Molly Dox - Annie Addison 02 - A Tangled Mess by Molly Dox Page B

answered.
    “It was hard not to hear the sirens,” the woman commented.
    “What do you think caused it?” Annie was making small talk at this point, as they had time to kill with the color, cut, and highlights.
    “Probably old electrical wiring or you know, insurance,” the woman hinted. “After that ravaging hurricane did so much damage, I’ll bet a lot of people are looking for a way out of the financial burden it left behind.”
    “You think?” Annie scrunched her nose up. She didn’t want to admit that it had crossed her mind too. An empty house rarely goes up in flames on its own. And as far as she knew, the house had been empty since summer.
    “I’m grateful we raised our house a couple of years ago. All we lost was some decking and stairs. It was ugly and expensive, but it could have been so much worse. So many people had to deal with flooding , and you know how messy that gets, mold, mildew and the sort.” Muriel clucked her tongue. “Either way, you’d think they’d be able to cut the sirens at that time of the morning. It’s not like there’s much traffic on the road.”
    “Do they have to run sirens if they are running lights? I don’t actually know the rules about that kind of stuff .” Annie quizzed.
    “I don’t know, but it was loud. They whizzed right by our street at full blare.”
    “How are your kids making out at college?” Changing the topic took them in another direction.
    “Ryan likes it more than Marissa,” she said, and then added the ins and outs of their latest news. Her twins had grown quickly and were already in college. Time flies.
    The day wrapped up soon enough, and Annie was on her way back home to check on Charlotte. Walking into her house, she was met with a note. Annie sighed. What was going on?
    I’ll be back. I need to go see my kids … and find out about Claude .
    Her kids were in California, on the other side of the country. And w ho was this Claude? Why had she never heard of him before? Annie scratched Pip on the head and dropped to the sofa.

Chapter 2
     
    Annie tried calling Charlotte’s phone, but she wasn’t answering. She sighed and reminded herself that Charlotte was a grown woman, heck, almost twice her own age, but it didn’t mean she didn’t worry about her still. They’d grown close over the time they knew each other.
    Unsettled, she decided to run to the market to grab something for dinner. Nothing in the fridge looked appealing. It’s not like she had anything in mind, and hoped perusing the grocery store would fire up an idea.
    Heading out, Pip circled at her feet, hoping to go for a ride. “I’m sorry, girl, but it’s a little warm today. I’m afraid the car would get too hot while I’m shopping. Next time,” she appeased and headed out. It had been unseasonably mild for October. She loved the warmer weather, so the nicer temperatures were a treat. If it kept up, kids would be out trick-or-treating the following week in short sleeves! The previous year, they were bundled in jackets, which covered up their little costumes. It was hit or miss when you lived near the ocean. Trick-or-treating was always interesting when there were only a few houses that were lived in year round. Usually they had a small parade and candy collecting at one of the firehouses, where the kids could have a party, but there were still diehards that did the door-to-door even if every other house was empty.
    Driving down to the only market in town, unless of course you count the ones over the causeway, Annie found a spot in the nearly empty lot and went inside. Nothing excited her, and after grabbing a few things, she figured a cheesy, sausage spaghetti would at least give her leftovers and something good to eat. She got tired of cooking the same things over and over. It’s not like she was the best of cooks, but she was bored of the staples, and if she ordered pizza one more time, she’d almost be dating the delivery man as often as she was seeing him