Secret Keepers and Skinny Shadows: Lee and Miranda by Mary A Russell Page A

private person and lived alone for reasons she never shared with him, but he was sure she shared them with Joan.
    To live alone for such a long time she must enjoy the solitude. Of course, he didn’t know the real role Adrian played in Miranda’s life either. He was still trying to piece that together. Maybe he was a bodyguard pretending to be a housekeeper. After all, who ever heard of a house-carl? Maybe he was her lover to be available at her beck and call, then he thought how silly that sounded, he shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts when the silence was broken.
    “Lee, is there anything I can get for you before I leave?”
    “Nothing I can think of, but thanks anyway, Adrian.” Lee watched him walk out the same door Miranda used.
    Miranda, lives the life of a single lady with a heart that’s locked up and refuses to empty itself of its secrets and loneliness. He thought maybe he was the only one she didn’t open up to. Keeping him at arm’s length with a rough persona made him wonder if she was hiding some deep, dark secret. For someone he has known for so many years there were many things he didn’t know about her.
    Lee knew from experience that living alone wasn’t a formula for success. Every time he looked in the mirror he could see the gray hair spreading from his temples, weaving paths to the front of his head, the deep crow’s feet around his eyes and mouth, all signs of aging beyond his years.
    After three years his heart had started to wither because it didn’t answer to the beat of another. Looking back on everything that had happened he was beginning to wonder if his heart ever answered to the beat of another person. He now thinks his heart was answering to the beat of his successful career at the publishing house? It was hard for him to admit he didn’t take the time to get to know the real Joan.
    Miranda seemed to be warming up a little from the way he remembered her. She was still a dazzling beauty. No wonder Adrian stayed with her. She was his eye candy.
    He turned around to move back into the kitchen when his eyes stopped on a large framed picture hanging on the wall above the sofa. It was of Joan and Miranda, taken shortly before Joan passed away. Lee stared at it for a couple of minutes. He was reminded of Joan’s soft, kind and gentle nature. It was in her eyes. He held his head between his hands while thinking what a jerk he had been.
    He retrieved his glass of juice from the kitchen, then went back into the living room, found a comfortable spot on the sofa, picked up the notes and started to read.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
                       CHAPTER 15
    Present Day
     
    L ee finished the notes when he heard the door opening. Miranda walked in, he watched her stroll to the kitchen and drop her keys and purse on the countertop.
    “Have you finished reading?”
    Lee stood and stretched, rocked back and forth on his heels. “Reading always makes me sleepy. I’m not a speed reader. I did finish your notes you’re right—I’m hooked. I know a lot of time has passed since this took place but we might get lucky and find someone who remembers this lady as well as the murder.”
    By this time Miranda was in the living room standing in front of him. He found it hard to concentrate on what she was saying. She was so beautiful.
    “I’ve done some of my own digging around on the computer,” Miranda said. “Lilly did spend a lot of time in the mental institution, but I don’t know if it was for protection from George or sickness. Several months after the murder Lilly was in and out of the hospital.”
    Lee stared into her brown green eyes, listening to her soft voice. “Come on Miranda let’s take ride and get a drink.”
    While Lee drove he peppered Miranda with questions.
    “What did you find out about George?”
    Miranda shifted in her seat to face him. “Well, he was hard to track down. He was twenty years older than Lilly. Short and stocky, from