she tossed the salad, then scooped some into matching teak salad bowls. She slid one bowl in front of Jack, then took the seat opposite him.
“So, how was work?” Lexy speared a cherry tomato and brought it to her lips.
“The usual.” Jack replied. “You?”
“Great. I brought home coconut cream pie for dessert.”
Jack’s eyes lit at the mention of his favorite pie. “Yum. After dessert, we should do some more packing at my house.”
Lexy picked through her salad. Jack lived in the house behind her. In fact, they’d met initially when Sprinkles slipped through a gap in the fence and did her ‘business’ on Jacks shrubs. Shortly after, he’d had to accuse her of murdering her ex-fianc é , but it had all worked out in the end and now they were one married couple with two houses.
Lexy had refused to part with the house she’d bought from Nans—it had too many wonderful childhood memories. So, they’d decided to put Jack’s house up for sale. But first, they’d have to clean it out and get it ready. The house was packed to the brim with ‘stuff’, some of it from the previous owners who had lived there for over fifty years. It was proving to be a daunting task.
Lexy got up and cut the lasagna. She put a large, gooey, cheesy-dripping piece on on Jack’s plate and a smaller one on her own. She sat back down and concentrated on eating while contemplating how to divert the conversation to high stakes gambling.
“Did you hear anything more from Norman Shea?” Jack asked.
Lexy had told him about Norman accosting her in the driveway. Jack had offered to talk to him and make sure he didn’t bother her again, but Lexy had developed a pang of sympathy for the nerdy Norman and declined. The police visiting him would probably scar him for life.
“No, but Nans has been digging into the Regis Banks death,” she ventured.
Jack’s eyebrows rose and Lexy took a gulp of wine before continuing.
“She discovered that Winston had a gambling problem. Seems he might have owed a lot of money to some underground gambling people.”
“Oh. Really?” Jack shoveled another forkful of lasagna in.
“Nans seems to think that might give him motive to kill Regis now instead of waiting for him to die.” Lexy pushed the lasagna around on her plate. “Do you know anything about these poker games?”
Jack chewed, thinking carefully about his answer. “Well, you know organized gambling is illegal in this state, but that doesn’t stop people from doing it. There are a few gambling rings in the city. They move from place to place, so we can never bust them up. It’s all hush-hush and, needless to say, attracts a nasty criminal element. If Winston was involved in those and owed them … well, let’s just say he might be in dire need of money for sure.”
“And do you think that would constitute motive?” Lexy asked while she cleared the dinner dishes and then broke out the pie.
Jack shrugged. “Hard to say. Where did Nans get this information, anyway? Is it reliable? And, for God’s sake, please tell me she’s not going to try to infiltrate the gambling ring.”
Lexy grimaced as she sat down with her pie. “That’s what I’m afraid of. An old friend that knows Winston told her and he seems to be pretty reliable. But you know how Nans is. She’s apt to do something crazy, so I’m trying to get the information she needs before that happens.”
“Smart idea.” Jack pointed to the pie with his fork. “This is great pie.”
“Thanks. You don’t happen to have any contacts that could verify if Winston owed money, do you?” Lexy ventured.
Jack rubbed his hand through his short-cropped dark hair. “Lexy, you know I can’t use police contacts for that stuff … even if I did have one, which unfortunately, I don’t.”
Lexy scooped up a forkful of whipped topping from her piece of pie and swirled it around in her mouth. “I don’t suppose you have any idea where I could find out
“So, how was work?” Lexy speared a cherry tomato and brought it to her lips.
“The usual.” Jack replied. “You?”
“Great. I brought home coconut cream pie for dessert.”
Jack’s eyes lit at the mention of his favorite pie. “Yum. After dessert, we should do some more packing at my house.”
Lexy picked through her salad. Jack lived in the house behind her. In fact, they’d met initially when Sprinkles slipped through a gap in the fence and did her ‘business’ on Jacks shrubs. Shortly after, he’d had to accuse her of murdering her ex-fianc é , but it had all worked out in the end and now they were one married couple with two houses.
Lexy had refused to part with the house she’d bought from Nans—it had too many wonderful childhood memories. So, they’d decided to put Jack’s house up for sale. But first, they’d have to clean it out and get it ready. The house was packed to the brim with ‘stuff’, some of it from the previous owners who had lived there for over fifty years. It was proving to be a daunting task.
Lexy got up and cut the lasagna. She put a large, gooey, cheesy-dripping piece on on Jack’s plate and a smaller one on her own. She sat back down and concentrated on eating while contemplating how to divert the conversation to high stakes gambling.
“Did you hear anything more from Norman Shea?” Jack asked.
Lexy had told him about Norman accosting her in the driveway. Jack had offered to talk to him and make sure he didn’t bother her again, but Lexy had developed a pang of sympathy for the nerdy Norman and declined. The police visiting him would probably scar him for life.
“No, but Nans has been digging into the Regis Banks death,” she ventured.
Jack’s eyebrows rose and Lexy took a gulp of wine before continuing.
“She discovered that Winston had a gambling problem. Seems he might have owed a lot of money to some underground gambling people.”
“Oh. Really?” Jack shoveled another forkful of lasagna in.
“Nans seems to think that might give him motive to kill Regis now instead of waiting for him to die.” Lexy pushed the lasagna around on her plate. “Do you know anything about these poker games?”
Jack chewed, thinking carefully about his answer. “Well, you know organized gambling is illegal in this state, but that doesn’t stop people from doing it. There are a few gambling rings in the city. They move from place to place, so we can never bust them up. It’s all hush-hush and, needless to say, attracts a nasty criminal element. If Winston was involved in those and owed them … well, let’s just say he might be in dire need of money for sure.”
“And do you think that would constitute motive?” Lexy asked while she cleared the dinner dishes and then broke out the pie.
Jack shrugged. “Hard to say. Where did Nans get this information, anyway? Is it reliable? And, for God’s sake, please tell me she’s not going to try to infiltrate the gambling ring.”
Lexy grimaced as she sat down with her pie. “That’s what I’m afraid of. An old friend that knows Winston told her and he seems to be pretty reliable. But you know how Nans is. She’s apt to do something crazy, so I’m trying to get the information she needs before that happens.”
“Smart idea.” Jack pointed to the pie with his fork. “This is great pie.”
“Thanks. You don’t happen to have any contacts that could verify if Winston owed money, do you?” Lexy ventured.
Jack rubbed his hand through his short-cropped dark hair. “Lexy, you know I can’t use police contacts for that stuff … even if I did have one, which unfortunately, I don’t.”
Lexy scooped up a forkful of whipped topping from her piece of pie and swirled it around in her mouth. “I don’t suppose you have any idea where I could find out
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