Killer Cousins Read Free Page B

things in a stupid deck of cards and some candles?”
    Her forehead creased. She looked scared. “Cealie, I really think someone’s out to get me. I—” She flung her hands over her chest and looked pale.
    “Are you okay?”
    She lowered her hands. “I’m just…really glad you’re here. And I’m not ready to tell the police anything else now.”
    I rubbed her arm. “Then here’s what I think we should do. Let’s go on your back porch, watch who passes by, and possibly come up with an idea. Lots of murderers return to check their victims, sometimes because they’re proud.”
    “You really think someone killed him?” she asked, voice soft.
    “Who knows? But we’d better go and see what we can find out. First I need my things out of my rental car, especially my new friend, Minnie. She’s a cactus.” I grinned, content with all the plant knowledge I’d recently acquired. What I’d learned brought Minnie back from the verge of death.
    I’d never kept any type of plant alive before I chose Minnie, and felt pleased with myself for at least learning to care for a cactus. I’d learned about the numerous types of cacti and that I could never teach in a public high school today unless I was allowed to carry something to use to defend myself.
    We looked out the back door, where people still milled. The detective who questioned us was searching behind bushes near the porch.
    “Detective Renwick,” Stevie said, “did y’all find anything?”
    “Nothing definite yet.”
    We went through the hall toward the front door. This time I paid more attention since I wasn’t following police. The old house held a mainly comfortable feel. It sported earth tones with an oak floor and walls painted an unusual shade blending yellows with the green of spring leaves. Her living room held sofas and chairs in midnight blue and black, yet felt airy because of lots of glass. The extra large windows, set of stemmed glassware on a glass serving tray, and artwork in shapeless watery colors added to the spacious feel.
    “Pretty room,” I mentioned as we walked out.
    “It’s my career area,” she said. I looked at her curiously. She explained, “Feng Shui.”
    I nodded. I’d heard of the ancient Chinese art of arranging people’s homes to enhance their lives. If that’s what she’d done, good for her.
    Stevie crossed her porch, and I again noted the round crystal hanging on a red string about eight inches from the porch’s ceiling. Probably more Feng Shui beliefs. She took off down the steps and reached the sidewalk ahead of me. The sidewalk sloped in front of the house next door. “That’s where April lives,” she said as we walked near. The unassuming brick house resembled Stevie’s—tan brick with green shutters and a front porch. April lived at the corner with a tall wooden fence behind it like Stevie’s. Because they resided on the side of a rocky mountain, there were no neighbors in back, only a wide section of grass and then a road winding up the incline.
    “How could April see who was on the street back there?” I asked.
    “The land slopes so much, we can see most of it from our back porches.”
    We rounded the corner, and I admired the view of lush mountains. Intruding on the scene’s quiet, Stevie kept snapping her fingers. She huffed while she walked. Yes, it was definitely time for her to give up the smokes.
    “Weird car,” she said when we reached my PT Cruiser that I’d parked on the grass next to the road behind her house. We eyed the police units still parked near, their yellow tape crossing her gate. We looked away.
    “That’s the beauty of renting from a new car lot. You get so many choices,” I said, admiring my Cruiser’s brown side panels. I noted the grass was cut back here, much different from the tall grass I’d discovered in my cousin’s yard.
    I popped the doors and the hatchback. “We’re here,” I told Minnie, removing her from the cup holder in front.
    Stevie yanked up my