by Raven Snow
“Is Samantha in?” asked Rowen.
“Hmm?” The groggy receptionist glanced over her shoulder. “Oh, um, yeah,” she said. “Her office is in the back.”
There weren’t many offices. In the back meant at the end of a very short hallway. Rowen passed only two other offices on her way there.
“Yeah,” Margo whispered, snickering quietly. “This woman is a serious threat.”
The receptionist might have been half-asleep, but Samantha was out like a light. She had her arms folded on her desk and her head in her arms. She was snoring quietly. “Excuse me,” said Rowen, but Samantha didn’t stir. Rowen went into the office and took a look around. With Samantha asleep, she had a good opportunity to be nosy. Her office was pretty bare, but there were some pictures on her desk. Rowen spotted several of the same kid, a cute, freckled little guy. He was maybe eight with Samantha’s blonde hair and round face. Rowen guessed he must be her son.
“Excuse me,” said Margo, in a voice that was loud and clear.
Samantha jumped. Even Rowen jumped. She hadn’t expected Margo to do that while she was snooping. She shot a glare back at her cousin. Margo mouthed an apology like she hadn’t realized.
It took Samantha a moment to come to sorts. She looked from Margo to Rowen, her eyes squinting as they adjusted to the light. She reached up and wiped some drool from her face. “Mrs. Greensmith?” she asked. “What, uh, what’s…Why are you here?” She didn’t really have the personality for this job. Though, to be fair, she had also just woken up.
“I had a couple of questions,” said Rowen. “And I couldn’t seem to get you on the phone.”
“You couldn’t?” Samantha looked down at the phone sitting on her desk. “Sorry, I’ve been busy today.”
“I can see that,” said Margo quietly.
Rowen hadn’t actually called but doubted that Samantha would know that. From past experience, she knew that Samantha had a habit of either missing or ignoring phone calls. Rowen would bet money that it was the latter. “Mind if we take a seat?” she asked.
Samantha stifled a yawn. “No,” she said, motioning to the chairs in front of her desk. “Go ahead. Be my guest.”
Rowen and Margo both took a seat. The chairs were creaky and uncomfortable. “I was wondering if you ever got in touch with the Woodwards,” said Rowen.
“The Woodwards?” Samantha repeated, like she was trying to place the name. “Oh, the two older Woodwards. Right.”
Rowen was surprised that she even remembered. “Did they say anything? About the dog?”
“What?” Samantha paused again. “Oh, no,” she said. “I left a message with their son, Liam, but he said you had already spoken to him about it. I figured you had it sorted out.”
Rowen was surprised that she had thought to do that. Rowen had assumed she would be hearing some excuse about how she forgot. “We did,” she said. “I just wanted to follow up with you on it.”
“You didn’t have to come all the way down here for that,” she said, raising an eyebrow. It was a bit odd that they would just show up for that.
“No,” Rowen assured her. “There was this other matter. I found some things in the attic.”
“What kind of things?” asked Samantha.
“Just things that belonged to the previous owners, I think,” said Rowen, purposely being vague. “They were hidden under the floorboards. I thought I should let the Woodwards know.”
“It seems like you’re on pretty good terms with the sons,” said Samantha. “Why didn’t you just tell one of them? I’m sure they could take it off your hands.”
“That didn’t feel right,” said Rowen. “I mean, there are two of them. Who am I supposed to hand this stuff over to? I figure it was under the floorboards for a reason. I figured I would try to contact the Woodwards directly since it’s probably theirs and all. I’d feel better knowing it went right to them.”
Samantha shrugged. “I have their address,” she said. “If you want to give it to me, I guess I can send it to them.”
Rowen shook her head. “Who trusts the postal system? I’d rather just let them know about it before I risk it getting lost in the mail. Maybe they do want it sent to their sons.”
Samantha tried to disguise a sigh but nodded. “All right,” she said. “I’ll call them.”
“I’d appreciate that.” Rowen kept sitting right where she was.
