LITMIR.BIZ

      Chapter 5

      “Edward Cardell.” Treetie frowned and shot a quick glance at Roxy and then looked back at Steve. She drew a deep, reluctant sigh. “She didn’t want the girls to know about him.”

      “What about him?” Roxy asked, her head beginning to spin.

      “They were dating. They’ve been dating for quite some time.”

      The air whooshed out of Roxy. Aunt Liz dating? She was positively stunned by the news. The very idea was as alien as a vegan in a meatpacking plant.

      “Edward Cardell. Who exactly is he, and what do you know about him?” Steve asked, taking the words right out of Roxy’s mouth.

      “Oh, dear.” Treetie looked worriedly at Roxy and then at Steve. “I told Liz she should have mentioned him to the girls a while ago, but she insisted that she wanted to keep things quiet for the time being. I think she was enjoying having a little secret all her own. Edward lives here in town. He’s a very nice gentleman, retired from the post office a couple of years ago. He’s been a widow for about three years, and he and Liz met one night at bingo about a year ago and hit it off.”

      “Aunt Liz has been dating for a year?” Roxy wondered what other secrets her aunt might have had.

      “Were Liz and Edward having any problems?”

      Treetie frowned. “Not any real problems. The only issue was that Edward thought it was past time for Liz to come clean about him with the girls. He was ready to be a part of the entire family and was beginning to pressure her a bit to make their relationship more public.”

      “And did that upset her?” Steve asked.

      “No.” Treetie smiled. “Liz is a strong-willed woman, and there was really no question that she’d tell the girls only when she was good and ready. Edward knew that, and he’d push a little and she’d push back, but they never really fought about it. They’re wonderfully suited to each other.”

      “Why would she want to keep him a secret?” Roxy asked, still reeling with the shock.

      “She never wanted you girls to believe that anything or anyone came before you.”

      Roxy’s heart squeezed tight. “But we’re all grown-up now. We’d be delighted if we knew that Aunt Liz had found somebody who made her happy. She deserved to have a life of her own after all the years she gave to us.”

      Treetie smiled at her. “You know Liz—to her you all were always going to be her baby girls.”

      The numbness that had washed over Roxy at various times since her aunt’s vanishing now overwhelmed her as Steve continued to question Treetie.

      Was it possible that Aunt Liz was someplace with this Edward Cardell? That perhaps he had swept her away somewhere for a romantic weekend without her knowing his plans? Maybe she’d been so flustered by the unexpected event that she’d left her purse and forgotten about delivering the usual items to the restaurant.

      There was a certain relief in that thought, and yet she couldn’t imagine Liz not insisting that before they go anywhere she take care of her duty in delivering the baked goods to Roxy for the day.

      But look what men managed to do to your mother, a little voice whispered in the back of her head. Men and drugs had ruined Ramona’s life. Men often caused women to make bad choices. Wasn’t it possible Aunt Liz was so crazy in love that she’d been talked into being whisked away without any thought of Roxy or responsibilities?

      By the time she and Steve got back in the car, the numbness that had overtaken Roxy had transformed to an excitement mixed with hopeful possibility. “We need to find this Edward Cardell,” she said as Steve started the car. “Maybe he and Aunt Liz are together somewhere.”

      “Maybe,” Steve replied. “But the first thing we’re doing is heading back to the station. I want to check in with Frank and see if he’s managed to get a location on your mother or any information from Liz’s cell phone, and it’s time for this partnership to end.”

      “What are you talking about?” Roxy asked. “We have a lead, Edward Cardell, and we should follow up on it immediately.”

      “We aren’t doing anything, Roxy. I’m going to take you back to your car, and you need to get back to work at the Dollhouse or go talk to your sisters, or do whatever you want to do, but you aren’t coming with me.”

      “Are you worried that being seen with me might make one of your other girlfriends mad?” she asked.

      “Knock it off with the girlfriend thing, Roxy. It’s getting old. I’m doing my job, and it isn’t professional or right for you to be with me while I’m conducting an investigation.”

      “It’s exactly right for me to be with you while you’re interviewing my aunt’s friends and acquaintances. If I hadn’t been here, I wouldn’t have known that Aunt Liz was seeing somebody.” A frantic feeling rose up inside Roxy. She had to be a part of this. She needed to be a part of it.

      “A fact she obviously didn’t want you to know,” he returned.

      Roxy chewed her thumbnail thoughtfully and then dropped her hand to her lap. “There’s only one reason why Aunt Liz would have kept her relationship with this Edward a secret, and that would have been because she thought we wouldn’t approve of him. Which means Edward probably wasn’t right for her. For all we know, he’s a serial killer or a sexual deviant.”

      Steve shot her a quick glance, one of his dark blond eyebrows lifting. “Now you’re a matchmaker who knows what’s best for your aunt and an assassinator of character without even meeting this Edward?” he asked sarcastically.

      “It’s the only thing that makes sense,” she countered.

      “Maybe she just didn’t want to introduce him to you because she was afraid you’d be rude, judgmental and a control freak. She was probably afraid you’d scare him off.”

      She drew in a sharp breath as he pulled his car to a halt in front of the police station. “And you’re a jerk, just like I always thought you were.” She got out of the car and slammed the door.

      “Where are you going?” he asked as she headed for the station house door.

      “I’m going to find out if your partner Frank has found out where my mother is.” She blew through the front door with Steve at her heels.

      The cop at the counter buzzed them through, and she was grateful to see Frank Delaney at his desk. He started to rise when he saw her, but she quickly motioned him back down.

      Steve stood next to her, and she realized she’d managed to tick him off. Not that she cared; he’d ticked her off, as well. First by telling her he was dropping her off here, and second by telling her that she was rude and judgmental.

      “Have you located my mother?” she asked Frank, who immediately cast his blue eyes to Steve as if asking his permission to give her any information.

      After getting a nod from Steve, Frank looked back at her and shook his head. “I haven’t been able to find out anything. Apparently she doesn’t have a vehicle

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