The Secrets of Sisters
Lu stood on the stoop waiting for Merry Miller to answer the door.
She had no need to be there, no real right to be there, and yet, Lu had questions and she wanted those questions answered. No doubt Josh wouldn’t be thrilled about her snooping, but if Josh could deal with Nico’s inability to put his underwear in a laundry basket, instead throwing it all over the floor (and the man had the gall to criticize her bathroom habits from twenty years ago), then he could surely deal with his devoted and caring sister-in-law following up on a lead and helping him out on a case that meant a whole hell of a lot to both of their careers.
Merry Miller worked from home and Lu should have called ahead to both make sure that Miss Miller was there and to let her know that she was coming, but Lu didn’t have her number and didn’t have the patience at the moment to track it down in such a way that Josh wouldn’t know about it.
Merry Miller opened the door, looking more than a little surprised to see Lu. Miss Miller was dressed much like she had been the first time Lu met her: she wore a brightly printed dress and matching lipstick. Her blonde hair was down today, though, falling in natural waves around her shoulders. Lu wondered why this super cute, bubbly woman was wasting her time with married men when she could have her pick of the singles. But then Lu remembered that it had been only one married man and this woman’s relationship status was none of her damn business.
“Hi, Miss Miller,” Lu said, smiling brightly, hoping that the black polo shirt with the coroner’s office logo on the breast wasn’t too alarming. “I don’t know if you remember me from the other day. I’m Lu Jones. I’m a death investigator. I was here with Detective Carpenter.”
“Oh, yes! Of course,” Miss Miller said and she gave a little laugh that sounded a bit relieved. “I saw the shirt and thought something else awful had happened.”
Lu smiled tightly. “Yeah, I get that a lot. Do you mind if I come in? I have a couple of questions I’d like to ask you.”
“About Starla?” Lu nodded and Miss Miller stepped aside. “Of course. Come in, come in.”
She led Lu back into her living room, back to her sofa, and offered her a drink. This time Lu did accept a glass of iced tea. She thought maybe this would make them both more relaxed. It was different without Josh here, leading things. Now it was Lu’s turn to ask all of the right questions. The sudden concern that she might ask the wrong thing or say the wrong thing crawled up Lu’s spine and perched on her shoulder like a gargoyle. If she screwed this up for Josh…
Miss Miller came into the living room carrying two glasses of iced tea and she handed one to Lu before sitting down on the loveseat.
“Have you found anything out about who might have killed Starla?” Miss Miller asked, hopeful.
“The investigation is ongoing,” Lu said, watching Miss Miller’s face fall. She quickly added, “But Detective Carpenter has been working diligently on the case, interviewing people. It’s really only a matter of time.”
Miss Miller nodded and Lu inwardly cringed. The last thing she needed to be doing was giving this woman any kind of false hope. What the hell possessed her to do this again? Lu took a big gulp of her tea before proceeding.
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