Samantha didn’t do anything immediately. She seemed to be waiting for Rowen and Margo to go. When it became clear that they weren’t, she sat up a little straighter. “I’ll, uh, I’ll do that now,” she said, shaking the mouse on her computer to wake it up.
“Good,” said Rowen. “Thanks.” She looked over at Margo, who looked a little impressed. This was a level of career laziness she could only aspire to.
Samantha clicked around on her computer until she, presumably, found the number. She called it, and they all waited there in somewhat awkward silence. “Hello,” Samantha said after thirty seconds or so. “This is Samantha Brown from Layton Real Estate. If you could give me a call back at your earliest convenience, I would appreciate it.” She put the phone down and looked across the desk at Rowen. “No one answered,” she said, stating the obvious.
“Well, thanks for trying.” Rowen wasn’t surprised. She had expected something like this. She changed her focus instead, pointing to the picture on the desk. “Is that your son?”
Samantha looked down at the picture. She smiled fondly at it. “Yep,” she said. “That’s my Michael.”
“He’s cute,” offered Margo. “School isn’t in right now, is it? Bet he’s enjoying that.”
“He lives with his father,” said Samantha. Her gaze went a bit distant as she looked at the picture.
“I’m sorry,” Margo said quickly. “That must be rough.”
“Can’t be helped,” she said with a sigh. “Between this and medical school, I just don’t have the time to watch him.”
Rowen’s perception of Samantha shifted quickly. “Medical school?” she asked. “Seriously?”
“Good for you,” added Margo, also looking a bit confused.
“How do you find the time?” asked Rowen.
“Oh, well, my parents own this place. Layton is my maiden name, so I’m pretty much guaranteed a job,” Samantha said with a smile and a shrug.
Rowen supposed that explained a lot. “Not happy here?” she asked. “I guess being a doctor is just your calling?”
“My parents would have me take this place over if they had their way,” Samantha assured her. “Just between you and me, this place is a mess. I mean, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we don’t even have a working AC right now.”
“Oh, I’ve noticed,” Margo assured her, looking a bit sweaty.
“It’s going under,” said Samantha. “It’s just a matter of time.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” said Rowen, though she couldn’t rightly say that she was surprised.
“I moonlight as a nurse practitioner sometimes,” said Samantha. It seemed she had gathered that Rowen’s opinion of her had been low until just this past minute. She was enjoying talking herself up. “I’d do that full time, but this is just so much easier to juggle with school.”
“I can imagine,” said Rowen.
“After I graduate, I’m hoping my schedule will be a little less hectic,” said Samantha. “I’ll buy a place, and Michael can move in with me. It’ll be great.”
“Well, I hope that works out for you,” said Rowen, standing to leave. “I bet it will. Seems like you’re a…pretty ambitious person.” Rowen couldn’t believe she was saying that about Samantha Brown.
“I’ll give you a call if the Woodwards get in touch,” said Samantha, watching them as they headed for the door. “Thanks for swinging by.”
Rowen glanced back one last time as they left. It looked like Samantha was settling back in for a nap, looking rather pleased with herself as she did so. Rowen wasn’t quite sure how much this had hel
ped her yet.
“Well, that wasn’t what I expected,” said Margo once they were both back in the car. “Of course, I’m not sure what I expected. What were you hoping to find out exactly?”
“I’m working on a theory,” said Rowen, reluctant to explain much more than that. It was a ridiculous theory. Fortunately, she didn’t have to explain. Her cell phone ringing served as a distraction. It was Willow calling. Rowen answered, hoping for news from Peony. “Hear something?”
“I called Peony, and she answered,” said Willow.
“And?” Rowen prompted, when she didn’t automatically launch into what had been said.
“And she’s fine,” said Willow. “She’s not with Liam right now.”
Rowen wasn’t surprised to hear that. “Let me guess,” she said. “He went to go see his parents?”
“He had to talk with−I don’t remember. Administration or something,” said Willow. “Peony is waiting with his parents actually.”
Rowen wasn’t sure what to say to that. “With his parents?” she asked, making sure she had heard that correctly. “What do you mean?”
