“The letter said it was in one of the older Normalton neighborhoods and fairly close to the university.”
“Which one? Mine?”
“Got me.” Dani twitched her shoulders. There was more than one college in Normalton, Illinois, and she was geographically challenged. North, south, east, and west didn’t mean a lot to her.
“Why did this Geraldine person leave it to you?” Ivy narrowed her bright-blue eyes.
“From what I understand, my grandma Sloan and Mrs. Cook were both members of Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority. They pledged together and became best friends.”
“That’s the grandmother that died when you were really young, right?” Ivy asked.
“Uh-huh.” Dani drew her legs up and hugged her knees. “I barely remember her. My parents never talked about Grandma much because of some sort of feud between her and my mom.”
“But your mom died nearly fifteen years ago.” Ivy wrinkled her forehead. “Didn’t your father talk about his mother then?”
“Nope. Dad’s a world champion grudge holder and still refuses to discuss Grandma to this day.” Dani’s lips thinned. “I don’t even have a picture of her. I’m hoping to find some among Mrs. Cook’s possessions.”
“Why would your grandmother’s friend leave you her house?” Ivy asked as she headed into the kitchen, where she grabbed a can of Diet Coke.
When Ivy returned, Dani said, “According to the letter, Geraldine and Grandma made a promise to look after each other’s families.” Dani bit her thumbnail. “Geraldine was widowed several years ago and she didn’t have children. Her closest relative is a third cousin she hadn’t heard from in the past ten years, so…”
“So she left you her fortune.” Ivy bounced up and down on the balls of her feet.
“I wouldn’t go that far.” Dani smiled ruefully. “The place is an old mansion that is currently undergoing an unfinished rehab. I’ll probably just sell it.”
Available Spring 2018
Acknowledgments
A huge thanks to Cindy Killian, Sarah Whitt Reed, and Margaret Adame Trott for sharing their labor and delivery experiences. Skye needed all the help she could get!
About the Author
© David Stybr
Denise Swanson is the New York Times bestselling author of the Scumble River mysteries and the Devereaux’s Dime Store mysteries, as well as many contemporary romances. She worked as a school psychologist for twenty-two years before quitting to write full-time. She lives in rural Illinois with her husband. Visit her online on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
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Dead in the Water Page 26