Read Exposed by Rage for Free Online

“You’re puzzling over something.”
    “It[s just I never really thought about Jillie having money and what all this must cost.  If I missed something like that about her, what else have I missed?  Something that might have cost her life?”
    * * * *
    Poppy and I had stayed up late, talking, tossing around ideas, who might have a motive to kill Jillie, could someone who tortured her the way they had, hide all that raw anger?  Look normal?  Nothing really jelled.  She did make me wonder if the police had found Jillie’s will.  I hadn’t seen it in the main safe, just a glance to see if anything was obviously removed, before they arrived, and I hadn’t opened the one in the kitchen, where I suspected she kept most of her more business oriented paperwork.  Had the crime techs discovered that safe?
    I was just pouring coffee when Poppy walked in and took the cup from my hand.  “You going to the club this morning? I asked her.    There won’t be anyone to show you around.”  I grabbed a large mug and filled it.
    “Yea, just like I want it.  I’ll bet I can find the password to the computer somewhere in the desk, and if not I can just do a quick inventory of the stock until someone shows up.”
    I handed her the club keys and agreed to pick her up at one for lunch.  When she drove off, I walked over to the garage to look at the vehicles.  I’d called the rental company and they were sending out a driver to take my rental car back to the airport.
    I began to wonder how well I knew Jillie.  The Lexus wasn’t what I expected.  An eco-friendly one-room mansion on wheels. I don’t know much about the Lexus but I sure didn’t expect a hybrid and I was pretty sure it had every bell and accessory available.  I was not going to be comfortable driving this around, but it was mine now, so I had been told, and I had the key to it.  Figured it would be less obvious than the T’s or even the truck, which was hot pink.
    My cell vibrated and rang. “Hello?”  I listened. “Hi, Dylan, thanks for...
    Are you okay, Ash?  I know this is really hard for you.”
    “Yeah, I’m going to really miss her, Dylan.”
    Dylan was the closest thing I’d probably ever come to a boyfriend, lover, fill in the blank.  Of course all that was history after I failed to perform in the lover roll.  Now he was my friend.
    “Thanks for calling. I don’t know when the funeral will be.”
    “Ashley, I’m not coming just for the funeral. I want to help you find this pervert.  Poppy told me how badly Jillie was mutilated. You don’t need to be doing this investigation on your own.”
    Poppy needed to keep her nose where I asked her to put it.  We hadn’t even talked about Jillie much. I suppose she’d gone through my stuff and found the photos. 
    “Look you just made the move into the Criminal--”
    “I’ve already taken care of that, I’ll be on leave. I want to be there to help watch your back and keep Pop and you safe.  Don’t argue.”
    I hate it when he did that, just steam rolls over me and wouldn’t let me finish a sentence.  Another reason we didn’t make it in the romantic dance. “The people I need to talk to aren’t going to trust you, Dylan.  If you’re with me, they won’t trust me either.”
    “We’ll find a way. Where are you staying?”
    I told him about the pool house. There was also a room over the garage, no reason for him to have to go to a hotel.  We talked a few more minutes and said goodbye.  He’d be in tonight, was driving his truck.  Good thing I now owned a place with more than a miniscule living area and a bedroom where you could hardly walk around the bed.  Not that I would let him anywhere near the bedroom.  And, as a bonus, parking was going to be easy.

6
    I spent the morning visiting people who worked at the club and lived in North Dallas and Richardson, a suburb of Dallas. No one had noticed anyone unusual.  I had to ask myself, what was unusual in their business?