Real Estate and Murder (A Port Grace Cozy Mystery Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

day I met him. That Hilary woman wouldn’t listen. Before Bruce could find some even ground about how they were going to handle the deal, the house sold to someone else. Bruce was furious. He wouldn’t answer her calls at the office, so she called here. Yelled right in my ear when I answered, saying he’d sabotaged her deal. She’s a vile woman. No wonder she’s single. Acting like a man is no way to win one.” She gazed off into memory again. “Bruce always said he was smitten by my feminine charm. Oh, how I miss him.”
    She put the hanky to her eyes again and let out a little whimper.
    “Thank you, Mrs. Fowler,” said Ryan, standing up. “We’ll look into this Hilary woman. We’ll find who did this.”
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    C hief Harris’s office was a cramped room in the back of a cramped precinct. His metal desk wobbled when he leaned on it, and the hard chairs hurt Georgia’s lower back. Still, she was intrigued by all the trinkets, pictures, and memorabilia Cooper had managed to pack into his tiny office. Just by looking around, she deduced he loved football, old action movies, and crime novels.
    “I’m happy to let you look over the phone and financial records, Mr. Yates,” said Cooper, “but I’m not sure you’ll find anything. I’ve checked every number the wife called in the past two months and found nothing. And Mr. Fowler had more of a shopping problem than her. He was the one draining the financials—his own and the real estate business’s. Of course, she may have killed him for that.”
    “But she has an alibi,” said Georgia.
    “Yes,” said Cooper, putting an elbow on his desk and propping up his head with a sour look, “but I thought perhaps she had hired someone. Her spontaneous request for drinks with the other two women seems strange to me, like she was trying to create an alibi for herself. But I’ve found no evidence of her contacting a hit man.”
    “What about the secretary’s personal phone records?” said Ryan. “She make any late-night calls to Mr. Fowler?”
    “An affair?” said Cooper. “I had suspected that too, but again, no phone call evidence.”
    “They did see each other almost every day. Phone calls wouldn’t be necessary,” said Georgia. “But my dad seemed sure Bruce had changed his ways, and Victoria didn’t hint at any suspicions. She seemed to have only fond memories of her husband.”
    “You’d be surprised how easily grief and devotion can be faked during a thirty-minute interview,” said Ryan.
    “The client who called Bruce’s home, the one I told you about on the phone,” said Georgia to Cooper, “I found her in our records. Her name is Hilary Frankenburg. She filed numerous furious complaints with the company and left a nasty review on the website. She seems to have a temper.”
    “I’ll have my boys look into her,” said Cooper. “Thanks for the lead.”
    “The way I see it, we have three real suspects,” said Ryan. “The wife is number one; her alibi doesn’t matter. The spouse did it nine times out of ten, and she acted strange that night. Second, this Hilary Frankenburg and her nasty temper. Third, the secretary, just because something about her reaction was strange. She has an alibi and we have no evidence of an affair, but it’s good to have at least three suspects. Georgia and I can do some research on all of them, too.”
    “Excellent. I will share any new leads with you both as well,” said Cooper.
    “Sounds good,” said Georgia, “but one more thing. If you interview Hilary Frankenburg, I want to be there.”

Chapter 5
    G eorgia rang her father’s doorbell a second time. Still no answer. The lights were on. She dug the spare key out of the depths of her purse and opened the door.
    “Dad? You home?”
    “Georgia, you get up here and get this crazy cat this instant!”
    Suppressing a laugh with her hand, Georgia kicked off her heels and rushed up the stairs.
    In the bedroom, Bill Mason stood in his blue silk pajama top and