Jewels in the Juniper - Dale Mayer Page 0,49

is, my brother was very much a hard businessman anyway. And he made good money, but I know that both of his sons ended up in a lot of financial trouble, and he bailed them out. They were part of his first marriage to the wife he adored, so he did anything he could to make their lives easier. And, of course, he was married to Aretha back then, but he took care of his two sons first. I don’t think he funneled much money into Aretha’s pockets.”

Doreen sat back as she worked away on the banana bread. She was surprised she could still eat so much, but it was so good. “Sounds like a very tragic life for Aretha.”

“The trouble is, it’s so hard to feel sorry for her,” Nan said, “because she’s not a very nice person.”

“Particularly where women are concerned,” Mangus added. “I think she’s always seen women as competition. As her circumstances changed, she couldn’t keep up.”

“What about all the women who surround her?”

“That’s a good question,” Mangus said. “I’m not sure. Maybe it’s still because she’s one of the older families here, and that’s why they like to hang around with her. Honestly, I’m happy if she does have some friends because she surely needs some.” He frowned as he studied his plate. “So, what should I have next?”

Nan chuckled. “You haven’t had any of this.” She shoved what looked like small doughnuts toward him.

He reached out his fingers, hesitating over a couple of them, as if he couldn’t choose. “Oh, what the heck,” he said with a shrug, then picked up both. Doreen smiled. He caught the look on her face and grinned. “Hey, when you get to my age, nothing else matters.” And then he looked at Doreen, reached to the same plate, picked up two more, and dumped them on her plate. “You are a big strapping girl,” he said. “You can eat more too!”

Doreen stared in horror at the two sugary doughnuts, then chuckled. “I’ll be a big strapping girl if I keep eating like this.”

At that, he gave a loud guffaw of laughter. “You’re a long way away from hitting that stage,” he said. “In fact, you could use a few pounds.”

She just rolled her eyes at that. “I had salmon with fettuccine in a creamy dill sauce last night. I’m hardly starving.”

Nan, her eyes suddenly alight with curiosity, leaned forward. “Did Mack cook that for you?”

“Yes, and, while I saw what he did, or at least most of what he did, I’m still not sure I could ever replicate it.”

“Who knew our detective would be such a good cook?” Mangus said.

“Not me,” Doreen replied, “but I’m definitely reaping the benefits.” She looked back at Mangus. “Did you ever have any theories about what happened with that break-in?”

“Sure did,” he said. “I was pretty darn certain Reginald had orchestrated it.”

Doreen sat back. “What an interesting theory,” she said. “Why would you think that?”

“I suppose it comes from what I’ve heard from Aretha and her parents over the years. Her husband didn’t have a lick of business sense, but he was also a bit of a buffoon. He wouldn’t listen to advice from anyone. Every project he tried to manage blew up into a disaster. He just couldn’t seem to get into the rhythm of what business meant. He had all these big schemes, one of which was to sell everything and then go buy all the lottery tickets he could, saying, No way I can’t win.”

“Ouch,” Nan said. “Sure they’re rigged, but that just means it’s even more rigged as you buy more. Plus back then lottery was a newish game in town. Nothing secure there.”

Mangus nodded. “We all know that, but he was always looking for a get-rich-quick scheme.”

“But he was a partner in a big jewelry company that would come down to him and his wife anyway,” Doreen argued. “Why would he be in such a rush to become wealthy?”

“Because he didn’t really want to work for a living,” Mangus said. “Not like we did in the old days.” He glanced at Nan, who was busy nodding in agreement as she ate some pastry Doreen honestly didn’t remember seeing on the plates.

Doreen studied the plates to see if there were any more, then realized how ridiculous she was being because her plate still had a little piece of cinnamon bun, banana bread, and two sugary doughnuts on it. Still, she was up for the challenge. “But, if Reginald