Murdered in the Man Cave (A Riley Reed Cozy Mystery) by R. Barri Flowers Page B

him decline so soon after you lost your parents scared
him."
    "If he had just told me, I could have helped
make his life easier," Emily said. "He shouldn't have gone through
that alone—before telling you."
    "I agree," I told her. "Now that you know,
I'm sure Brent would have wanted that."
    "Hope so." She bit off more toast. "I'm glad
that it hadn't gone full blown at the end for him."
    "Yes, that is one good thing," I admitted,
while wishing he'd had longer to deal with it and perhaps take
medication to slow down the progress. Over the rim of my mug, I
regarded Emily and asked, "Have you thought about making funeral
plans?"
    She held my gaze as if in a trance. "I'm
sorry, but I hadn't gone there yet, with this just happening and
now learning about the Alzheimer's—"
    "I understand." I paused appropriately. "It's
probably a good idea if you start to look into it. I'm sure the
medical examiner won't take too long to release his body."
    "After my parents died, I prayed I'd never go
through something like this again."
    I placed a comforting hand on hers. "If you
want, I can help with the funeral arrangements."
    "Would you?" she asked anxiously.
    "Of course. I'll call the funeral home today
and run everything by you before any final decisions are made."
    Emily nodded. "I have no idea about Uncle
Brent's—it feels too weird to just call him Brent now—finances or
anything, like burial costs. We never talked about it."
    "I'm sure Brent made provisions for all of
that," I told her confidently. This seemed especially true to me in
light of his diagnosis. Knowing him, he would have wanted to update
his will, insurance, and the like, while he was able to do it of
relatively sound mind. "We have the same attorney," I said. "I'll
contact her and get the specifics."
    "Okay." Emily swirled her spoon in the
oatmeal. "I just can't believe he was here yesterday and now...he's
gone."
    "I know," I admitted, sipping coffee.
"Unfortunately, that's how it goes, painful as it is."
    We were interrupted when her cell phone rang.
She grabbed it off the table, glanced at the caller, and
answered.
    "Hello." She paused and looked at me.
"Detective Whitmore, how can I help you?"
    Emily listened to him and I watched curiously
as her expression changed.
    "Right now?" she asked him, pausing again.
"Uh, I understand. Okay. Goodbye."
    "What is it?"
    "He wants me to come to the house to answer a
few more questions."
    "What other questions could he have?" I
asked, wondering if she was a suspect.
    "He said they need me to help figure out if
anything is missing from the house. Just routine stuff."
    I agreed, but wanted to talk to Detective
Whitmore myself about the case and where things stood at the
moment. "Do you mind if I go with you?"
    "Of course not," Emily said, tasting her
coffee. "I think I could use a friend right now."
    I appreciated that, considering we weren't
really friends. But I understood that she was operating under
duress. "Thanks. I could use one too," I told her, though I had
what seemed like more than my fair share of friends.
    Right now, getting through this ordeal of
losing a dear friend was the most important thing. And that
included befriending his only living relative for as long as she
needed me to.

CHAPTER
SEVEN
     
    Nearing Brent's house, Emily drove past a
neighbor who seemed to stare us down. Or perhaps that was only my
imagination. I recognized her from previous visits, but we had
never met formally. She was around my age and slightly heavier with
short brunette hair. Though Brent was friendly enough to his
neighbors, he had always valued his privacy, especially when at
home.
    As though reading my mind, Emily said, "Miss
Nosey Posey aka Mrs. Potter. She lives a couple of doors down and
is always getting into other people's business."
    I smiled. "I think we all have neighbors like
that." Annette came to mind. "They're usually pretty harmless for
the most part," I said.
    "Whatever," Emily muttered distractedly as we
arrived at