In this excerpt, Leigh goes undercover to help her cousin Sammi find out who's poisoning the neighborhood dogs. Leigh pretends to be a former resident of the home occupied by suspect Eloise Barker.
“Hi,
I’m Sarah Goddard.” I smiled so big my mouth hurt.
Sammi
had used her usual stunning logic to select my faux name. She thought Sarah
sounded sweet and Goddard reminded her of God. And “no one would ever suspect
God of lying and tricking people, would they, babe?”
“Is
there something I can help you with?” Her narrowed eyes showed her total
suspicion.
Okay,
Sammi had warned me the Barkers weren’t the most sociable of people. If I were
lucky, Mrs. Barker would be too cautious to fall for my story and I could
leave. I was already regretting my part in Sammi’s scheme to get into the
Barker home. The theory had sounded a lot better than the actuality.
“Goodness,
I hope I don’t sound silly or anything.” All unbidden my voice had morphed into
the squeaky, overly-optimistic tones of a junior high cheerleader. “My family
used to live here years ago when I was a child. I wondered if you’d mind
terribly showing me the house. You know how it is, you can’t help but get
nostalgic about old times.”
“Do
you live here in Del Canto?” Her expression would have done credit to a stone.
“No,
ma’am. I mean, not yet, we’re just visiting, but we might relocate from
Georgia. We’re thinking of moving over there.” I waved my hand to include the
whole western side of town, which would include the harbor and yacht basin as
well as a number of quaint shoppes.
“Goddard,
you said your name is? Is that your married name, because I don’t recall seeing
that name on any of the paperwork for the house. There were two owners before
us.” By now her eyes were so narrowed down they looked like coin slits in a
piggy bank.
“Married
name. Yes, I’m a Goddard now.” I hid my ringless left hand in a fold of my
dress and grinned like I was auditioning for a teeth-whitening commercial. I
hoped like mad she wouldn’t ask my maiden name because I did not know either of
the previous two owners.
“And
your maiden name was...”
Damn
it. What a suspicious b–I mean, woman.
“Harper,”
I blurted. Dummy. Why did I choose Brenda’s name?
Eloise’s
mouth twisted sideways. “I don’t recognize the name Harper.”
“I
was raised by relatives and my last name was different from theirs.” I was
tempted to pile on details, maybe claim my parents had been lost at sea or sent
to prison for grand theft auto. Sammi had told me once she read in a psychology
book that people would be more likely to believe lies if the liar added lots of
realistic-sounding detail to their tall tales. But I didn’t think the bit about
the parents was all that realistic, so I stifled the impulse and tried to look
honest, yet somewhat traumatized by my difficult childhood. “I understand if
it’s not convenient for me have a look inside.” I took a step backward and
almost fell off the porch. “I’m so sorry I bothered you.”
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