Molly Dox - Annie Addison 02 - A Tangled Mess Read Online Free

jumped up and tossed a few dollars on the table to cover his lunch. “I’m sorry about the accident. This was a bad idea.”
    The man shrugged. His life would be in Florida soon anyway. Once he sold the soon empty lot, he’d take his money and start a new life. He’d grown tired of New Jersey’s high taxes anyway.

Chapter 5
     
    When Charlotte finally answered her phone, she calmed Annie down. She’d been talking so fast, and so high-pitched by that point, she needed to convince her she was really okay. “I’ll fill you in when I get home. I’ll be home over the weekend. I just needed to do a few things.”
    “Charlotte, why are you dodging my questions? Is everything okay?” Annie was worried about her friend.
    “It’s fine. I think I over reacted. It was right next to my house. I worried over nothing.” She tried to appease the woman.
    “Your neighbor is in town. We had a little fender bender and I recognized his name.” She’d never formally met the man before.
    “Why is Gordon in town?”
    “I think they’re questioning him, since it’s been ruled an arson. Maybe over insurance…” Annie answered.
    “Gordon was too cheap to spring for good insurance. He always bragged about how he cut corners with everything. He wasn’t a great neighbor, but I always counted on him leaving once summer was over. I knew I had a bunch of months without him there. Besides, he has this creepy vibe. He was always staring at people walking by, especially younger women walking down the street to get to the beach.”
    “Yeah, I’ve got a story for you when you get home. Hurry back, I miss you! How are the kids?” Annie asked.
    Charlotte clucked. “Pushy as ever! They are convinced it’s a sign I should move out there. I like the east coast better. I’ll be back soon. I’ve got my freedom in New Jersey. If I give in and move to California, they’ll tuck me into an old age home and never look back. Old age, my foot. Sixties. Don’t people realize it’s not as old as it used to be? I’ve got a good twenty years left in me, and I don’t plan on spending it all at Bingo. Not that I don’t like Bingo, but you know what I mean.”
    Annie laughed, grateful her friend was okay. “Hurry home, and oh yeah, who is Claude?”
    “It’s a long story. I’ll fill you in later.” She said her good-byes and hung up the phone.
    ***
    When the second house caught fire, people were talking. Fires were a rare occurrence on the island, unless it was some overzealous barbecue that was too enthusiastic with their grilling. So for two houses to go up in flames, down to their core and foundation within two weeks of each other, it became the talk of the town. People were paying closer attention. Again, a vacant house, thankfully, meaning that the summer renters were gone and nobody was inside to get hurt. How does a vacant house to up in flames, when nobody is around it? Faulty wiring was ruled out of the first house, and people were pretty sure it would be ruled out in this one too. It smelled of arson again, but nobody would know for certain until they started the investigation.
    Somebody was lighting fires and causing way more damage tha n people could afford to have. What if they struck again?
    Annie turned as the bell jingled on her shop door. “Charlotte!” She ran to greet her friend, glad to have her home again.
    “I’ve missed you too. Hey, what’s this I hear there was another fire?” Annie only had one appointment left. They decided they’d grab a bite to eat when Annie finished for the day and catch up. Charlotte promised to fill in the missing details, if Annie promised to fill her in on everything she learned about the fires so far.
    “I’ll be out of here in the next hour. I have one quick cut left to do, and he should be here soon.” She glanced at her watch.
    “Great, I’ll meet you over at Uncle Buck’s.” She waved to her friend and headed out the door.
    When the salt and pepper haired man walked into