Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 96641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 483(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 483(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
He cleared his throat. “That’s our understanding, yes.”
I looked at Bud. He did have a nice body, and he was tall. Huh, interesting. May I?” I asked Camille.
“Sure.” She handed me the picture. In it, Lenny looked happy, and her smile was also genuine. It did appear as if they’d had a good time together. Something tickled in the back of my mind, but I didn’t quite get there. “Did Lenny take a lot of pictures?”
“All the time,” Camille said. “I haven’t been to his place since the police searched it, but he liked to memorialize all the fun times.”
“My sister’s like that,” I noted. Tessa liked to take pictures and record our lives. If I ever needed a picture of an event, I called her.
Nonna’s phone buzzed, and she lifted it to read. “My partners want me to ask where you were during the times of the robberies.”
Camille sat back and then chuckled. “Seriously? Thelma and Georgiana want to know my alibis?”
“Yes,” Nonna said. “We just have to clear you, of course.”
A small smile played on Camille’s face. “As much as I love the idea of being a suspect, the police already have my alibis. For the jewelry robbery, I was already setting up for bingo in the Elks Lodge and have about ten witnesses.”
Nonna held the phone closer to Camille. “You’re on speakerphone.”
Camille leaned in. “During the timeframe for robbery at the pawn shop, I was in Spokane. My bridge club attended a concert and we stayed the night at the casino. Played all night and came home early the next morning. I have other alibis.”
Nonna’s face fell. “I really didn’t think it was you, Camille. But it would make for a good story.”
Camille’s eyes sparkled. “I’m sorry, Elda. It wasn’t me.”
Nonna sighed. “All right. If you can think of anything that will assist in our case, will you please contact Three Hens Investigations?”
“Of course, I will,” Camille said. “You know, with Lenny gone, I have some free time if you ever need someone to do a stakeout or follow a perp.”
Nonna brightened. “I’ll keep that in mind. The three of us are getting pretty well-known around town with our agency. It would be excellent to have some people in the wings who aren’t recognized by the general public.”
“Consider me to be available in the wings,” Camille said.
Bud quickly stood. “All right, ladies. Thank you for your time, ma’am,” he said to Camille.
“Anytime, handsome.” She stood. “I don’t suppose you have a card?”
He backed away. “Uh, no, ma’am. Not with me.”
“That’s okay, Bud. I know how to get ahold of you at the station just in case.”
The look he cut me lacked humor. I sighed. This whole trying-to-be-friends thing with Bud was difficult.
He opened the door, and I stopped moving as a thought slammed into me.
“What?” Nonna asked.
I launched back into motion and strode down the sidewalk, grabbing my phone from my purse and sliding on the snow. Bud grabbed my arm and steadied me. “Thanks.” I quickly dialed Lisa Robinson.
“The Rustic Relic,” she said, sounding chipper.
“Hi. It’s Anna Albertini. I haven’t talked to Spencer yet, but I have a question for you. When I first arrived at your place, I noticed some cool old frames hanging on the far wall. They were silver and old-looking.”
She sneezed. “Yeah. I had about five of them and received three back. Do you need a frame?”
Anticipation licked through me. “No, but did you have photographs in them?”
“Of course. They sell better with pictures.” She sneezed again. “Sorry about that. I bought a bunch of stuff at an estate sale, and it’s all dusty.”
“That’s okay. Were any of the pictures of Richard Basanelli?”
She was quiet for a moment. “Yeah. He was in all five. I’m grateful to have three of the pictures back.”
“Tell me about the other two.”
She coughed. “Um, one was of Richard with some friends fishing, and the other was of Richard and me by the lake at night. I really miss that one.”
Of course. Was this whole thing about a picture? “What friends were in the other picture?”
“I don’t know. They were fishing and snowmobile buddies. I just found the photo in some of his stuff that he left behind and framed it. Shoot. I really don’t know who they were.”
“That’s okay. Um, is there any chance you took pictures of your antique store for that website you told me about?”
She cleared her throat. “Yeah. I actually took pictures of the whole place but only put a few up on the website. It’ll take me a few minutes, but I can text them all to you if you want.”
“Thanks.” Anticipation trilled through me. This might be a crazy idea, but what if? I clicked off, and my phone buzzed again. I looked down, my heart thundering. “It’s a 911 from Oliver. He had a distress call from Don McLerrison and is headed out there right now. He needs help.”