A Good Day for Chardonnay (Sunshine Vicram #2) - Darynda Jones Page 0,93
She called him using video chat on Instagram.
He picked up immediately, but his screen was black. “Aurora?” he said.
“Yes. Is this Billy?”
“It is. Sorry about blank the screen. My camera is broken on my phone.”
“Oh, that’s okay. I just wanted to let you know that the necklace is safe and I know where it is.”
“I can’t believe this.” He laughed, incredulous. “You don’t know what this means to my family. We’ve wondered for so long what happened to Emily.”
Unfortunately, she couldn’t tell him the truth on that front. She would have to tread carefully, but he needed know the case would be solved. Just maybe not any time soon. “I’ve been looking into all the cases.”
“All the cases?”
“Yes. Several people went missing from the area. Mostly travelers who stayed at a particular boardinghouse in Del Sol.”
“You don’t say.”
“And I saw that necklace in what used to be the boardinghouse. I don’t want to get your hopes up about finding out what happened to your cousin, but I think the person who ran the boardinghouse may have been killing travelers for their personal possessions.”
“A boardinghouse, huh? And it’s still there?”
“Well, no. It’s not a boardinghouse anymore.”
“Gotcha. But the necklace is inside the house now?”
Her pulse sped up. “Um, yes. I’m going to get it. But my mom’s the sheriff.”
“The sheriff?” he asked, seemingly alarmed.
“Yes. I’m going to get the necklace and give it to my mom. I’ll tell her I found the necklace in the house and maybe they’ll reopen the case.” He didn’t need to know she would purposely botch the chain of custody in the process and hopefully keep Mrs. Fairborn out of jail. “We can finally find out what happened to your—”
“Maybe we shouldn’t bring your mom into this.”
She blinked, taken aback. “I’m sorry?”
“I mean, you know how the law works. It could take years for my family to get back my cousin’s things.”
“But I have to tell her. How else will we find out what happened to Emily? And to the other victims? The families have a right to know what happened to their loved ones. Also, I think an innocent man was killed because of this case. His family needs to know he was falsely accused.”
“Right.” He laughed again. “Sorry, I didn’t mean you should keep it a secret. Of course, we want to know what happened to Emily. That’s our first priority.”
“I’ll let you know when I get the necklace.”
“Thank you, Aurora. I appreciate this so much. My family is going to be over the moon.”
“You’re welcome.” She hung up feeling slightly elated. At the same time, she felt like she’d just betrayed Mrs. Fairborn. She didn’t know why. If the woman did kill those people, it was her own fault. And if she didn’t, she had nothing to worry about. But what if her plan backfired and Mrs. Fairborn really did go to prison? Auri would just have to figure out a way to smuggle in a shiv.
20
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Sun and Levi didn’t wait for backup. The minute the bright yellow orb crested the horizon, they headed out. They’d parked in a valley at the base of the Sangre de Cristos. It was going to be a long hike up to the mine.
They grabbed water and power bars from her emergency stash along with various supplies and a first-aid kit. Sun insisted on wearing the backpack, since she hadn’t been hit by a truck as recently as he had, but he practically ripped it out of her hands and slid it over his shoulders despite her protests.
Men. Especially men who picked fights with Toyota Tundras.
“Thank you,” Sun said, as they walked an overgrown trail.
“For?”
“I’m not sure I would’ve realized Elliot meant to write Sawry, as in the Sawry Silver Mine, without your prompting.”
“You figured it out before I did, and without knowing how much Eli loves that mine.”
“He loves the mine?”
“Seabright mentioned it a couple years ago.”
“Either way, thank you.”
He looked down at her, the trail wide enough at that point for them to walk side by side through the brush, and the appreciation she saw in his eyes went straight to her head. And other parts of her body. Like a margarita might. Or a hit of acid.