Murder for Millions (Sky High Pies Cozy Mysteries Book 7) by Mary Maxwell Page A

continued. “At first, Dina
and Tyler thought they were bluffing because it sounded way too far-fetched and
convoluted. But they made a few calls this morning to the PD in Sacramento and Aspen.
Turns out Velma and Carter were telling the truth.”
    “About what?”
    “Well, according to Carter, he got
a call from Boris Hertel out of the blue one day about three—”
    “Hang on a sec,” I interrupted.
“How does Boris know Carter? There’s what—a twenty year age difference?”
    The corners of Trent’s mouth
lifted. “I thought you were going to be patient and listen?”
    “Oh, right. I’m sorry.”
    He laughed softly. “It’s okay,
Katie. I had the very same reaction. But it’s actually pretty simple. Carter Devane
and Boris Hertel’s son are actually friends of Jacob Lowry, the man we found
murdered last night. Kevin and Jacob are from here, and they met Carter when
they went to college in California. Even though he told his parents when he
first left Colorado that he’d never be back, Jacob visited Crescent Creek
between semesters and over the summers. In fact, even though he settled in California
after school, he bought a piece of land on Old Sunshine Trail and built a
vacation place for his family a few years ago.”
    “Sounds like he had some bucks,” I
said.
    Trent smiled. “He was a
multi-millionaire,” he said. “After graduating from college, a tech company in California
hired him as one of the company’s first employees. When the company went
public, Jacob zoomed from living a paycheck-to-paycheck existence to incredible
wealth. He was chief marketing officer for several years until he eventually
left the company to spend more time with his wife and kids. That’s when he moved
his family to Colorado.”
    I nodded. “And how does Velma know
Carter, Kevin and Jacob?”
    Trent took a sip of his coffee. “All
roads lead to Crescent Creek, Katie.”
    “Don’t tell the people in Italy.
They’ve been under the impression for the past two thousand years or so that all
roads take you to Rome.”
    “Well, obviously, Kevin and Jacob
are from here,” he began. “And so is Velma.”
    “Really? I’ve never heard their
names before.”
    “I’m not surprised. You were in Chicago
for a long time, and they’re all about ten or eleven years older than us.”
    “Velma’s forty?” I asked. “She
looks amazing!”
    After more coffee, Trent rolled his
eyes. “She’s had so much work done that she’s like a Dairy Queen spoon wearing
makeup and a wig.”
    “I’m not sure what that’s supposed
to mean.”
    His eyes looped around again. “Cosmetic
surgery, Katie. Even though she’s only forty-one, Velma’s been under the knife
more times than a stick of butter at a pancake breakfast.”
    I smirked. “Aren’t you funny?”
    “Funny looking maybe.”
    “Should we take a vote?”
    “Right now?” he said with a
sideways grin. “It’s just you and me, Katie. That’d be a landslide victory with
no questions asked.”
    I waited.
    “No barrel full of monkeys?” he
asked sheepishly. “No laughs and giggles?”
    “Only on the inside,” I said after
a long pause. “Can we get back to the conversation now?”
    “Sure. Where were we?”
    “Kevin, Jacob and Velma are all
from here,” I said. “And they met Carter—where? Or did one person meet him and
then introduce the others?”
    Trent shook his head. “Berkeley.
The three guys all went there for undergrad degrees. They shared a house while
they were in college.” He paused and smiled. “Wait a sec. The tree amigos lived
together, but Kevin dropped out after their sophomore year and continued rooming
with the other two chuckleheads.”
    “And Velma?”
    He smiled. “Didn’t we already cover
her?”
    “You made a couple of cracks about
plastic surgery,” I said. “But we didn’t go over how she fell in with the others.”
    “That’s an easy one. Kevin and
Jacob kept in touch with her after they all left Colorado. During the