“I mean she’s waiting with his parents,” said Willow again, like it should have been obvious the first time. “I know you thought they were dead, but…Apparently not.”
“Did she say anything else?” asked Rowen. Something wasn’t right here. She just knew it.
“Only that she’s coming home tomorrow morning,” said Rowen. “It sounds like she’s having a really good time.”
“I’ll talk to you later,” said Rowen. “Thanks for the update,” she added before hanging up. There was no guarantee that Peony was going to answer, but she called her anyway.
Surprisingly, Peony did answer. It took a few rings, and Rowen could only imagine that she had hesitated before picking up the call. “Hey,” said Peony, her tone guarded.
“I was just calling to check in on you,” said Rowen.
“Well, I’m fine,” said Peony. “So, you can stop being paranoid and worrying about me for no good reason.”
Rowen could tell that she was on the defensive. She took a deep breath. “Look, I know you’re mad at me.” She said, swallowing her pride. “You’re right to be. I might be overprotective. I know that. I can’t help it. You’re family, and I love you.”
Peony was too nice a person to let that go without saying something back. “I love you too,” she said.
“Which is why I feel like I should remind you why love potions are such a bad idea,” said Rowen, grimacing when Margo punched her in the arm mid-sentence. She deserved it. That had most likely been the wrong thing to say right at that particular moment.
“You’ve been talking to Willow,” grumbled Peony, her tone taking on that defensive quality again.
“And Tina,” Rowen added. “They’re worried about you. We all are.”
“I don’t know why!” Peony snapped. “I know what I’m doing. I like this guy. He’s nice, and you’re absolutely wrong about him.” She dropped her tone to a whisper. If she was really with Liam’s parents right now, this probably wasn’t the sort of conversation she wanted them overhearing. “And he can’t possibly be a murderer,” she added quietly.
“So, you’ve seen his parents?” Rowen asked. She couldn’t help it; she was still a bit skeptical about that fact. “Like, in person? You’ve met them?”
“I’m sitting with them right now,” snapped Peony.
“You’re sitting with them? Like, they’re in the room with you? Can I talk to them?” Rowen gave Margo a shove when she tried to take the phone away.
“You’re unbelievable. Are you just going insane or something?” She hung up on her.
“Peony, wait,” Rowen said quickly, but it was too late. With a groan, she put down her phone.
“What the heck were you thinking?” Margo asked, looking at her and just shaking her head. “You really dropped the ball on that one, you know?”
Rowen sank back into her seat. She wasn’t in the mood for lectures, but Margo was right. “I know,” she said with a sigh. “Do you think I’m crazy?”
“No,” Margo said immediately. That was comforting, at least. “You’re a lot of things, but crazy isn’t one of them.”
“Do you think you could call Peony then?” asked Rowen. “She doesn’t need to get too close to this Liam guy. When she gets back−”
“I’m not calling her,” Margo said, interrupting. “I said you’re not crazy, but I think you might be wrong about Liam. Didn’t you say there was another brother?”
Chapter Thirteen
Rowen wasn’t so sure about Danny. She didn’t much like going to that place where he was staying. It would be a joke to say there was “a bad part of town” in Lainswich, but this came close. She decided not to mention this to Eric beforehand. He wouldn’t approve of it, and she didn’t want him making any sane sounding arguments. She might listen to them, and honestly, she just needed to get this over with.
“You can’t mention the letter,” said Rowen once they had parked.
“Why not?” asked Margo. “Just come out with it. Surprise him. He’ll be caught off-guard and, bam, he’ll tell us everything.”
“Or he didn’t write it, and we tip him off that someone did,” Rowen pointed out for a third time. “Then he—I don’t know—goes and kills Liam to tie up any loose ends.”
Margo crossed her arms over her chest, being stubborn. “Well, that would solve your Liam problem,” she pointed out, which was technically correct.
“And have Peony super never forgive me? No thanks.” Rowen gave her cousin a stern look. “Don’t say anything about the letter.”
