Read Dead Broke in Jarrett Creek: A Samuel Craddock Mystery (Samuel Craddock Mysteries) for Free Online Page A

Gary. “She said maybe Gary was sniffing around Gabe’s girlfriend. At first I made fun of her for jumping to conclusions, but I’ve had second thoughts.”
    “What second thoughts?”
    “Remember we overheard Dellmore arguing with someone after the meeting? I couldn’t hear clearly, but that voice could have been LoPresto’s.”
    “When have you ever known Gabe LoPresto to speak quietly? If it was him, he would’ve been talking as loud as Dellmore.”
    I reply with a grunt. I’m annoyed with myself for not paying more attention to my surroundings when we left the meeting. I should have noticed who was leaving when Jenny and I did—then I’d know who Dellmore was talking to. Of course, at the time I didn’t realize it would be important.
    “Come to think of it, I’m surprised you didn’t ask LoPresto to be on the committee,” Jenny says.
    “Even at his best, LoPresto can be pushy. I thought one person like that on the committee was enough. Besides, with LoPresto leaving his wife and taking up with Darla Rodriguez, I’m beginning to think he doesn’t have good sense.”
    “I’d be inclined to agree with you,” Jenny says.
    “Tell you the truth, I wouldn’t really have thought that Gabe would take up with a young girl like that. Or her with him. What she sees in LoPresto is beyond me.”
    Jenny laughs. “As I recall he struts himself around like a rooster.”
    “That would pretty much describe him.”
    “I don’t know Darla Rodriguez, but I’ll bet I can guess what attracts her to him. He owns that big construction company, and she may think he’s a good catch. Bottom line, she’s after his money.”
    “He does pretty well, but his wife, Sandy, has let it be known that if he divorces her for Darla, he’s going to walk away without a dime.”
    This sends Jenny into a fit of laughter. I can’t help laughing with her. “Why is that funny?” I say.
    “The idea of those two women fighting over Gabe LoPresto. Now if they’d been arguing over Gary Dellmore, I could see it.”
    “You and every other woman in town.”
    “So why didn’t Darla go after Dellmore? He’s got money, too.”
    “I couldn’t tell you.”
    “Or Slate McClusky? He’s the one with real money.”
    “You’d have to ask her all these subtle questions.”
    Jenny asks me for the specifics of what happened to bring Jarrett Creek to the edge of financial ruin. “I was surprised when Marietta Bryant told us how bad it was,” she says. “But she didn’t say why.”
    “It’s not hard to follow. Same thing that happened to a lot of small towns in the last few years. When the economy went bad, some businesses went under, people lost their jobs and couldn’t pay their mortgages, and they lost their houses, so the tax base contracted. Alton Coldwater thought he could attract some new business by renovating those streets downtown—and that cost money.”
    “It actually looks nice, though.”
    “Yes, and it has brought in a few new stores lately, but not in time to shore up the city’s finances.”
    “So that’s when somebody had the bright idea to build a water park out at the lake?” She shakes her head. “What a hare-brained scheme!”
    “You think so? Everybody was all excited about it at the time, but maybe that’s because Coldwater talked it up big.”
    “Seems to me somebody would have figured out that the town didn’t have the money to service the loan and keep paying its employees at the same time.”
    “Well, that’s all water under the bridge. We’re in trouble now, and it’s going to take a while to recover. I admire Rusty for trying to figure out a way to keep city services going with volunteers. I hope it works.”
    Before I know it, it’s late and I’m yawning. I get up and realize I’ve made a mistake that my doctor warned me against—I’ve been on my feet way too much today. My knee has swelled up, and it hurts to put weight on it.
    “What’s the matter with you?” Jenny says.
    I tell