Shots in the Dark by Allyson K Abbott Page B

pretty clear to us that we aren’t supposed to try to investigate it on our own.”
    â€œIt was a lady named Trudy who got the letter. She works at the spice shop. And she’s petrified of getting involved with the police and the case. I promised her I wouldn’t involve the authorities. As for me getting into trouble, I went to the Public Market before Gary was killed, and I’ll continue to go there. Who’s to say I’m not just shopping? I did buy some stuff while I was there.”
    â€œWhat did she tell you?”
    â€œNothing helpful,” I said with a frown. “She got the same nondescript package the others did, and she swears she didn’t open or read the contents of the inside envelope. She said she destroyed it by burning it in her fireplace.”
    â€œDo you believe her?”
    â€œI do.”
    â€œSo we’re back to square one.”
    â€œIt would seem so, yes.”
    â€œAre you still okay with your decision not to tell the others in the group about the letters?”
    â€œFor now. I don’t want to make them paranoid. And I’ve got Mal and Duncan working on it with me. Hopefully, we’ll come up with some answers soon.”
    â€œOkay, but be careful, Mack. Whoever this letter writer is, they are clearly not in their right mind. You need to keep a watchful eye, in case he or she is stalking you.”
    â€œI might be being watched, but I don’t think I’m being stalked. I’m not sure what the endgame is, but I don’t get the sense that I’m in danger, at least not yet. I think it’s more about the game for now.”
    â€œYou haven’t gotten any new letters?”
    â€œNo, but today’s mail hasn’t arrived yet.”
    My cell phone rang then, and when I looked, I saw it was Duncan calling. “It’s Duncan,” I told Cora. “Hopefully, he’ll have some good news.”
    She nodded, picked up the stack of copies, took the originals from the copier, and said, “Let me know. I’m going to head upstairs and hand these out.” She dropped the originals on my desk and left the room.
    With a hope and a prayer, I answered Duncan’s call, eager for some good news.

Chapter 6
    â€œHey, Duncan,” I said, trying to sound chipper, though I feared I fell short.
    â€œHey, gorgeous. What’s up? Your message said you had some news for me.”
    â€œI do. Plus, I wanted to check in with you to see what’s going on at your end of the world. I went to the Public Market this morning, and I found the person who got that last letter.”
    â€œYou did? Who was it?”
    â€œA lady named Trudy who runs the spice shop.”
    â€œI talked to her on Thursday. She told me she didn’t get anything.”
    â€œI think you scared her. You’re a cop, and you went there in an official capacity. That can be intimidating. I tried a friendlier approach. She lied to me at first, but eventually, she admitted to receiving it. She said she didn’t open the inside letter, and she swore she destroyed it the way the instructions told her to.”
    â€œWhich was?”
    â€œShe burned it in her fireplace.”
    â€œDo you believe her?”
    â€œI do. I could tell from her body language and her voice that she was lying to me about getting anything, but eventually, she came clean. I just wish she’d been more curious or more of a procrastinator.”
    â€œYou feel certain she disposed of it? Normal human curiosity would make most people either sneak a peek or hang on to it for a while.”
    â€œShe seemed sincere. But it got me to thinking about something. She said the envelope was delivered to her house and left on her front porch. That’s the second one that went to someone’s home, and the one at the Miller brewery was at the guy’s place of employment. How does the letter writer know where these people live and work? They must have something