“Fine,” Margo agreed grudgingly. “But I don’t know what you plan on doing if not that.” She got out of the car and followed Rowen to the front door. She had been the one to insist that they come here. The extent of her plan had been to confront him hidden camera style with her cell phone.
Rowen had other plans. Not very good ones, but other plans. Honestly, she was running out of ideas. This was sort of a last ditch effort. If she wasn’t completely losing it, Danny had to know something.
Rowen and Margo had only just made it to the door when it opened. There was no need for them to even knock. They narrowly missed a box as it was tossed out the front door. The woman who had thrown it jumped when she realized someone was on the porch. Meanwhile, the box’s contents made a horrible sound as they hit the ground. “Who are you?” asked the woman, her tone harsh. She was a petite thing, with stringy blonde hair and bad teeth. If Rowen had to guess, she would say she had done a lot of drugs in her lifetime.
“We’re here to see Danny,” said Rowen. “Is he in?”
If the woman had been hostile before, she really was now. She rolled her eyes and stepped back into the house. “Not for long,” she grumbled. “He’s moving out,” she shouted, likely for his benefit. “He’s moving out without even giving us any notice!”
“Who are you talking to?” Danny emerged from a back room. He was looking pretty rough, like he hadn’t gotten much sleep in a while. When he spotted Rowen, he winced. “What do you want?”
The woman left them, shouldering past Danny on her way into the house. She slammed the door behind herself, leaving Danny on the porch. “Trouble with your landlords?” she asked.
Danny shook his head. “She’s not a landlord. She’s just an ex,” he said. “Not that it’s any of your business.” He spotted the box of his stuff on the front lawn. “What’s she throwing my stuff out for?” he complained, moving toward it.
The box had popped open. Some junk had gotten out of it. It really was an assortment of junk. There was no rhyme or reason to the box. It consisted of papers and pictures and an assortment of wall chargers. It was like he was getting packed in a hurry. Rowen leaned down to help him gather up the stuff he had dropped. “You going somewhere?” she asked.
“I’m moving,” said Danny, focusing on getting his things off the lawn as quickly as possible. “Agai
n, not that that’s any of your business. Why are you here?”
Rowen was about to answer him, but a picture she had just picked up caught her eye. It was a family photo. Danny was much younger in it. He was sitting in what was her den now, and he and Liam were playing with the dog. Mrs. Woodward was putting ornaments on a tree. Mr. Woodward was probably taking the picture. “This is nice,” said Rowen, holding the picture out to Danny.
Danny snatched the picture from her. He looked down at it and gave a sigh. “Yeah, that was a nice Christmas.” He put the picture back in the box. “Again, none of your business. Why are you here?”
“You sent me that letter, didn’t you?” asked Rowen, earning herself a stunned look from Margo. After all that fuss about not mentioning the letter, she looked like she felt betrayed.
Danny had been leaning down to pick up the box. He stopped now, freezing where he stood. “What are you talking about?” he asked.
Rowen gave him a long, appraising look. She tried to decide if he was playing dumb or not. She had a feeling that he was. “I think you know.”
“I have no idea,” he insisted. He hefted the box up and headed back toward the front door.
Rowen moved to block his way which might have been a bad idea. He was much bigger than she was. Granted, she was pretty sure that he only looked like the violent sort. Whatever had happened to his parents, she wasn’t convinced that he had done it. If she was wrong, either she was in big trouble or coming off as very rude right now. “Look, I know something happened. And I know that you think I’m on to something. That’s why you sent that letter, and that’s why you’re skipping town now.”
Danny tried to step around her. She moved to block his path, and he didn’t try again. He gave her a stern look instead. It was more than a little intimidating. “I’m just moving,” he said. “I have a better place than this dump lined up. I didn’t sign any contracts. I’ll move if I please—and I please—so get out of my way. I’ve got packing to do.”
Why was he moving? She didn’t think he was the murderer, but innocent people didn’t just run away from their problems. Maybe Liam really was that dangerous. Then again, if what Peony said was right, there had been no murderer. What else, then? “My cousin went to Florida with Liam,” said Rowen.
