Murder in the Marigolds by Dale Mayer (good books to read for 12 year olds txt) 📗

have known Rex. “You do know him,” she muttered. “So I’m not sure why you’re acting like you are.” But the fact of the matter was, Mugs was definitely not a happy camper.

She rolled down her window, as she drove past Rex. “It doesn’t sound like Mugs remembers you.”

He smiled. “Hey, that’s not an issue,” he said. “Have a good day.” Lifting his hand, he walked over toward a vehicle on the far side.

As she drove past and headed toward the exit of the parking lot, she saw a green car, as in the green Jaguar. That would also make sense because Rex would likely return it himself, which would also suit her husband. Mathew never picked up rental cars or returned them. He wouldn’t do the paperwork required either, so it was always handled by somebody else in order to make his life easier. Plus, he always ordered deep green Jaguars if possible. Was that why Robin had the same vehicle type? To get back at him? Or had she somehow commandeered his connections and automatically received the same type of vehicle that was always delivered?

She pondered that as she slowly drove home. Could it have been Rex who had searched her house? That hadn’t even clicked when she was talking to him, but realistically it probably was him. Who else would be here with her ex? Who else would have come to search? At least she told Rex about the USB key and had given it to her ex, but maybe that was a nonissue. She didn’t know, but she frowned as she headed toward home.

Still feeling a little unsettled, she stopped at one of the parks and got out with the animals for a walk. They were more than happy to oblige, as she walked toward the beach and sat down on a bench, near a big sign warning that no animals were allowed unless on a leash, so she knew she must watch out, or she’d get in trouble because she had neither Goliath nor Mugs on a leash. She had leashes with her, but Goliath was not impressed with his. He’d handled it for the first few weeks, and, ever since, he was quite upset whenever she tried to put it back on.

She whistled for Mugs and brought him back from the beach where he’d been barking at the waves, caused by powerboats out in the lake. “Come here, Mugs.”

As he came back toward her, she quickly clipped on the leash and just sat here at the bench. She had Thaddeus on her shoulder, and her crew seemed to be content to enjoy the fresh breeze. “It’s been a very weird day today,” she muttered. She brought out her phone, checked her emails and messages, but found nothing. Even as she was checking, a text message arrived from Mack.

Well?

She smiled and sent a message back. Nothing.

That wasn’t quite the truth. So she sent back a message, telling him that she’d seen her husband’s long-term employee Rex, and that he was likely the one who had searched her house. Immediately her phone rang. Laughing, she answered it. “I didn’t mean for you to call me.”

“Well, after a comment like that,” he said, “how could I not?”

She shrugged, but, of course, he couldn’t see that. “I just wanted to let you know,” she said. “You always get upset when I only give you part of the information.”

“With good reason,” he said.

She said, “He was very civil, and actually I didn’t even recognize him at first. He used to have a beard and short hair, but now he has long hair and no beard.”

“Why the disguise?”

She stopped and frowned. “Did I say it was a disguise?”

“No, but you didn’t say it wasn’t either.”

“I don’t know then,” she said. “I suppose it’s possible it’s a disguise, but that seems a little odd, although it did take me quite a few minutes to recognize him.”

“You think he is here with your husband?”

“He did say he had driven Mathew here,” she said quietly, “in a green Jag, so I presume that he is responsible for taking it back. My ex has this thing about not picking up rental cars or returning them. He doesn’t like to be bothered with all the paperwork.”

“How nice to live like that,” Mack said caustically.

“He definitely has his foibles, like everybody,” she said. “I don’t imagine it’s any different for anyone else.”

“Maybe not,” he said, modulating his tone.

She still wasn’t exactly sure if something was going on there or not with Rex. “He did say that my ex had left already.”

“Apparently he did. I understood he was scheduled on a flight this morning. I don’t know if he showed up or not.”

“Well, that would be something else entirely, wouldn’t it?” she said. “An awful lot of murder and mayhem is going on here, so there’s no way to know if he told the truth.”

“Do you have any reason to think he is incapable of leaving?”

“You mean, not showing up at the airport? I have no idea,” she said. “I would hope that wasn’t an issue.”

“No, I would hope not,” he said slowly, “but we don’t know for sure. Maybe I’ll check with the airport to see if he actually got on.”

“That would probably be a good idea. Maybe you should just find out for sure,” she muttered, frowning. “I do think Rex was probably the one who searched my house, but I don’t have any proof. I was just assuming that he was the one because he was here with Mathew, and, therefore, while my ex-husband was keeping me occupied, Rex was the one who went in and searched my home.”

“It’s possible, but it would be nice if we had proof.”

“And,” she said, “it would also be nice if I had some way to let him know that nothing was there. I did tell him that I found a USB key and then I gave it to my ex.”

“And what did he say?”

“He didn’t say a