Heather Webber - Digging Up Trouble

“Yes, it is.”

“Will you sue me?” I asked, my voice low.

She took a step back, out of range of my hand, which was itching to smack her.

She tossed her long hair over her shoulder. She looked about my age, maybe a little older. “Besides, the work has been paid for. You’ve been paid. It’s only right you finish the job.”

I didn’t feel like explaining that I couldn’t finish the job until I had the homeowner’s permission. And judging by Greta’s current state, I didn’t think that was going to happen anytime soon.

A deep masculine voice said, “That’s not going to happen.

At least not today.”

Digging Up Trouble

51

My stomach muscles clenched. I turned to find Kevin standing there, a speculative glint in his green eyes.

“What’s with you and dead bodies?” he asked.

Meredith gasped. “You mean there’s been more than one?”

I fisted my hands and tucked them under my armpits so I wouldn’t deck Little Miss Sunshine and Light.

“None of them were my fault,” I said, feeling defensive, especially when Meredith gasped again.

“That remains to be determined.”

Uh-oh. “What are you doing here?” I asked. Kevin was a homicide detective. He, well, detected homicides. Which this wasn’t. This was a heart attack.

“Davis called about a suspicious death.”

“It’s not suspicious. He had a heart attack.”

“Is it considered a heart attack if the victim is shocked to death?” Meredith piped in. “Because Russ Grabinsky was shocked by his backyard. Keeled right over when he saw it.”

I backed up a step so I wouldn’t kick her. “It wasn’t right over,” I argued. “He went inside and everything before he came back out—”

“And keeled over,” Meredith said.

“Who are you?” Kevin asked.

“Meredith Adams. I’m the vice president of the Fallow Falls Homeowners Association.”

Kevin pulled out his notebook. I didn’t know why. He never actually wrote anything down. He’d had that same notebook for four years. “And you knew the victim?”

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Ginger Ho, er, Barlow coming up the slope along the side of the house. She stopped to look at the spot where Russ Grabinsky had died.

Great. My day just kept getting better and better.

Meredith’s expression soured. “Everyone knew Russ.”

“Everyone hated Russ,” I supplied.

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Heather Webber

Both of them looked at me. “Oh, come on,” I said. “One guy told me he was glad Russ was dead.”

Kevin’s eyebrow jumped. “I’ll need that name.”

“I don’t know it. Though I did see him speak to Kate Hathaway, the Fallow Falls Homeowners Association president, before he left. Tall guy, Nordic looking, blond, amazing cheekbones, light blue eyes.”

Kevin’s other eyebrow dipped. “Amazing cheekbones?”

“Well, it’s hard not to notice them.”

“Do you think you should be noticing them? What would your Ken doll think?”

Kevin had issues with Bobby, obviously. Issues he had no right to whatsoever. I gritted my teeth, spoke softly through them. “Probably the same thing Ginger would think if she knew you kissed me a month ago.”

Now his eyebrows waggled. “Still thinking about that, are you?”

Argh!

“Do you two know each other?” Meredith asked, confusion creasing the faint wrinkles on her forehead and pulling down the corners of her mouth.

“She’s my wife,” Kevin said.

“Almost ex,” I pointed out.

The divorce would be final in nine days.

Nine days.

My stomach hurt.

“Isn’t this a conflict of interest?” Meredith asked.

“No,” Kevin and I both said at once.

“Who’s Kate Hathaway?” he asked.

I filled him in.

“And the Nordic guy is her husband Dale.” Color rose up Meredith’s neck. “And he does have amazing cheekbones.”

I shot Kevin an I-told-you-so look.

Digging Up Trouble

53

He ignored it. “Did Dale and Russ Grabinsky get along?”

Meredith fidgeted. “I don’t like to talk.”

Right.

“This is an official investigation,” Kevin told her. “You have to talk.”

It seemed to me all Meredith wanted was a little prodding.

“Well, no. They didn’t get along. They hated each other.”

“Why?”

“It’s complicated. The Hathaways live there,” she said, pointing right next door to the house with the wrought-iron fence and fountain grasses. “There’s always been animosity between them. The Hathaways wanted to move about two years ago and quickly found out that not only had their house depreciated in value because of the Grabinskys’ yard, but also no one would buy it because of the eyesore. It was on the market for almost ten months. Finally they gave up and formed the homeowners’ association.”

Ah. To get the Grabinskys to comply.

“Russ was mad that Greta had joined the association, but I think she really wanted the yard done and thought that would spur him to do it.”

“Why didn’t Russ just fix the yard?” I asked.

Meredith shrugged. “He was a jerk. I don’t even know why Greta stayed with him. Anyway, Russ refused to fix the yard or pay the association dues.”

“What’d the association do?” Kevin asked.

“Started fining him. Two hundred dollars a day. Plus legal fees.”

Two hundred dollars a day? My mouth dropped open.

“The association gave them two months to fix the yard and pay the back dues.”

I couldn’t believe the power a homeowners’ association, essentially a group of neighbors, had. “Or?”

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Heather Webber

“A lien would be taken on the house. It would be foreclosed upon after that and sold at auction to pay off debts.”

No wonder Russ was under some stress. I’d be stressed out too.

Kevin shifted from foot to foot. “Where’s all this stand now?”

“Well,” Meredith said, “the lawsuits have been filed. The lien was placed on the house July first. It’s foreclosed upon the thirty-first unless the yard is done and the fees are paid.”

Unbelievable. “So Greta could lose the house?”

Meredith nodded.

“How much?” Kevin asked. “What are the fees totaling now?”

“With the legal fees? About thirty grand. That’s including the daily fees of the yard not being done for the rest of this month.”

Kevin whistled.

My cell phone vibrated on my hip. I looked at the readout and recognized the number immediately since I’d been calling it every hour on the hour since five o’clock yesterday.

“Tam?” I said, answering it. I backed away from Kevin and Meredith.

“I heard you killed somebody! Is it true?”

I gasped. “I didn’t kill him!”

“But someone is dead?”

“Well, yeah.”

“And you were involved?”

“Not technically. He had a heart attack.”

“What? Hold on, Nina.” She covered the phone with her hand and murmured something to someone. “Oh, all right,” I heard her say. “Nina?”

“Yeah?”

“Someone wants to talk to you.”

Digging Up Trouble

55

“Me?”

“Nina Ceceri?”

I sucked in a breath. “Mrs. Krauss? What are you doing there?”

“Keeping Miss Tamara company. Since you’re too busy.”

I think my stress level had maxed out since her jibe didn’t even bother me all that much. “Did you want something?”

“Who died? Was it that awful broom lady?”

Broom lady? “Who?”

She clucked. “The trollop with my Donatelli yesterday.”

Boom-Boom. Ah. “No.”

“Oh.” She sounded sad about it.

I couldn’t help but smile. It was wrong, I know. But seeing Mrs. Krauss miserable and jealous did my heart good.