To Love and to Perish - By Lisa Bork Page 0,24

kill the noise. We must have aired the house out enough before Ray got home because he didn’t comment on any lingering burnt smell. I skimmed the top of the pot to serve with cornbread. No one complained.

But keeping Cory’s confidence proved challenging. Ray asked me if I’d talked with Cory and gotten him under control. I said, “yes” but really thought “no.” Cory had asked me to help him look into the thirteen-year-old accident, believing it would offer insights into Gleason’s death. It seemed possible. And I wanted to help. I wanted to know the truth about the accident and the huge checks Brennan wrote, but more importantly, I wanted to know if Cory and I had been wrong about Brennan. We both had thought he was a prize until now. On the other hand, Ray was not likely to be pleased to have me aiding and abetting Cory’s investigation. Ray and Catherine might want to lock up both of us.

I tossed and turned all night, to the point where Ray threw his arm over me and pinned me between his chest and the mattress so he could get some rest. I got up with my head feeling clouded, still uncertain of the right course of action.

Ray and I dressed side by side in the walk-in closet, Ray donning his gray sheriff’s deputy uniform and me, tan slacks and a summer-weight blouse. “Darlin’, what was on your mind last night? You were like a jumping bean.”

“Cory asked me to help him find out more about Monica Gleason’s accident. It’s eating at him that Brennan might have been responsible for her death. He wants to see if we can find the other passenger in the car and talk to her.” I hoped Ray wouldn’t ask how we planned to do that.

He didn’t. Instead, he laid his hands on my shoulders and leaned down to look me in the eye. “Darlin’, Brennan asked Cory to stay out of it. Catherine asked him, too. Ken will look into it as part of the investigation. The two of you will only create problems.”

I resented his immediate dismissal of our capabilities. “We’re only trying to help.”

“Help with what?”

I shook him off and answered through the pink silk blouse I pulled over my head. “Finding the truth.”

My head popped through the neckline in time for me to catch Ray’s frown.

“Jolene, I hate to say it, but I think you’re both only going to learn the truth when it comes out in court. Until then, just keep Cory busy at the shop.”

I pondered Ray’s advice after he left for work. Keeping Cory busy could prove problematic. With Cory’s attention divided because of Brennan, our customers might be in danger. Yesterday, Cory had pulled the Volvo out of the bay for the customer, who drove off only to return minutes later to say the car was acting “funny.” Turned out Cory didn’t release the parking brake when he backed the Volvo out of the garage. Our customer never thought to check something as simple as that. Normally Cory never would have overlooked something like that either. I had to worry what else he might overlook. Things could get deadly.

_____

Cory was waiting for me when I arrived at the shop around 8:50 a.m. This time, he brought the donuts. The scent of fried cakes and cinnamon filled the showroom. Maybe if we opened the door, the aroma might entice car buyers in off the street like it did at the donut shop. Probably not, though. Labor Day marked the end of the tourist traffic and sales would be slow from now until April. Cory’s business picked up with the first snowfall, when the ice turned driving into bumper cars and everyone worried their engines wouldn’t turn over. Too bad today’s weather report said, “Indian summer.” My business’ cash flow was about to lull.

Cory let me finish my donut before he brought up the subject of investigating Brennan’s crash. “Do you want to go with me to look up Elizabeth Potter or not?”

“Today?”

“Tomorrow. I have an appointment for a transmission and a brake job today, but everyone else is going to have to wait.”

I opened my mouth to object, then closed it again. Cory had vacation time coming. Besides, our maintenance customers were a loyal bunch. “Where do you propose to start looking?”

“Her parents still live at the Albany address listed in the yearbook. I found them online last night. I thought about calling them, but I think they