one of us was ever to take more than their share. I can’t believe Bailey would be this petty.”
    I shrugged. “I can’t explain it,” I said. “But it’s not going to do any good sitting here staring at the note. Let’s go to Lillian’s.”
    She nodded absently, threw the note onto the counter, then changed her mind and put it in her purse. “So why did he leave all the lights on if he came here just to take money?”
    “ For that matter,” I said, “how did he get inside if he surrendered his keys to you?”
    She shook her head. “I know one way.” I followed her out onto the porch and watched as she stuck her hand into a flowerpot. After a minute of rooting around, she retrieved a key. “I’d forgotten all about this. He must have used it tonight to get in and take our emergency fund.” “Then why leave the lights on?” I asked. “Who knows? Maybe he was in a hurry, or maybe he was leaving me some kind of message. I just don’t understand that man anymore.”
    I put my arm around Sara Lynn’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s get out of here. You’ll feel better once we get to Lillian’s. Would you like to leave your car here and ride with me?” My sister was shaken up, something that I’d seen only a few times in my life, and it had me worried.
    “ No, I’ll be fine.” Outside on the front walk, she looked back at the house, now dark throughout, then turned to her car. “Let’s get out of here.”
    I followed her to Lillian’s place, relieved once we were there. “Can I get one of the carriers for you?” Sara Lynn asked.
    “ No, they balance each other out. You could grab my bag for me, though.”
    Lillian must have been waiting at the door for us. She threw it open just as we reached it. “Hello, ladies. Jennifer, you’re in the pink bedroom, and Sara Lynn, you’re in the lavender one.” For a relatively unconventional woman, my aunt enjoyed the softer color palettes when it came to decorating her house.
    I put the carriers in the designated bedroom, then left their doors open, in case Oggie and Nash woke up and wanted a stretch. Lillian had set up a litter box in one corner, along with putting out some water and the treats both cats loved. I was impressed that my aunt had been so thorough, but then I realized that she was always the perfect hostess, no matter if her houseguests walked on two legs or four.
    I found Lillian in the kitchen, and took in the delightful aroma of freshly baking brownies. “When will they be out of the oven?”
    Lillian laughed. “Patience, Jennifer. They’ve got another five minutes of baking, and then I like to let them cool before I ice them.”
    “ Well, I’d like to lose twenty pounds, but that’s not happening either.