Page 66 of Christmas Mittens Murder

Thea narrowed her eyes at Allie. “How do you know?”

Allie stared at her. My twin and I didn’t share ESP, exactly, but right now I was a hundred percent certain she was thinking, “What kind of a question is that?” I was thinking it, too. In my mind I also heard Thea say Val “needs to go, and soon.”

“I heard it on the local action channel,” Allie finally replied.

Whatever an action channel was. It didn’t matter. Allie was nothing if not tuned in to what happened in Colinas.

She twisted to face me. “And because a Sonoma County sheriff’s detective came to see me.”

“What?” My voice rose. “Why?”

Ed cleared his throat. “Val, may her soul rest with God, and Allie had had quite a few disagreements in recent months. In public.”

Thea nodded as if she were aware of the spats or fights or whatever they were.

“But they can’t possibly think you killed the poor woman.” I reached for her hand under the table and squeezed it.

“Someone did, though.” Allie took a big swig of the Bloody Mary. “You should have heard the questions the cop was asking me.”

“Did you have to go to the police station?” I asked.

Allie shook her head. “He grilled me at home. I’m glad the kids were already at school and, as you know, Cece, Fuller is away for a few days. It was only me and the extremely persistent Detective Quan.”

“I’m sure they just want to rule you out, Allie,” Ed said.

“Do either of you know Rafael Torres?” Thea gazed at Allie and up at Ed.

Allie shook her head.

“I ran into him not too long ago,” Ed said. “Back when I was home from college in the summers, I helped out with the summer recreation program. He was there every year. He’s ten or twelve years younger than me, and he said he teaches at the high school now.”

“So you know he’s Val’s younger brother,” Thea said.

“Right,” Ed said. “I’d actually forgotten, since Val changed her name when she married. I didn’t know her at all back in the day.”

Cam, who wasn’t acquainted with anyone involved, seemed keenly interested in the conversation. I wondered whether it was the lurid factor of murder in this scenic little town she’d come to visit or something more.

“Well, the two siblings were estranged,” Thea went on. “I’m not entirely sure why. The last time I saw him, he was expressing a lot of anger toward Val. Maybe he finally snapped.”

“How do you know Rafael?” Cam asked.

“Doesn’t matter.” Thea forked in a big bite of her lunch.

Seemed like it might matter. “What was he angry about?” I asked.

“None of your business.” She held her hand in front of her full mouth as she spoke.

“You all should eat before your food gets any colder,” Ed said. “Allie, you sure I can’t get you anything?”

“Positive, but thanks, Ed.”

“She can share with me,” I said. To my sister I added, “You should eat, Al. Your drink’ll knock you on your butt if you don’t.”

Ed grabbed a silverware roll from the counter and laid it down in front of Allie. “I have to get back to work.”

I slid my plate closer to Allie before taking a bite of warm, starchy, delicious tamale, stuffed with melted cheese and covered with a thick, dark sauce so full of flavor it sang. Cam cut her burger in half, exposing a fat slice of ripe tomato and slices of avocado.

After she’d eaten a couple of bites, Cam set down the half. “The thing is, I have a bit of experience solving homicides.”