d5e426eccb138e04dab909926b2752c6

“He is. He owns Garibo, one of the biggest candy makers in the country.” She shared a look with her boyfriend. “I think we better take a closer look at Garibo tomorrow.”

Just then, Chase’s phone chimed and he picked it up from the coffee table. “It’s your uncle,” he said after checking the display. “Chief? What’s up?” He listened for a moment, then closed his eyes. “I’m on my way.” He disconnected with a grimace. “Your grandmother and Scarlett were caught trespassing.”

Odelia looked stunned.“Trespassing? Where?”

Chase cocked an eyebrow.“At Garibo’s.”

Chapter 21

“They tried to cut a hole through the fence, Chief,” said the security guard. He was a burly specimen, even bigger than Alec himself, and the latter was no lightweight by any stretch of the imagination.

The police chief now directed a reproachful look at his mother and her friend.

“What have you got to say for yourself, Ma?”

“We never even managed to get through the fence!” said the Chief’s mother.

“I tried filing but it didn’t work,” Scarlett explained, holding up the nail file she’d used. “And then I tried my nail clippers but they broke.” She gave the security guard a nasty glance. “And those were my best nail clippers.”

The guard shrugged his massive shoulders and walked back to his guard station to raise the barrier for a visitor.

“I can’t even begin to imagine why you would do such a thing,” said Alec as he tapped the ground with an impatient foot.

“Because this is where it all leads, Alec, can’t you see?” said his aged mother. “This is where the mystery will be solved.”

“What mystery?” he asked, mystified.

“Vicky Gardner’s disappearance, and her death twenty years later!”

“First off, I’m pretty sure that the woman we found this morning is not Vicky Gardner.”

“Says you.”

“Unless she found a miracle cure against aging it cannot possibly be her,” said the chief, pinching the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb.

“Too bad she’s dead,” said Scarlett. “Just imagine what secrets she could tell. Ooh! I know what happened! She probably found the Rosetta Stone that gives eternal youth!”

“Pretty sure the Rosetta Stone got nothing to do with eternal youth,” said the Chief. “And why did you ask me about Marcia Gardner’s license plate number earlier? You’re not going to break into her place as well, are you?”

“Marcia visited her brother,” said Vesta triumphantly, as if spilling some big secret.

“So? He’s her brother. She’s bound to visit him from time to time.”

“Yeah, but on the same day the body of Vicky turns up? Ya gotta admit, Alec—verrrry suspicious.”

He flung up his arms.“How many times do I have to tell you: it wasn’t Vicky!”

“Yeah, yeah. You keep telling yourself that.”

“If she really did discover the secret of eternal youth,” said Scarlett, “all kinds of bad people were probably after her. One of ‘em must have caught up with her and killed her.”

“So her Rosetta Stone didn’t really work?” asked Vesta.

“Yeah, that’s a conundrum,” Scarlett admitted. Then she directed a beaming smile at Alec. “You’re not going to arrest us, are you, sweetie? You can’t arrest your own mother and her best friend. What are people going to think?” And out of sheer habit, she wiggled her d?colletage, making Alec’s blood pressure spike even higher.

“Don’t do that,” said Vesta, placing a hand on her friend’s arm.

“Why not?”

“Cause he’s my son, that’s why. It’s inappropriate.”

“He’s also a man, and we’re fighting for our freedom here, Vesta, so I say anything goes.”

“It all depends whether Garibo’s owners decide to press charges or not,” said Alec, tearing his eyes away from Scarlett’s provocative jiggling. The woman was seventy-five years old but wouldn’t have looked out of place in a louche bordello.

“You told the Gardners about our innocent little excursion?” asked Vesta, horrified.

“The security guard who caught you did.” He glanced up, expecting the big boss of Garibo to turn up at any moment. It wasn’t his finest hour as a small-town cop, he had to admit. When you’re forced to arrest your own mother it’s never a fun time. And he’d been looking forward to a nice quiet evening at home with Charlene, too.

“Did you tell Charlene about the plastic surgery?” asked his mother, as if she’d read his mind, which was entirely possible.

“Yeah, about that—I don’t even understand what you’re talking about. Plastic surgery? Charlene?”

Vesta shrugged.“Someone told me that she was in Fido’s barbershop yesterday and mention was made about a complete makeover. New hair, new clothes… new face.”

“Look, Charlene is my girlfriend now, all right? So I don’t want you to go around spreading your brand of nasty gossip like you usually do.”

Vesta looked shocked, and so did Scarlett.“Nasty gossip? Me?” the old lady gasped. “I would never—”

“Ever!” Scarlett said, leaning forward with intensified jiggling.

“—never, ever, ever—”

“Never!”

“—ever say a bad word about Charlene, who’s a lovely lady.”

“Absolutely lovely!”

“—with a pretty face she’d do well to save from those plastic surgery vultures.”