Read Lie or Die: A Shelby Nichols Adventure for Free Online Page B

that’s what Uncle Dean told me. He’s Keith’s dad, and my mom’s brother. Mom called Dean after Keith left, and that’s when she had the heart attack. Dean called the paramedics, but she died at the hospital a few hours later.
    “Dean was so mad at Keith, I thought he was going to kill him. But he never got the chance. Keith was arrested the next day. Since mom died, Dean’s been trying to make it up to me. We’ve become partners in the business. He does all of the accounting, pays all the bills for the store, and keeps track of inventory. You know, all the background stuff. All I have to worry about is the sales end of the business. I don’t know what I would do without him.”
    “I’ll bet,” I agreed. “It’s great to have someone to lean on.” Whoa, this was big. Could Dean be the partner? If he was, how could he have his own son murdered? “How did Dean feel when Keith was murdered?”
    “It was bad,” Emily said, her mouth curved into a frown. “It broke his heart. He was always hoping that it was a mistake, and that Keith had nothing to do with the bank robbery. I think deep down though, he knew the truth.”
    “The police think Keith’s partner had him murdered. Do you have any idea who his partner might be?”
    “No,” she said. “Keith never brought anyone around here, and I’m glad he didn’t.” She was thinking that Uncle Dean had never been able to figure it out either, even though he’d spent a lot of time looking. They’d even checked out his old girlfriends.
    “Could it have been a girlfriend?” I asked.
    “No. He had lots of them, but I don’t think any of them could have been his partner.”
    “Why not?”
    “He never had a steady girlfriend,” she shook her head. “They were just flings. He wasn’t good at long-term relationships.”
    “That makes sense,” I said. “Can you think of anything else?”
    “No. But if he hid the money, he didn’t hide it here. I’ve been through everything, and I would have found it by now.” She’d looked everywhere, even tearing out the walls and floor in the back room looking for a false opening. It wasn’t here.
    “I see,” I said, somewhat discouraged. “Well…I can’t thank you enough for talking with me. I’d like to talk to your Uncle as well. Is there a good time to catch him?”
    “He has a day job, so he’s only here in the evenings,” she said. “I’ll give him your number if you like, and he can call you.”
    “That would be great. Here’s my card. Feel free to call me if you remember anything else.” After handing her my card, I held up a pink teddy. “Can I buy this?”
    She smiled. “Sure.”
    As she was ringing up my purchase, the bell rang, announcing another customer, and I was grateful I’d gotten in my questions while no one was there. I thanked her, and turned to leave, nearly stumbling into Rob Felt.
    “Will you stop following me?” I asked, jerking back a step.
    “Nope,” he answered. He was thinking that I’d been in here a long time, and figured it had something to do with the money. He’d ask the clerk as soon as I left.
    I was tempted to tell her not to say anything, but she was thinking he was a jerk, so I didn’t have to. I stepped around him to leave, and realized he was wearing a dark jacket. Just like the one I saw at Thrasher Development. Was he the person eavesdropping on Uncle Joey and me? If so, that meant he had to know of my connection with Uncle Joey. How could I ask him about that?
    “You’re just wasting your time,” I said. “I’m working on another case, and it has nothing to do with the money.”
    “We’ll see about that.” He didn’t think I had any other cases, so that was a bunch of crap. He glanced around, thinking the lingerie shop was probably a dead end, but he’d check it out anyway.
    “Whatever,” I said under my breath.
    Stepping around him, I hurried out the door, and got in my car. Where next? If Felt was following me, now was my chance to