Read Saints and Sinners: (A Geeks and Things Cozy Mystery Novella #5) (Geeks and Things Cozy Mysteries) for Free Online Page A

family?”
    “I’ll drive.”

 
    CHAPTER NINE
     
    The trip out to Marblehead took about a half hour. The brief drive down the coast should have been pleasant, the weather had cooled off and a breeze blew through the open windows of the car, but Kalina couldn’t shake the sense of dread squeezing her chest in a vice. All of the open water made her wonder what Patrick and Paige had endured on that fateful day twenty years ago. Had they been afraid of the open water? Had they lost control of the boat or were they out on the water with the intention of visiting their aunt?
    “Kal, we’re here.” Chris’s voice drew her back to the world.
    “Did you call ahead?” she asked as he offered his hand to help her out of the car.
    “No. I figured the element of surprise might be useful.”
    “Anything yet on the prints?”
    “Nothing yet, no. The lab will call if and when they have something. But there is some good news. We have an angle on one of the surveillance cameras from the cemetery that got a good shot of the guy’s face.”
    “That’s great.”
    “So we’ve got that running, too.”
    They approached the single story, squat house that Google said belonged to Bethany Fairfax. Chris pulled out his badge and prepared to knock on the door. He didn’t get the chance because a woman bustled out in a floral-print sundress and enormous sunhat.
    “Oh, excuse me,” she said.
    “Are you Ms. Bethany Fairfax?” Chris asked.
    “I am. Who are you?”
    “My name is Captain Christian Harper. I’m with the Ellesworth police department. I was hoping I could speak with you for a few minutes about your niece and nephew.”
    Bethany took a step back into her front hall. “My niece and nephew died twenty years ago.”
    “I’m afraid that’s not true. Your niece, Paige, was recently murdered. Please, it’s just a few questions.”
    Bethany didn’t look willing to give in until Kalina made a show of pressing a hand to her belly and grimacing. The older woman gave a sympathetic look and waved them inside.
    “Thank you,” Chris whispered just loud enough for Kalina to hear.
    “Bet you’re glad you brought me along,” Kalina replied.
    Bethany led them to a small living room cluttered with second-hand furniture and Tiffany lamps. It wasn’t the set up Kalina had expected for a woman from a wealthy family. She eased herself onto the loveseat positioned beneath the mantle and Chris settled in a recliner next to her. Bethany paced back and forth in front of them for a few minutes before finally sitting on a wooden stool, setting her hat on the low coffee table between them.
    “Thank you,” Kalina said, indicating the seat.
    “Sure. When are you due?”
    “A few weeks.” She looked around the room as best she could and caught a photo of Bethany and a young man who looked vaguely familiar. “Do you have children?”
    “A son. Logan. He’s grown up now and moved out.”
    “Ms. Fairfax, I know this news must be a shock for you but I really need your help,” Chris interrupted.
    Bethany smoothed out the hem of her dress and twisted her fingers into the fabric. “I’m not sure how much help I’ll be, but OK.”
    “What do you know about what happened to your niece and nephew?”
    “They went out on the family boat and never came home.”
    “Do you happen to have anything that belonged to Paige as a child? A lock of hair or a toothbrush for when she stayed over?”
    “Why? I thought you said she was dead.”
    “The fingerprints match but we want to be absolutely sure.”
    “I don’t. I’m sorry. They never really stayed over here. Abigail, my sister, didn’t like them being away from home.”
    That seemed odd to Kalina, given how much the Fischers seemed to travel and leave their children in Lois Hendrix’s care. But she said nothing. She caught Bethany’s gaze flit to a photo of Logan as a teenager. He was sandy-haired and suntanned with a broad grin. Still, she couldn’t shake the familiar feeling. Much