Shopping is Murder (McKinley Mysteries Book 6) Read Online Free PDF Page A

head, dismissing the growing urge to get involved. There was nothing to get involved with at this point anyway—was there?

 

     
    The Proposition
     
    SHELLEY TOWNSEND CROSSED HER LEGS and rested her clasped hands on a kneecap. Her gaze settled on Sara and it transported Sara back to public school, and being on the receiving end of the woman ’s glare. She had always run a tight ship. If the woman only knew half of what Sara and Nicole had done while growing up, and the things they’d experimented with, the result would be a full-blown conniption fit. Of course, most of the living-on-the-edge was done by Nicole—she’d had an attraction to the bad boys as well as a habit of shoplifting for a thrill.
    “Would you find out the cause of Jerrod’s death?” Mrs. Townsend asked.
    Sara and Sean’s eyes met and she let the connection stand until he seemed to read her thoughts.
    He turned to Shelley. “I think it would be wise to wait on what is concluded by the police first.”
    “By then it could be too late, could it not? If they approach this as a suicide—it’s apparent one cop is already prejudiced to the idea—what’s to say the investigation will get fair attention? This is my son-in-law we’re talking about, after all.”
    “And this is—was—my husband.” Nicole’s bloodshot eyes leveled on Sara. “Please, I will pay anything.”
    “It’s not about…” Sara wrapped her arms around herself. She had never been good at saying no, despite what protests to the contrary Sean may have. She had somehow managed to keep herself out of a relationship with him for two years, but even if it hadn’t been for the money and his proposal, she wasn’t sure how much longer she would have been able to hold out.
    With the attention of Nicole, her parents, and Sean on her, Sara realized they were waiting for her decision. Sean was going to let her make the final choice, even though she had tried to defer the responsibility to him.
    She took a deep breath. “Mrs. Townsend is right, Sean. If Jerrod’s death wasn’t an accident…” She couldn’t bring herself to verbalize the word intentional .
    He finished her thought for her. “And if it was deliberate, the best evidence is found now.”
    Sara nodded. For some reason the little girl who lived inside her still sought approval from Mrs. Townsend. If they found her son-in-law ’s killer, surely it would redeem the woman’s opinion of her.
    “We’d be glad to help,” Sara said.
    “Oh, bless you,” Shelley exclaimed. “You let Mr. Townsend and I know how much and we’ll cover your time and expenses.”
    “We don’t need the money,” Sara began, “but a lot of people do. There are great causes.”
    “You’re asking that I make a charitable donation?” For some reason the thought seemed to have Mrs. Townsend recoiling in contempt, as if the action were beneath her. In this case, the little girl inside Sara was muffled and the woman took over.
    “It is the respectful thing to do. I—we,” Sara glimpsed at Sean, “believe when you have money, you have the responsibility to help others less fortunate.”
    “You mean tax deductions.” A statement not a question.
    Shelley Townsend had certainly changed, and what was coming to light wasn ’t improved character. The free money had made her complacent and ungrateful.
    “For us, it’s not about that, but about making a difference.”
    Mrs. Townsend sat up straighter, her bust heaving as she crossed her arms. “That is what you want me to believe? Really?”
    “Mom.” Nicole placed a hand on her mother’s forearm.
    Nicole ’s father stood up and excused himself from the room. He had always been a meeker man, but especially so in the light of his boisterous counterpart.
    “Mrs. Townsend, I’m not sure what makes you think that we are bad people, or what you might perceive that Sara did to you—”
    “Oh, it wasn’t to me, it was to my Nicky. The biggest day of a girl’s life and her childhood