Page 48 of Tangled
“No signs of that yet, but I don’t think we should discount the possibility until we have proof either way,” Ava said.
“So whoever runs Sussurri may have had a motive for murder, too,” Scarlett said.
“If they killed her, though, they didn’t find what they were looking for, or they wouldn’t have sent Kimmie to Mystery Lake to find it,” Brad said.
“Any chance whoever is behind Sussurri sent Petrov?” Mitch asked. When everyone looked at him in question, he continued.“If they killed Gracie but didn’t find what they wanted, doesn’t it seem reasonable that they’d then come after Scarlett as the one who now has possession of all of Gracie’s things?”
“Kara asked the same question a couple of days ago. It seems far-fetched to me that they’d first send someone to kill meand thensend someone to find the information,” Scarlett said, repeating the logic she’d shared with Kara. “But now that we know what they’re looking for, it still seems backward, but I guess it’s possible.”
“So we have a cop who Gracie was probably blackmailing, the madam she might also have been blackmailing, and the baby daddy. On top of that, we have Petrov—who was sent to kill Scarlett—and who could have been hired by any one of the three of them,” Ethan said.
“And don’t forget a drug dealer who claims he had nothing to do with it and only wants to find her killer, too,” Scarlett said.
After a beat, Chad chuckled. “Well, this is a lot more interesting than I thought it was going to be.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Brad and Scarlett were cuddled on the couch watching an old Agatha Christie moviewhen someone knocked on the door.
Brad sighed. He understood his family’s desire to get to know Scarlett, and he wanted to resolve the issue of Gracie’s and Maria’s murders as much as any of them. But he was looking forward to having more than a few hours with her without an interruption.
Silently, Scarlett shifted, and he rose. “It’s Ryan and Olivia,” he said to her before opening the door. Olivia was his only cousin—well, cousin-in-law—that Scarlett hadn’t met.
Brad greeted Ryan with a handshake and then Olivia with a hug before introducing her to Scarlett. The two women took a seat and immediately picked up a conversation. Brad turned to Ryan. “Everything okay? Want a beer?”
Ryan shook his head. “Olivia still can’t stand the smell of alcohol, so we’ve both been abstaining. I’d take some coffee, though. We finished dinner fifteen minutes ago, and I ate too much.”
Brad grinned. “Is Olivia still craving a half dozen items per meal?” he asked. While Ellie and Tia had each craved very specific things, Olivia’s pregnancy had her wantingeverything. But only a little bit of everything. Which meant that for the past several months, their meals consisted of at least six different foods. All of which Ryan ended up finishing off.
Ryan smiled. “Tonight, it was a kale salad, mashed potatoes, chicken strips, sweet potato fries, salmon, and asparagus.”
Brad blinked. “That sounds disgusting.” He also knew if Scarlett wanted all those things at one time, he’d make sure she had all those things.
Ryan shrugged good-naturedly, proving that they were more alike than not. “The fries and salad actually went together pretty well,” he said, making Brad laugh.
“Let me get you some coffee,” Brad said, leading his cousin to the kitchen. “Other than weird eating habits, everything okay?”
Ryan leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. “Since both Tia and Ellie went into labor after being here, Olivia wanted to stop by. She wanted to meet Scarlett anyway, but she also heard about everything going on and thought it better to wait and let Scarlett catch her breath. That changed yesterday morning when Ellie went into labor.”
“So now we’rethathouse?” Brad asked, chuckling.
“I think it’s safe to say that all pregnant Warwicks will now show up here at some point in the last two weeks of their pregnancies,” Ryan responded with a half-smile.
Brad poured a mug of coffee and handed it to Ryan. “You look like something else is on your mind,” he commented.
Ryan took the coffee, stared at the hot liquid, then looked up. “Akers, the sheriff in the next county over, caught a murder tonight,” he said. “I’m waiting for more details, but I think it might be Petrov. The description fits.”
Brad crossed his arms and leaned against the counter. “If it is, what does it mean?”
Ryan shook his head. “My gut? Katz got to him. We won’t be able to prove that, though.”
Brad considered this, then chose his words carefully. “This will come out callous, but I don’t really care if Katz got to Petrov. Iwouldlike to tie Petrov to Maria’s murder so there’s justice for her. But if he’s dead, he can’t come after Scarlett anymore.”
“It also means that Katz might have been telling the truth. Or some version of it,” Ryan said.
“Have you found Kimmie?” he asked.
He shook his head. “She checked out of the bed-and-breakfast before we could execute the warrant and is gone,” Ryan said.
