High Stakes, a Hetty Fox Short: a Hetty Fox Short Story (Hetty Fox Cozy Mysteries Book 3) Read Online Free Page B

shirt, on one level he looked distinguished and confident and smug  — rather like a well-aging film star. But from my perspective, he merely looked mean and deadly.
    “Mrs. Langdon, right?” he asked.
    “Mrs. Fox, actually,” I replied. “But you’re half right. Megan Langdon’s my daughter.”
    “Charming woman.”
    “Thank you.”
    “ I hope you found the gerbil?”
    At least he remembered one thing about me . “Indeed, we did. Thank you for asking,” I said.
    “What can I do for you now, then?”
    “I’m collecting donations for the library. As the high school principal, I’m sure that must be a cause dear to your heart.”
    “Oh, indeed,” he said beaming. “Won’t you come in? I’ll write you a check.”
    I stepped inside the entryway, which contained a massive carved staircase leading to the second floor. Potter stepped forward, leading me into the front parlor which was stuffed full of Victorian treasures: two walnut tables, several balloon-back chairs, a lovely settee upholstered in red velvet. Along the near wall, a magnificent walnut secretary stretched skyward, its drawers all sporting small, white-porcelain knobs.
    Potter crossed to the unit, pulled forth a drawer, produced a checkbook. Leaning over the writing surface, he asked to whom he should write the check. I glanced down at my fact sheet, which I held in a white-knuckled grip before me. I licked my lips. “It says to make checks out to the Friends of the Library.”
    He chuckled, “Of course.”
    A woman came into the room. She had blonde hair, and a broad smile, and was not very tall. “Lester, where are your manners?” She glanced at me. “Please, won’t you sit down? Would you like some coffee? I just made a fresh batch. I’m Sadie Potter, by the way.” She stuck out her hand. I shook it.
    “I’m Hetty Fox,” I explained. “I’m collecting donations on behalf of the library.”
    “How wonderful of you.”
    “Thank you, and as for the coffee, I’m fine. But, I was wondering, could I use your washroom?”
    I’d decided to make my report to Oberton valid, I had to establish more than just being inside the house. I needed Potter to actually believe I’d seen whatever was turned up here. Asking to use the washroom was the only excuse I could come up with.
    Sadie smiled at me. “Yes, of course. You’re more than welcome to use our facilities. Unfortunately our powder room down here is out of commission. You’ll have to go upstairs.”
    Perfect.
    She led me back to the entryway and pointed me up the stairway. “Second door on your left,” she chirped.
    I scurried up the staircase and closed myself into the bathroom. I figured I only had to be able to claim I’d searched the house. With Andrew doing his duty, I did not actually have to do it. A fact for which I was tons grateful. Still, since I was here.... I opened the cabinet under the sink. Counted the number of toilet rolls left. Checked the cleaning supplies. Closed the door. There was a stack of towels to my right. I lifted one after another, searching between them to check for a gun. Found nothing. Opened the cabinet over the sink. Noted the kinds of prescriptions they had. Then, finally, content I’d given myself sufficient time, I flushed, washed, and departed.
    Sadie was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairway. “This is the check,” she said, shoving it forward.
    “Thanks for the loan of your washroom. I think all this excitement this morning caught up with me.”
    She blinked. “What excitement?”
    “The body. I found it.”
    “Body?”
    “I found a corpse hidden under an evergreen one door down from your house. You didn’t know?”
    She looked stunned. “No. I drove our youngest daughter back to college yesterday. I only returned home late this morning.”
    Lucky her. How I wished I could make a similar claim.
     
    ***
     
    The county seat of Weaver County is about a twenty minute drive from Hendricksville, which isn’t all that long a