Life Without Parole: A Kate Conway Mystery by Clare O'Donohue Page A

for what felt like a long time before she looked up at me. “Someone has been threatening to kill me, and I thought you might know what to do.”

Eleven
    S he said it so matter-of-factly I thought I’d misheard her.
    “Threatening to do
what
?” I sat back down at the table. “Have you called the police?”
    “No,” she said. “I called you. You’re so good at this stuff. You helped that family with the missing daughter. You figured out what happened with Frank.”
    “I got lucky. I’m not Sherlock Holmes.” Vera looked on the verge of tears. Crap. I gave in. “Who is threatening you?”
    “I’m not sure,” she said. “I got involved in the restaurant after I met Doug. They were getting a little cash poor and they needed a new investor. Doug thought I might be interested.”
    “And you’re a sucker for being needed.”
    She smiled. “He really believed in the place, and I…well, I thought it might be fun to do something together, so I invested two hundred and fifty.”
    “Thousand?”
    “Yes. Two hundred and fifty thousand. Doug was really sweet about it. He’s very protective of me. You should get to know him better—”
    “When did you start getting threats?” I interrupted.
    “A couple of weeks ago. Telling me that I would end up dead unless I stayed away from Doug.”
    “Man or woman?”
    “It sounded like one of those computerized voices, like when you call customer service for just about anything and you have to press zero half a dozen times to get an operator.”
    “What did Doug say when you told him?”
    “He said he had an ex-girlfriend who was still hung up on him and I shouldn’t worry. She’s just trying to make him miserable, but she’s not really dangerous.”
    “But you don’t believe him.”
    “I—”Something caught in her throat. “It’s not that I don’t believe him. It’s just that he sounded like he was…”
    “Lying,” I finished for her. “Was it Doug who suggested you invest?”
    “But he doesn’t have anything to do with this.”
    “How did he know you had that kind of money? I assume you don’t go around introducing yourself as the heiress to Knutson Foods, the biggest chain of grocery stores east of the Mississippi.”
    “Of course not, but I don’t lie about it either.”
    “Did he know when he met you?” I asked.
    “I know what you’re thinking.”
    “It might explain why he’s so agreeable. Con men usually are.”
    “If he were going to take my money, then why is he still around? Why is he still dating me? Wouldn’t he drop me once the check cleared the bank?”
    The answer was obvious. There were millions more where that came from. I had, for a time, even convinced myself that Frank had left me for Vera’s money. But despite his many faults, Frank was too nice for that. And unfortunately, Vera was too nice for that to be his only reason for liking her. But Doug was another story.
    I leaned back in my chair. I was stuffed from two helpings of the ravioli, a salad, and three slices of garlic bread. I’d lost track of the amount of wine I’d drunk. I needed coffee, a good night’s sleep, and some distance from Vera. What I didn’t need was to get any more involved. “I think you should call the police.”
    “And say what? I don’t have any proof of anything.”
    “Where did the calls come from?”
    “It was a blocked number.”
    “But you’re sure it’s someone from the restaurant?”
    “The voice mentioned the name of the restaurant. Club Car. We haven’t told that name to anyone.”
    “You haven’t. Can you be sure Erik or one of the others hasn’t said anything?”
    “It supposed to be a big reveal,” she said. “And besides, the caller said I should forget about the two hundred and fifty thousand. Onlythe other investors know the exact amount. Certainly Doug’s ex-girlfriend wouldn’t. Would she?” She looked to me for answers I didn’t have.
    “But they have your money, Vera. So why threaten you?”
    “I