Quinn rested a bottle of water on the table next to her and reclined back against one of the plush pillows lining the sofa. Whether she was ready to admit it or not, she had to accept the possibility that the car accident may not have been accidental. It may have been deliberate, the act of someone trying to scare her, or to warn her what would happen if she didn’t stop sticking her nose where it didn’t belong. If true, Evie’s killer was nearby and perhaps assumed she was a lot closer to discovering the truth than she was. If he was brazen enough to hit her on a public road at night, he was brazen enough to kill her as he did Evie, a reality she expected he wanted her to know.
With Roy exonerated, she shifted her thinking. Revenge. Money. Jealousy. Secrets. Each a driving force for murder. One possibility she hadn’t looked into came to mind: Evie’s business.
Evie’s appointment book was confusing and disorganized, much like Evie’s personality in life. Almost everything in the book was scribbled at an angle with a blue Ballpoint pen and then highlighted in one of three different neon colors. The handwriting wasn’t Evie’s, which meant the job of arranging appointments most likely rested on the shoulders of Felicity, who would soon be getting a lesson in the value of organization.
There were two sides to Evie’s business. The repeat side included yard maintenance, fertilizer, weed control, and in the winter months, snow removal. Almost all the work generated from this side of the business was overseen by Rowdy, who then delegated the jobs out to his crew.
The other side, landscaping, was overseen by Evie, and included existing contracts with two builders in town and jobs solicited by homeowners themselves. Of the two builders, one was just breaking ground on a new subdivision, and the other had just finished, which meant Evie wasn’t currently working for either of them.
Quinn spread all recent invoices on the coffee table in front of her. She picked out the ones Rowdy was responsible for, deciding, with Rowdy at the helm, Evie wouldn’t have been very involved. Next she removed the ones that had gone out to the builders whose jobs hadn’t started yet. This left three current landscaping jobs, all of them for local homeowners in the community. She clicked on her cell phone, checked the time. After midnight. Too late to give Felicity a ring. Her questions would have to wait.
She raised both hands over her head and yawned. The melatonin she found in the kitchen cabinet appeared to be working. She stood, drew the kitchen curtains closed, stopping when she thought she saw a flicker of something outside. She cupped both hands against the window pane, peered out. Probably nothing. But with each passing moment, her mind ran wild, creating shapes, shadows out of nothing. And with each new obscured angle, the tension grew.
You’re being paranoid.
Walk away.
She sealed the curtains together in the middle, checked the door, and double checked every latch on every window. All secure. She climbed into bed, slid Evie’s handgun beneath her pillow, and stared at the wall.
You’re safe, go to sleep, one part of her mind whispered.
Don’t fall asleep, stay awake, you’re in danger, whispered the other.