The Devil You Know (Sarah Woods Mystery Book 15) by Jennifer L. Jennings Page A

my mom’s memorial tomorrow.”
    “Why don’t you head upstairs to bed and I’ll clean up down here. I’m not that tired, yet.”
    “Are you sure you don’t mind?”
    “Not at all,” he said.
    “Thanks for the wine. And the conversation. Again, I’m sorry about all that talk before about my mom. I feel ashamed that I even brought it up.”
    “No worries,” he said. “I understand completely.
     
    When I got up to my bedroom, I made sure to engage the dead-bolt on the door like George had suggested. Better to be safe than sorry.
    After performing my nightly beauty ritual, I slipped into pajamas and went to bed.
     

Chapter 12
     
     
    The cell phone alarm woke me up at seven the next morning. I spent a half an hour getting ready for my fake mother’s memorial service. In fact, I wore the same exact outfit that I’d worn to my real mother’s funeral; a simple black dress with low-heeled pumps. I didn’t bother with make-up. I figured it’d get smeared while I pretended to wipe away the imaginary tears.
    There was a text from Carter, wishing me luck at the service.
    By the time I got downstairs for a cup of coffee, it was almost eight o’clock. A continental breakfast had been spread out with muffins and croissants. Miles and Sue Ann were already eating at the island. They were both dressed in the requisite black attire one would expect for a memorial service. Sue-Ann’s blonde hair looked like it had been teased into submission. I could smell the hairspray from ten feet away. Her low cut dress showed ample cleavage, which I found to be in poor taste for a funeral setting. Miles, on the other hand, wore a sophisticated navy blue tie and gold cufflinks with an expensive looking suit. He could’ve passed for a lawyer. No one would ever suspect that he and his family were on the brink of bankruptcy.
    “Good morning, Tina,” Miles said, making an effort to be friendly even though his drawn face wore the remnants of sleep deprivation.
    “Good morning.” I helped myself to the coffee on the counter and remained standing. “Have you seen your father yet?”
    “No, not yet,” Miles said. “I knocked on his bedroom door but he must've been in the shower. I’m worried about him. This has been a stressful time, and with his health issues …” He stared into his mug with a sigh of frustration.
    “I am saddened by the news about your father,” I said. “But remember, there’s always hope. Medicine advances every day and your father strikes me as the kind of guy who doesn’t give up.”
    He lifted his head slightly and our eyes met. “I suppose, but it sounds like there isn’t much time. I wish he’d told us sooner so I could help do research.”
    Sue-Ann sipped her coffee and picked at a muffin as if she wasn’t all that interested in the conversation. Perhaps she wasn’t upset about her father-in-law’s declining health. I wondered if she was already counting their share of the inheritance.
    Miles’ cell phone began to ring. He checked the caller ID and said, “Please excuse me ladies, I need to take this.” He disappeared into the hallway, muttering into the phone as he went.
    With her husband gone, Sue-Ann downed the rest of her coffee and stood up. “I should go check on my daughter and make sure she’s getting ready. Do you have any kids, Tina?”
    I was about to say that I had a son in college, but caught myself. “No, I don’t. Never been married either.”
    “Well,” she said. “I suppose there must be a lot of positives to that lifestyle. You have the freedom to go wherever you want.”
    “It’s true,” I said. “But sometimes I think I’d like to settle down and have a close family like yours.”
    She made a vague gesture, as if ‘close’ wasn’t exactly the right word to describe the family she married into. “Well, like I said, I should go check on Sasha.”
    After Sue-Ann left, I drank my coffee and scarfed down a muffin. I had assumed Lucita was around here