A Matter of Wife and Death (A Sibyl Potts Cozy Mystery, Book 4) by Morgana Best Page B

boarding house.
    Franklin Greer walked back to us. “I will inform all the guests that they will no longer be able to reside at this establishment. They are going to be packing up and vacating within a few hours.”
    “You can’t be serious!” Cressida’s voice was a wail. “Where will they go with no notice?”
    “To the new Bed and Breakfast that’s just opened up in town. You know of it, don’t you?”
    “Yes, I’m well aware,” Cressida growled. “You’re kicking out my guests and sending them to my biggest competitor?”
    “I’m sorry, but that’s our policy.” He did not sound at all sorry.
    Cressida’s sadness turned to anger. “You can’t close the boarding house before the investigation!” she yelled.
    “I apologize for the inconvenience,” Franklin Greer said, as he turned away.
    Cressida walked after him. “The police are investigating it as a homicide,” she said to his back.
    Franklin Greer stopped walking, and turned back to Cressida. “I understand that, but until we investigate the integrity of the building and see that proper protocols are being followed, it’s a risk we can’t take. Please evacuate your guests and allow us to conduct our inspection.” He smiled, looking like a spoiled kid who just stolen a second dessert when no one was looking. “Oh, I see there’s at least one more guest down here.”
    Greg had just appeared. “Hey guys, what’s up?” he said, as he walked over to us.
    Franklin Greer squinted at him. “Good afternoon, my name is Franklin Greer. I’m from the Little Tatterford and Shire Council. We’re here investigating some possible issues with the building. If you’re a guest, we need to ask that you leave the premises as soon as possible, for safety reasons. That is, unless you are a member of Ms. Upthorpe’s family. Are you?”
    “No,” Greg said. He was clearly unsure of how to respond to the situation.
    “Mr. Greer, Greg is a close friend of mine,” Cressida said.
    I watched Greg’s eyes flicker as he caught on to what was happening. “Yes, I’m just in town briefly and needed a place to stay. Cressida and I go way back and she allowed me to stay in a room as a family guest. I haven’t paid her a cent.”
    “That means he’s not a customer or guest under business policy,” Cressida elaborated.
    Franklin Greer tilted his head upward. “All right, I think we’re going to schedule a thorough inspection very soon. I’ll call you later with the exact time and date.”
    “I thought you were going to do that right now?”
    “No, we need to look over a few things and give those guests time to vacate the rooms. We will be in touch.”

Chapter 16 .
     
    I clipped the leash onto Sandy’s collar, and stepped out the door, to see Mr. Buttons walking to my front door, holding Tiny, Blake’s Chihuahua.
    “What are you doing with Tiny?” I blurted.
    “I was just on my way down here to walk Sandy with you, when Blake drove up. He said he was on his way to see if you’d walk Tiny today,” he said, “but he saw me, so he gave me Tiny and took off. He wants us to mind him for the day. He said he was in a hurry.”
    More like in a hurry to avoid me, I thought. Blake’s sure been acting strange lately. He was probably overjoyed to see Mr. Buttons and thus avoid having to ask me to walk Tiny.
    I shrugged. “Oh well, we might as well walk at the dog park today,” I said. “Can you hold Sandy while I go back inside to get my car keys?”
    My feeling of being sorry for myself subsided somewhat when we reached the dog park. Sandy and Tiny both loved the dog park, with all the interesting smells of the kangaroos and rabbits.
    Lately, I had been in the habit of keeping Sandy on her leash, even though it was a council-designated off-leash area, as we had both been threatened by an off-leash pig dog only weeks earlier. While I thought neither of us looked like wild pigs, this dog obviously had thought we looked like prey, and I’d had some scary