Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 51995 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 260(@200wpm)___ 208(@250wpm)___ 173(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51995 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 260(@200wpm)___ 208(@250wpm)___ 173(@300wpm)
He nearly snickered. “Not a fan of Aurelian Hills Cemetery, are we?” As they turned a corner, entering a circular clearing nicely shaded by a canopy of leaves, he forced himself to steer the conversation back to the crime scene. “Do you receive many visitors out here?” Her personally, not the cemetery. He’d grown a bit curious about, say, any frequently seen males. She might be single, but surely the men of her town approached her in droves.
“Someone comes out, oh, roughly once a week. Maybe twice,” she said, misunderstanding his meaning. Clearly she assumed his question concerned the residents. He couldn’t correct her without revealing his interest in her personal life. “I also give a midnight tour of the grounds once a month, though attendance is sparse.”
New information. “Midnight tours, but no cameras.” Did she have a total disregard for her own safety? “What security measures do you have in place?”
“Well, I have the gate up front and a brick wall around the acreage. Before you ask, I open the gate at sunup and close it at sundown. The hours depend on the season,” she added as they turned another corner.
“You close it?” He’d seen no wires to indicate a remote could be used. “Manually?” At night? Alone in the dark? Oh yes, a total disregard. “Why?”
“Tradition?” The answer emerged as a question. “My grandmother would never forgive me if I installed an electric gate.”
A live-in grandmother? Might be how she’d met Ms. Lawrence. “Is she retired?”
Utter heartbreak turned her big baby blues into open wounds. A brief flash, and yet far too long. “No, she passed away three years ago. That’s when I officially took over.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.” He meant that.
“Thank you. I miss her so much, but at least I get to visit her often. We just had tea last week, in fact. Anyway, I was raised here. I know the land and its residents better than I know the townspeople.”
Sympathy welled. “I get it. Trees and monuments never let you down, and the dead never leave.” He felt that way about his car. She was always there when he needed her. Unfortunately, the living left you far too soon, whether wittingly or unwittingly.
Miss Ladling cast him a glance of understanding, and it discomforted him almost as much as his uncharacteristic admission.
He cleared his throat and pointed to a smaller, crumbling version of her home. “What’s that building?”
“That’s the official business center, such as it is, and what I wanted to show you. I removed it from the map because I’m never in it. But the original cobblestone path to Autumn Grove begins at the back porch. At night, this is the easiest track to follow, with the fewest twists, turns and skunks.”
He made another note: Buy skunk repellent.
Following more questions about the building, he pivoted in front of her a second time. Her eyes grew wide, and she babbled, “Yes? May I help you? Is there something else on your mind, Agent?”
“Please, call me Conrad.” The words shocked him. But take them back? No.
She blushed again. “I’m Jane. I mean, you already know my name. But feel free to use it. Everyone else does. A few times, I’ve been called Jay Bird.”
He enjoyed those blushes. And her rambling. He thought he might enjoy her, period. “Sheriff Moore mentioned you live out here alone.” Conrad had asked the guy for details about her. For the case.
“I’m not technically alone. I have Rolex.”
“And he’s terrifying, but he’s not a genuine form of protection.” Conrad rubbed the back of his neck, determination to fix her security issues growing. Something needed to be done. Fast. “I’d feel better knowing you had more security. Or some protection, at the very least.”
“I’ll look into hiring someone, I promise.”
Something in her tone left him questioning her commitment to follow through.
When she side-stepped, intending to go around him and lead the way, he moved with her. “I’m sorry, Jane, but I’d like to view the property alone.” He pulled a business card from his pocket. The one with his personal number added in ink. He’d carried the thing for years, never willing to part with it. “If something new occurs or someone frightens you, call me. Also, you’ll need to stay away from the crime scene. We’ve sectioned it off. Do not bypass our tape. I’ll be in touch if I have any other questions.”
He didn’t give her a chance to distract him with more charm and charisma. He simply turned and walked off. “Oh, one more thing, Miss Ladling,” he called, glancing at her over his shoulder to steal a final peek. “Don’t leave town.”
Though she wasn’t a suspect at this time, he needed to keep her close and accessible. No one had better knowledge of the property. That he liked the idea, well, he wouldn’t examine it too closely.