Page 58 of The Body in the Backyard

Carlo swaggered his way through the front door after Lily, who was still squealing.

“So you arrested your cousin, and he still owes you a favor?” Riley asked.

Nick shrugged. “I told his mom he was in Guatemala digging wells for orphans for six months while he was in prison.”

“Isn’t it nice that our families are equally weird?” she said as their elderly roommates filed past them into the house.

“I need booze,” Mrs. Penny barked.

While Carlo sworeat the pipes in the kitchen, Nick found himself in the sunroom, which had been converted into Mr. Willicott’s bedroom and a makeshift bar. At some point, his new roommates had managed to confiscate furniture from all over the house to create a mismatched lounge of sorts.

Mrs. Penny was mixing drinks behind the bar while Frank Sinatra sang about doing things his way from a Bluetooth speaker. Josie was sound asleep on a small wicker couch next to the wall of windows. Mr. Willicott and Fred were playing a game of chess. Nick was ninety percent sure neither of them knew what they were doing.

Riley, with a fresh gin and tonic in hand, was in conversation with Brian, Gabe, and Lily at Nick’s poker table.

“Now,thisis how you do a meeting,” Mrs. Penny said with satisfaction as she topped off her bourbon.

“This isn’t a meeting. This is a happy hour,” Nick complained.

“Quit your whining and drink up. We’re celebrating,” Mrs. Penny insisted.

Burt appeared on the patio and pressed his nose against the glass. Nick crossed the tile floor and let the dog in.

“Come on, coz. Give us all the gory details,” Brian encouraged.

Josie woke with a start. “Someone saygory?” she asked woozily.

“Yeah, spill the beans. I was getting some good intel on my mark,” Lily said.

“Me too. What’s the deal?” Fred asked, looking up from the game. “That ChooChoo Cabernet Jones hit a PR on the bench press at the gym. I love a fit lady.”

“Horseface guy to napkin,” Mr. Willicott said and moved his knight to Fred’s cocktail napkin.

“Good news. You’re all retired again.” Nick took the seat next to Riley, who was solicitously holding Burt’s bone for him while he chewed it.

“But I already had tomorrow’s outfit picked out. I was going to be Scarlett O’Hara,” Lily complained.

“Just talking to these people gives me a migraine,” Nick complained to Riley as he scrubbed his hands over his face.

She took pity on him. “While Mrs. Penny was guarding Griffin, a man we believe to be the stalker cut the power to Griffin’s house and may have electrocuted himself,” she said.

“Who was it?” Lily asked.

“We weren’t there for the official identification,” Riley hedged, her gaze flicking to Nick. Their cohorts weren’t exactly known for their ability to keep their mouths shut.

“He was Gentry’s sexually harassing, money-embezzling asshat of a next-door neighbor,” he announced.

A collectiveOoooooh!rose up from the room’s occupants.

“Why’d he do it?” Josie asked before biting into both Twix bars at the same time.

“He was pissed and sleep-deprived because Channel 50 was shooting the morning show at Gentry’s house.”

“That’s a dumb reason,” Josie said with her mouth full.

“People have attempted dumber murders for dumber reasons,” Nick pointed out.

“Does this mean I will no longer have to spend my time ensuring the safety of unnecessarily annoying people?” Gabe asked hopefully.