Page 55 of Murder on Charity Lane

“They stayed for years?” he asked.

“It’s a big house, and they’d put all their money into their new business.”

“Well, thank you, ma’am.” He stood from his chair. “And again, my condolences.”

She squinted up at him. “I saw her, Detective. How much more evidence do you need?”

Vernon was beginning to wonder that himself. Was one tipsy eyewitness—who resented the accused—enough to build a case on? No. Not even with all her money. However, was all that money enough reason to keep digging? Yes. And CJ was at the top of his list.

28

OCEAN

Ocean worried that Sophie’s old cottage wasn’t ready for CJ’s too-abrupt arrival. Well, no. The truth was, even though she wasn’t sure how she felt about this whole girlfriend-across-the-courtyard thing, she wanted to make a good impression. So she let herself in and was immediately struck by the cleanliness.

Ah. Of course, Lily-Ann had already taken care of things.

So Ocean switched to worrying about Mrs. B’s casual approach to landlady-ing. She’d long been concerned that Mrs. B would run afoul of tenant laws, because she never even pretended to care about them. She charged whatever she wanted, and had absolutely no boundaries. And inviting CJ seemed like a bad idea, her own relationship aside, considering the Marigold Cottages’ history with homicides. Why ask a murder suspect, even one whose laugh brightened Ocean’s world like cadmium yellow, to live there?

The last thing they needed, considering the secrets from six months earlier, was another reason for the police to be snooping around.

Ocean stood in Sophie’s empty living room, wondering if accenting the cottage with a few vases of fresh-cut flowers would be weird and stalkerish. Probably. She exhaled, trying to let the blank serenity calm her. She liked to think of her own cottage as eclectic, but she cared enough about aesthetics to admit that it was mostly chaotic. Maybe she needed Lily-Ann to organize her life. Or adopt her kids. Ha. Yeah, that would—

A knock sounded at the open door and when she turned, CJ said, “Well, if I knew you were included in rent, I would’ve moved in a long time ago.”

Ocean blushed. Actually blushed. “Oh! I was, um, just doing a final walk-through.”

“How does it look?”

“Good! Good. I didn’t expect you until later. I was going to bring housewarming flowers but I didn’t. Oh, god, I sound like Lily-Ann.”

CJ gazed at her face. “Well, everything looks perfect to me.”

“You stop.”

“You know what I realized about you?”

“I’ve got great arms?”

“You’re more comfortable being needed than wanted.”

“Isn’t everyone?”

“No, Ocean. Everyone isn’t.” She peered around the living room. “This is wonderful. I can’t thank you enough.”

“That’s all on Mrs. B.”

CJ gave her a lopsided smile, her wing-tipped eyes twinkling. “I mean that you’re not freaking out too much.”

“I’m not freaking out at all!”

“Well…” CJ stepped into her arms. “Just the right amount.”

Ocean smelled the apple scent of CJ’s shampoo. “You have glorious hair.”

“One of the few good things I inherited from my mother.”

“Do they, uh, do your parents know what’s going on with you?”