Dragon's Touch (Book 1 Linty Dragon Series) by J.M Griffin, Kristina Paglio

felt as though they’d bug out as I stared disbelievingly at the man. “Wh-what?”
    “Didn’t you know how wealthy Essie was?” Smythe asked.
    “No, money was never discussed. I thought she was financially comfortable, but again, money was not up for discussion. Gran always said it was in poor taste to discuss money matters. I do know my father has a trust fund he lives off of.” I snickered. Both men glanced at one another as if they weren’t sure whether my marbles had gone missing, and they said nothing.
    “It’s just that my father has never worked a day in his life, so he has always lived off his trust fund. I once heard Gran tell Dad that he’d have to manage his funds well, since she refused to give him any more money. The conversation went downhill from there, and I left the room while the going was good.”
    Smythe nodded with understanding. “Yes, yes, she did tell me that. Once the will is read, how do you plan to handle your family?”
    I shrugged and said I hadn’t thought about it.
    As he leaned forward, rested his elbows on his knees and lightly clasped his hands together, Vaughn exclaimed, “I’m glad to know you will be the dragon keeper, Linty, but you’d better give some thought to how touchy your family will be over Essie’s appointment of you.”
    I hesitated, wondering if I should tell them of Gran’s letter. Surely Mr. Smythe wouldn’t have harmed Gran, let alone kill her. With a deep breath, I figured I’d better be open about it and said, “I know. My grandmother left a letter for me with Mrs. Douglas. Gran says she was murdered by someone. Do you know anything about that, Mr. Smythe?”
    Smythe gave a start. Cullen sat back with a dangerous gleam in his narrowed eyes.
    In a dither, Smythe asked, “Could I see the letter?”
    “I take it that you weren’t aware of it, then?” I sighed, got up and pulled the letter from the desk drawer. I gave them the page where she surmised she’d been poisoned and knew her death was imminent.
    The sheet of paper was passed to and fro, turned sideways as each man read my scribbled notes in the margins. Finally they handed it back to me.
    As I took it from Smythe, he said, “Nothing showed up in the toxicity screen when Essie’s blood was drawn at the hospital. If she was murdered, and I’m not sure she was, then how was she poisoned? The blood work would surely have shown abnormalities.”
    While he spoke, I could see Cullen’s head slightly move back and forth, as though there was an internal conversation going on. I asked, “What do you think, Cullen?”
    “You could be right, she must have figured it out and wrote it to you privately so as not to appear as though she’d gone round the bend. Keep the information safe and to yourself, Linty,” Cullen warned without addressing Smythe’s remarks.
    “There’s more, but I haven’t figured out the remainder of her ramblings and handwriting. Should I get to it, I’ll let you both know. Could you have the lab run a second set of tests for me? More in-depth than the last one, maybe look for other things a simple test wouldn’t pick up?”
    As Smythe rose from the sofa, he rubbed his forehead with his fingertips. “This is quite distressing, Linty. I’ll stop by the hospital and ask about the tests, if you’re certain there should more. Do keep me up to date, won’t you? I must leave, I have appointments this afternoon, you understand. I’ll see you first thing tomorrow morning. Until then, stay calm and don’t allow anyone to intrude on your time.” He gave me a slight nod and left.
    We watched him close the door. Vaughn turned to me. “Linty, be careful. You’re about to fall under enormous pressure that I’m not sure you’re ready to handle.”
    “All I know is that I’m exhausted and when that happens, I get cranky. If you don’t mind, I could use some alone time right about now, but thanks for the warning.”  I turned to the dragons and wandered over to