The Heirloom Murders Read Online Free Page A

thumb on the arm of his chair.
    “But what?”
    “I don’t know,” he admitted. “But could you maybe sound Dellyn out about Bonnie? I mean, they must have spent a little time together, right? They had to handle things after their parents died. Could you ask Dellyn if Bonnie had seemed depressed or something?”
    Chloe’s mouth twisted with distaste. “I’m not going to pry into her family life, especially right now.”
    “You’re going to see her anyway, aren’t you?” Women always did that after someone had a loss. They took over casseroles and stuff like that. Roelke’s grandma had always kept something ready in the freezer.
    “Well, sure,” Chloe said warily. “I’m going over tomorrow morning.”
    “So, just let me know if she says anything about Bonnie. Her state of mind. That’s all I’m asking.” Roelke stood, feeling clumsy. “I gotta go. Thanks for letting me come by.”
    She stood too. “Geez Louise, Roelke. You don’t have to thank me for that .”
    He placed one palm on the porch railing. It wobbled. He should come back with his toolbox. “I don’t want to assume anything. Not with … Not until you decide what you want.”
    Even in the fading light he could see color stain her cheeks. “I haven’t even agreed to see Markus, Roelke. I didn’t know he was coming to Wisconsin, and I don’t know what—if anything—I’m going to do about it. It doesn’t have anything to do with … us.”
    But there is no ‘us,’ Roelke thought. There might have been. There almost was. In fact there had been, one glorious afternoon in June. But not now.
    “Right,” he said. “We’ll stay in touch.” He thought he’d hit the right note with that. Calm. Cool. Leaving things open.
    Then he ruined his exit by putting his palms gently on her cheeks. She seemed OK with that, so he bent his head to kiss her. A real kiss, the one he’d been fantasizing about.
    At the last second, he remembered that Chloe’s Swiss ex had flown halfway around the world to find her.
    Roelke kissed Chloe’s forehead. Then he headed home.
    _____
    Chloe was still sitting in the lawn chair on her porch, thinking about Roelke, when the phone rang. It might be Libby, or her best friend Ethan—calls she’d gladly take. It might be her mom—a so-so proposition. Or it might be someone she wasn’t ready to talk to.
    Indifferent, the phone kept shrilling. Chloe put her drink down, went inside, and grabbed the receiver. “Hello?”
    “Chloe. Hello.”
    You lose, said a voice in her head. “Markus.”
    “How are you?” Markus’s diction was excellent. Only a light Suisse-Deutsch accent revealed that English was his second language.
    “Um, OK.”
    “We need to talk, Chloe. In person.”
    She felt the same spasm of panic that came every time he called. “I don’t—”
    “I’ve been in Wisconsin for a month already,” he reminded her. “I’ve already used up half of my sabbatical. Just give me a chance. I don’t want things to be this way between us.”
    Chloe watched a firefly through the glass as it climbed the living room window. Spark, dark. Spark, dark.
    “I’ll meet you anywhere,” Markus said. “Any time.”
    Chloe clenched one fist. She had to get this over with. “This Saturday morning. Eleven o’clock. Pick a place in New Glarus.”
    “You don’t need to drive over here. I’ll—”
    “Pick a place in New Glarus!” She’d rather drive an hour than allow Markus Meili to invade her own geography.
    “The New Glarus Hotel,” he said, the words breathy with relief. “They have great food. I’ll see you then.” He hung up quickly.
    Chloe replaced the receiver more slowly. Her kitten, Olympia, barreled from the shadows and pounced triumphantly on the coiled phone cord. Chloe scooped her up and pressed her cheek against the soft fur. “Oh, Olympia. I think I just did something stupid.”

It rained in the night, just enough to leave the pavement damp when Chloe parked in front of Dellyn’s