Page 92 of Murder on Charity Lane

“Deal,” Riley said, then tapped at her phone for a minute. “Why’s Mrs. B so upset?”

“I guess she’s closer to CJ than I thought,” Ocean told her, instead of the truth: that Mrs. B felt guilty about the murders earlier in the year and wanted to redeem herself. To redeem them all.

“Yeah, or she’s desperate for you to find someone.”

“Oh, god. I hadn’t thought of that. You think so?”

Riley snorted as they crested the top of the hill, but didn’t answer. The sparkling sea unfurled in front of them. It always looked impossibly high and full from this angle, and Ocean vowed that one day she’d capture that sense of swollen over-ripeness in paint.

“Is she going to be okay when it turns out CJ actually killed the old guy?” Riley asked.

Ocean glanced at her. “You think she’s guilty?”

“Of course she is.”

“Well, whichever one of us is right, I bet it’s more complex than we think.”

“Why?”

“Because everything always is.”

“Huh. That really sucks.”

Ocean laughed. “Totally.”

“You can be wise sometimes, you know that?”

“Aw. Thank you.”

“But she’s still guilty. Cool eye makeup though.”

“Yeah.” Ocean pulled to the curb outside Riley’s friend’s house. “Well, I suspect that what matters most to Mrs. B is motivation. She doesn’t really care about the law.”

“Like that poster at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. ‘Justice without mercy is cruelty.’”

“Oh, god, I forgot that,” Ocean said. “She’s exactly like them.”

“Except she’s nicer.” Riley left the car, then said, “Thanks for the ride, Oma.”

“Don’t mention it,” Ocean said.

“How was your day?” Riley asked, then closed the car door.

“I’m laughing!” Ocean shouted after her.

Riley waved goodbye and Ocean smiled as she pulled away. She’d miss it when Riley didn’t need her for rides anymore. Which reminded her that she should talk to Mrs. B about borrowing her car. Then she wouldn’t have to worry about the rattle, which still—

Ocean jerked to a stop at the intersection. Oh, shit. Shit!

That’s what she’d missed outside the cottage: Mrs. B’s car.

There’d been an empty space where the car should’ve been. Mrs. B had already been to the YMCA that morning. She didn’t have any appointments. Yet her car was gone.

She was probably fine. Of course she was fine. But what if she wasn’t?

44

NICHOLAS