15
Logan was on his own today. Tanner had a lunch scheduled with his wife and in-laws, and he said that this was one he couldn’t miss. Logan didn’t want to pry into his friend’s private life, so he didn’t ask any more questions. Tanner seemed relieved, and he got the idea that they were going through something of a private nature.
He could handle this alone.
“I can go with you.”
Ava was standing next to him, an expectant expression on her face.
“This is work. Abby has hired our consulting firm officially.”
Rolling her eyes, she refilled his coffee cup. There was always a fresh pot in their house. Logan enjoyed his coffee, but Ava was a caffeine addict.
They were currently staying at the Corville home so that Logan could work on the case and Ava could spend some time with her friends. Apparently, Presley had scheduled a girls’ night tomorrow to try and cheer Maddie up. Logan didn’t know why she needed cheering up, but he had a gut feeling that it had something to do with the lunch today.
“I can still go,” she argued. “Sometimes people will talk to a woman more easily than a man.”
She had a point. She usually did. But he wasn’t going to give in that easily. He had to fight a few battles just to keep in practice for the ones he wanted to win.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
Setting the carafe down on the counter, she crossed her arms over her chest and gave him the look. How many times had he seen it over the years? Too many to count. He never won an argument when she used it either.
“You’re just being stubborn,” she finally said. “If I’d said I didn’t want to go, you’d be begging me to. I can see through you, Logan Wright. You’re not as mysterious as you like to think you are.”
“You think you know me, woman?”
“Better than you know yourself, man.”
“Then you know that I’m going to take you with me today.”
Arguing would only delay the inevitable. It would be nice to take a drive with her anyway. They could stop for a late lunch afterward.
“I did know that. When do you want to leave?”
“Ten minutes? Ass in seat, Ava. Or I leave without you.”
She tossed the dishtowel she had in her hand aside.
“As if you’ve ever had to wait for me.”
She was extremely low maintenance. He never had to wait because she was messing with her hair or makeup, but every now and then, she’d get an idea for one of her books and she’d wander off to write it down, losing track of time. He’d sat in the car for twenty minutes once only to come inside and see her tapping away at her laptop.
Trisha Parnham lived in a small condo development outside of Springwood. Logan wasn’t all that fond of these types of neighborhoods where the houses all looked exactly the same, as if a cookie cutter had come through and stamped out a couple dozen beige boxes.
Trisha’s house had bright red flowers on the front porch and a playful bunny statue pretending to scamper among the blooms. The door opened as they walked up, the woman scowling as they approached. She’d known they were coming and had agreed to meet with them, but she didn’t look all that happy about it. Sam had probably already talked to her, so she was wondering why she had to talk to Logan, too. He’d try and make this as short and painless as possible.
He introduced himself and Ava, shaking the woman’s hand. She led them into the living room which was as beige as the outside of the house.
“We’ll try not to take up too much of your time,” Logan said, settling onto the sofa with Ava next to him. “I know that you’ve already spoken to Sheriff Sam.”
Trisha sat primly in a chair across from them, her hands folded in her lap.
“I did and I told him that Abby probably did this. She only married my dad for his money.”
“What led you to that conclusion?”
“Because it’s obvious. She spends like a drunken sailor, always buying designer clothes and expensive jewelry. Spa days and fancy parties. She didn’t have any money of her own to do all of this, so she latched onto my dad. I don’t even know why they even got married. They argued all of the time. They even argued at their wedding reception.”