He scowled. “Yes, at my house with my wife. All evening,” he emphasized. “Anything else?” His face turned a splotchy red, visibly upset.
“I’m sorry.” I decided it was best to move on. It was a thin alibi, but there wasn’t anything I could do to refute it, unless I wanted to confirm with his wife, who would most likely agree with him.
“Were the Hendersons having money issues?” I asked politely.
He thought for a moment. “Not that I’m aware of. They live next to your aunt in a nice part of town. Do they seem destitute to you?” I sensed an edge of hostility in his tone. Like he begrudged them. But then, that could also be directed toward me.
“Do you know if Earl had an insurance policy?”
“Probably.” He tapped his fingers on the metal desk. “But Earl handled his own stuff even after he retired. To be honest, Earl has always been cheap. He probably had some decreasing term policy that wouldn’t be worth much now anyway.”
“So, you don’t think an insurance payout for Patty is a likely motive?” I didn’t believe it was, but it couldn’t hurt to ask.
He shook his head. “Like I said, if there is a policy, it’s probably not worth much. And as far as I can tell, they had a decent marriage. Not that anyone knows for sure what goes on behind closed doors, but I doubt Patty killed her husband.”
I felt relieved at his belief in Patty’s innocence, confirming what I had suspected. “Do you have any idea who might have had a reason to kill Earl? Any other friends or relatives he had issues with?”
“Now that you mention it, Earl has a younger brother who’s had a few run-ins with the law. Petty stuff, but he hangs out with some rough guys. Maybe he got Earl involved in one of his shady operations and things went south,” he proposed.
My mind veered to the suitcase full of cash. Was Earl caught up in something illegal? It didn’t fit with what I’d learned about the victim so far, but at this point I wasn’t going to rule anything out. “What’s his brother’s name? Is he local?”
“Yeah, his name’s Floyd, and he works down at the cannery.”
I cringed, and Russell gave me an odd look. “Thank you, Mr. Jenkins.” I stood and forced a smile. “You’ve been very helpful, and I appreciate you taking the time to speak with me.”
“Sure, no problem,” he said, giving me a partial grin.
“If you happen to think or hear of anything else, would you please give me a call?” I handed him one of my business cards from my coat pocket. “My cell number is on the back.”
He flipped it over and nodded.
“Thank you again.” I gave him a brief wave and a parting smile before leaving.
Overall, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of Russell Jenkins. He didn’t seem to harbor any ill will toward his former business partner, but he wasn’t distraught over Earl’s death either. Maybe he wasn’t an emotional guy. And since he didn’t appear to have a reason to kill him, I needed to direct my attention to Floyd Henderson, Earl’s brother.
Unfortunately, Floyd worked at the cannery, which was owned by Kenny’s family. Talking to Floyd at work was the safest option, in light of what Russell had said about him. Hopefully, when I did, I wouldn’t run into Kenny or any of the other Millers.
When I arrived back at Fern’s from meeting with Mr. Jenkins, my aunt wasn’t home. I couldn’t remember what she had going on today, but I needed to get ready for my lunch date with Preston.
Correction: just lunch. Not a date. The socially awkward attorney had both called and texted asking to take me out before I returned to Portland.
After what he’d done for Fern, I didn’t feel right about saying no. And lunch was more casual than dinner, less date-like, and I knew Preston had to be in court at one o’clock, which meant our time together would only be about an hour. A win-win in my book.
On my way upstairs to take a shower, I stopped by the laundry room to switch the clothes into the dryer. I was in desperate need of a clean pair of jeans, or clean pair of any pants actually. After my shower I threw on a black tank top and a pair of running shorts while I blow dried my hair and put on some makeup.
Yeah, yeah, I know it’s not a date, but I needed to at least look presentable. In the middle of curling my naturally wavy/frizzy brown hair, the doorbell rang.
“Please don’t let that be Preston,” I grumbled. Setting down the curling iron, I treaded down the stairs to answer the front door. I was ready to tell Preston that he was early, and I wasn’t ready… “Cole.” I blinked in surprise.
He looked me up and down before settling on my face. His mouth was drawn tight. “Charlee, do you have a minute?” he asked seriously.
Okay, so this wasn’t a social visit.
“Yeah, sure. Come in.” I stepped aside so he could enter. “We can sit in the living room.” I took a step in that direction.
“Here is fine.” He folded his muscled arms across his chest and scowled. “Are you going somewhere?”
“Excuse me?” I mimicked his stance.
“You look like you’re getting ready for something,” he remarked coolly.
Ah, so he’d noticed I looked better than normal. Although technically, he hadn’t given me a compliment.
“Yes, I’m going to lunch,” I replied.
“In shorts?” he glanced down.
Was he checking out my legs?
“No,” I replied. Was his brain shorting out? It was a damp forty-five degrees outside.
“Right.” He shook his head as if to clear it and met my gaze again. “What do you think you were doing talking with Russell Jenkins?”
My hands dropped to my sides. “How did you hear about that?” Good grief! News traveled fast in this town. It’d
