Read Tied With a Bow and No Place to Go (Tizzy/Ridge Trilogy Book 3) for Free Online Page A

He
didn’t want to dismiss the grieving man abruptly. “Does Jay Roy have children?”
    “No. Couldn’t have any. Mumps dropped on him when he was a
teenager.”
    “Any siblings?”
    “Two brothers and a sister.”
    “I’ll need their names and contact information.”
    Mr. Hobbs stiffened and his faced reddened. “They love—loved
Jay Roy.”
    “Yes sir, but it’s important I speak with each of them.
Maybe he talked to them concerning personal issues.”
    Merlin relaxed against the chair. “Oh, sure. I’m sorry.”
    “Would your son confide in your wife?”
    “She’s in the nursing home with the early stages of
Alzheimer’s. Even if Jay Roy shared with her, chances are she won’t remember
it.”
    “I see.” Ridge tore a sheet of paper from his notebook and
handed it to the old man along with a pen. “Please list everyone we discussed.
I’ll be back in a minute.” Once inside the house, Ted handed Ridge a pair of
gloves and motioned for him to follow.
    They entered a small office. “Take a look at this,” Ted said
and opened an antique wardrobe. Colored ribbons hung on rows of twine stretched
across the inside of each door.
    Ridge pulled the gloves on and ran one of the ribbons
through his fingers. “What are these?”
    “I’m not sure, but they’re the same type and length as the
bow I removed from his penis.”
    “Damn, there are a lot of them.”
    “Yeah? Check this out.” Ted lifted a shoe box from a bedside
table. “One of my guys found this in that file cabinet,” he said, pointing to
the corner.
    Ridge removed the lid and his mouth fell open. “Narrow,
satin. Aren’t these the kind you find tied to those small flower arrangements?”
    “Bud vases?”
    “Yeah. But you think at some point these were around his…”
Ridge’s voice trailed off.
    “Yep.”
    “My God. There must be thousands here.”
    Ted shrugged. “The guy’s fifty-four, so he’s had years to
collect them.”
    Ridge rubbed his neck and thought of his wife. Hell, if I
kept a ribbon each time, I’d have three today. “I guess spread out over
that much time, there would be a big number. Find anything else of interest?”
    “Quite a few empty whiskey bottles, but no sign of drugs or
paraphernalia. I bagged his prescription meds. Other than a current script for
Viagra, everything else was older. Sinus, pain, antibiotic. We’ll test them to
make sure the bottle matches the contents, but first impression tells me, he
was in decent health.”
    “Thanks Ted. I’m going to head back into town and check with
Pattiecake about the strawberries. If she can give me a name, I may wrap this
case up in a hurry.”
    Ted snorted a laugh. “As long as you’ve been in this
business, you still manage to be optimistic.”
    “Hey, I can always dream.”
    “Good luck with that.”
    Ridge rejoined Merlin on the porch and accepted the paper
and pen from the man. “Did you come up with more?”
    “I added the people we deal with in the chicken trade. I
don’t imagine any of them will be able to help you, but that’s all I could
think of. We have suitable working relationships. Except for one bad year,
we’ve always met our deadlines.”
    “Um… Mr. Hobbs, in Jay Roy’s office, there’s a wardrobe with
colored ribbons hanging inside the doors. Do you know what they mean?”
    Merlin shook his head. “I don’t have any idea, but my
daughter owns the local flower shop. She might be able to answer that. If we’re
done with the questions, I need to go. It takes forty-five days to get the
chickens ready for shipping and we’re at day thirty-nine, so I’ve got things to
do.”
    “Yes sir, I understand. Thank you for your time. I’ll be in
touch.”
    The old man stepped off the porch, put his fingers to his
mouth, whistled, then shouted. “J-LO. JAY-Z. COME ON NOW!” He turned back to
Ridge. “Jay Roy’s dogs. I best put them up before I head to the chicken
houses.”
    Ridge stifled a laugh. Tizzy will love those dog