Real Murder (Lovers in Crime Mystery Book 2) by Lauren Carr

Mike’s body … maybe you can remember more details about the time leading up to his disappearance to help us catch whoever killed him.”
    Her face went blank. Eying Joshua, she eased down onto the recliner. “So it wasn’t an accident?”
    Slowly, he shook his head. “I’m sorry. No, he was murdered.”
    She stared at him in silence. Her face was devoid of expression. Her eyes were searching as if she didn’t know what to say.
    The only sound in the room was the ticking of the big cuckoo clock on the wall.
    Finally, Joshua spoke. “Mrs. Gardner, I need to ask you a question.”
    “I don’t know who would have wanted to hurt Mike,” she said with a shake of her head.
    “I was the last one to see Mike alive except for his killer,” he reminded her. “He told me that he was investigating the murder of a prostitute—”
    A flash of anger lurked beneath the surface when she said, “You told me that already and I told you long ago that I have no idea what he could have been talking about. Have you talked to Belle?”
    “Yes, she doesn’t—”
    “She was married to Mike. If anyone knew what types of cases he was investigating on his own and had gotten into, she does.” Cynthia’s tone was bitter. “If she was a loyal wife,” she added under her breath, “she would have kept on top of that type of stuff.”
    Joshua pounced on her anger directed toward her daughter-in-law. “Was Belle less than loyal?”
    “She only waited the minimum amount of time before having Mike declared dead so that she could marry her boss and move to that big house,” Cynthia said in a low tone. “She’s done everything that she could to cut us out of her  life. For years after she remarried, I tried to maintain a relationship with her. I’d call the house and she wouldn’t even speak to me. Royce told me that she said it was too painful talking to me because I reminded her of Mike.” She blinked away the tears of anger in her eyes. “Hunter is all we have left of Mike.”
    “Royce keeps a firm rein on his family, huh?” Joshua recalled how persistent he had been when they had visited Mike’s widow the night before.
    “He considered Mike beneath him,” Cynthia said. “He was just a lowly police officer. Royce is a highly regarded  scientist and executive. He wasn’t one bit pleased when Hunter got accepted to the police academy.” A hint of pride and pleasure came to her face. “He’s starting this fall.”
    “So I heard,” he said before gently taking her back to the reason for his visit. “Mrs. Gardner, someone murdered your son. If someone killed my son, I would reveal every family secret we had if it meant finding who was responsible.”
    She sat up tall with her shoulders back. Her chin jutted out when she asked, “What are you talking about, Joshua?”
    His tone was equally firm. “Was Mike adopted?”
    “How dare—”
    “I have it from a reliable source that he was,” Joshua  replied. “I also did a background check and found that you had a sister whose employment was listed as a dancer.  Ava Tucker. In nineteen seventy-six, she was murdered at a boarding house in Newell where she was living. Now this area does not have a big dancing community. There are a few clubs around that employ women who would call themselves  dancers. Was that her real profession?”
    Tears were streaming down her face when she stood up and turned away. Joshua heard her sobbing with her back to him.
    Hating himself for what he had to do, he stood up. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Gardner, but you do have to make a decision. Would you rather protect your family’s reputation or find Mike’s killer?”
    She kept her back to him. “Do you know what it’s like to be responsible for someone’s death?”
    “Yes.”
    She whirled around to face him.
    “I was an officer in the navy,” Joshua said. “I served in Desert Storm. It’s the hardest thing anyone can do, make a  decision that you know could result in people, good