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Melly swallowed again. “Of course. I don’t believe I have any appetite for cake myself.”
“Take your wine to the backyard.” Grannie pushed back her chair and rose. She latched onto her walker and started toward the living room. “I want to watch my shows on TV. Last week, that sweet young detective was left in a bind. A cliffhanger, they call it. Don’t they realize that an old person like me might not live long enough to find out what happens next?” She left the dining room.
“I’ll clear the table.” Melly shot me a shocked look. “You can take our wine outside if you want, and I’ll join you.”
She looked so upset. How could I make this better for her? “I’ll help.”
It didn’t take long to put the leftovers away and place the dishes in the dishwasher.
Outside, we settled on lounge chairs with only a murky light above the back door shedding beams across the well-maintained lawn. Grannie had chairs big enough for an orc. Ice lords weren’t quite as large, but I appreciated furniture I could comfortably sit in, those that let me put my legs up without them sticking off the end.
We drank at least half our wine and watched the fireflies dance through the darkness before I finally spoke. “Your grandmother is a fountain of information.”
“I’m still stunned,” Melly said. “I can’t believe it. Actually, I can, but you know what I mean. Grannie dating Walter. Him giving her a great deal on the stock in his company. And Carla! She really was a gold digger all this time.”
“And obviously, a good actress.”
“She has a motive for framing Grannie.”
“You’re right.” I’d do some research later, but now we had two solid suspects, Carla and Alfred. “Spite can make people do horrible things.”
15
MELLY
We finished the wine, speculating about what Grannie told us, but we didn’t come up with anything new.
“After I finished the selkie case today, I did some more research into Alfred and Sue,” Elrik said softly.
I doubted Grannie or anyone else was listening in. Her neighbors on one side were as old as her and went to bed early, and the ones on the opposite side had gone to Europe for the summer. Grannie was absorbed in her show.
“What did you discover?” Turning in my chair, I faced him. The moon had risen, and a billion stars shone down from the clear sky, the light making his blue skin glow in a magical way.
“Remember the insurance paperwork he had her sign?” he said. “I found the company online. They’re local, and they manage all sorts of policies for the residents of Mystic Harbor and the surrounding community.”
“Alfred urged her to sign the paperwork making him her beneficiary of a life insurance policy.”
“Which means he’s the only one who’ll inherit.”
“I haven’t asked Grannie about their marriage yet. She was having physical therapy when I got here to make dinner, and she was tired after they were through. I told her to nap until it was closer to dinnertime.”
“Maybe you’ll have the chance tomorrow.”
I was sure I would. I doubted I’d keep Creature Cones open if we had no customers. “The fact that Sue and Alfred are married is shocking, although I’ll point out that it’s relative to the stunning news Grannie just shared. But I don’t see how their marriage or her naming him her beneficiary relates to someone poisoning Grannie’s punch.”
“From what I could gather by snooping in the town’s private forum, Sue’s policy could be worth millions.”
“What?” I blinked up at him. “She was a kindergarten teacher before she retired. I wish they paid teachers more, but they don’t. How could she have saved that much?”
“If she was frugal and consistently paid in for years, it’s possible. Some of those policies will grow quickly if they’re handled correctly.”
“You discovered this on the Mystic Harbor forum? Although, it’s private. I pretty much had to give a blood sample to be allowed access. I forget to go there most of the time, though I’ll occasionally pop in to offer a discount coupon. I like to do things like that for the locals.”
“It’s a great marketing technique.”
“Exactly. One person has the coupon and everyone else comes with them and pays full price. I started the business because I love ice cream and there wasn’t a shop in town. When my dad died, we discovered he’d named me his heir.” I held up my hand and released a rueful laugh. “Don’t get too excited. He didn’t have much. Grannie had Hazel invest my small inheritance.”
“I’m still surprised she was a stockbroker, though I don’t know why.”
