Page 87 of Pretty Poison

Grant went over the ground rules with Felix and Jonah, and they agreed as readily as Rocky had. They each picked a box and sat on the floor to examine the contents. It felt kind of weird with Tess and Grant supervising, but Rocky set his discomfort aside and scanned and photographed any important-looking documents.

“What would your computer tell you if you scanned all the information from these three boxes?” Tess asked Jonah.

He looked up from his work and smiled. “It would assimilate the information and highlight similarities in their lifestyles, medical histories, and even their deaths.”

“Fascinating,” Tess said. “Is this method of investigation respected?”

“Not fully,” Jonah said. “People don’t like change and are suspicious of technology. I think law enforcement officers dislike those things even more.”

“Do you plan to enter this data into your computer to see what it comes up with?” Tess asked him.

“Yes.”

“Good,” Tess said with a nod.

“Mom, a machine can’t paint a full picture,” Grant said cautiously. “It can only analyze the facts it’s given. There’s room for error and manipulation.”

“Which is why we plan to interview a lot of people who can speak on your mom’s behalf,” Felix told Grant.

“Your son has a valid point,” Jonah said. “Stella isn’t a detective, but she’s an extremely intuitive tool to help officers in the field.”

“I’m going to start making phone calls this evening,” Tess said. “I’ll continue working my contact list until I have to leave for my cruise with my dear friend, but Grant can do the rest.”

“Great,” her son said dryly. “I know how long your average phone call lasts. You might scratch two people off the list before I take you to the airport.”

Tess just shrugged. She continued chatting with them as they worked, answering any questions they had about documents they found in the boxes. Tess permitted them to record her answers so they could refer back to them when necessary. They couldn’t have asked for better cooperation from her.

“Why won’t you let me feed you?” Tess asked them at one point. “I have plenty of leftovers, or I can order takeout or pizza.”

“They’re afraid you’ll poison them, Mom,” Grant said.

She rolled her eyes. “We’ll make Grant test all the food first.”

They all laughed but still declined since they’d already met for dinner before they came over. Then she mentioned homemade blueberry cobbler and the guys suddenly found room in their stomachs.

After they finished, the guys stacked everything neatly in the boxes once more.

“Where to?” Jonah asked, hoisting two of them.

“Follow me,” Tess said.

Felix grabbed the third box and aimed a grin at Rocky. “You two play nice. If Major weren’t already married, I’d recommend you go on a date.”

“You’re married?” Grant asked when they were alone.

“I am.”

“I never would’ve guessed,” Grant replied.

“Because I don’t wear a ring?”

“No,” he said. “Because you flirted with me the day we met.”

“It’s in my DNA, man.”

“Okay, Blanche.”

Rocky grinned. “Maybe we could be friends.”