Murder in the Boonies: A Sleuth Sisters Mystery (The Sleuth Sisters Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

know,” Retta said. “Ben didn’t talk much, and he never offered an opinion on anything. I don’t know if I intimidated him or it was just his natural way. Rose was much easier to deal with.”
    “The pastor didn’t know McAdams was moving and neither did his buddy,” Barb said. “Retta, do you think they were running away from something, a debt or a legal problem?”
    Retta chuckled. “I don’t suppose they’d tell their landlord if they had trouble like that.”
    “Barb’s going to see what she can find out from Rory,” I told Retta. Barb was already calling the city police department. Listening in on their conversation, I gathered the chief wasn’t overly busy and would check their databases for warrants and watches. After a few minutes of silence I heard Barb say, “No legal issues. Thanks, Rory. I owe you one.”
    He said something that made her blush, but she simply thanked him again and hung up. “No record of law-breaking for either Ben McAdams or Rose Isley. Ben had some trouble as a kid, went through the foster care system and the juvenile courts, but he joined the military and apparently straightened himself out. No recent events that would explain them moving away abruptly.”
    I turned the phone toward me. “I’ll try the school. The elementary secretary knows me pretty well, and she’ll know if there was something going on, even if she can’t tell us exactly what it was.”
    It took a few minutes to connect, and I pictured the busy office with teachers, parents, kids, and staff all making demands on the secretary’s time. Even after twenty years on the job, Madge never failed to be patient with everything and kind to everyone.
    When Madge finally answered I got right to the point, knowing she didn’t have time for idle chatter. “I’m calling about the Isley children. I think two of them are in elementary. Did they tell you they were moving away?”
    “No, but we wondered. They withdrew from school about a month ago.”
    “Why?”
    “Ben said they’d decided to homeschool, but April is a funny time to start that. They’d be smarter to start in the fall.”
    “Did anyone talk to the girls’ mother to see if she agreed with Ben?”
    Madge chuckled. “Mrs. White tried, but you don’t just call out there. Ben is kind of a Luddite, so Rose and the girls don’t have phones or computers. He has a cell phone, but he turns it off most of the time. You have to leave a voicemail, and he answers if and when he feels like it.”
    “Hard to believe in this day and age.”
    “Inconvenient, if you ask me.” She sniffed. “You say they’re moving?”
    “Retta got a letter saying they were, so she went out there. They’re already gone.” Not wanting to start rumors I added, “We were surprised, but we have no reason to believe there’s anything wrong.”
    “Hmmm,” Madge seemed skeptical. “I’ll ask the kids who are friends with Pansy and Daisy.” After a beat she added, “And I’ll check with the middle school secretary. Iris might have said something to one of her friends.”
    “Thanks, Madge.”
    Barb had been checking computer records as I talked, an ever-present tissue crumpled in one hand. People with sinus problems probably shouldn’t live in century-old houses. “I can’t find credit card accounts under either Rose’s name or Ben’s,” she said when I ended my call.
    “I think we’re dealing with a guy who won’t have credit cards,” I told her, “maybe not even a bank account. Retta says the rent came by money order, sometimes in cash.”
    “Is he a survivalist or something?”
    “I guess he’d call himself an individualist.”
    “What about the woman? Did she go along with it?”
    “She must have.” A hot flash hit and I stripped off my sweater. Barb gripes about her drippy sinuses, but she’s never had a single hot flash, so I contend she’s the lucky one. “Ben isn’t Rose’s husband. He has no say over her or the girls.”
    “True.” Barb