Building Blocks of Murder Read Online Free Page B

know, Tosh. I don’t think I’m ready for a relationship. I’m still in recovery mode.”
    “Maybe you won’t know until you try,” Tosh suggested.
    Lacy shrugged.
    “That’s an underwhelming response,” Tosh said. He hunched in his seat and stared hard at the maple tree, too.
    “You’re not allowed to be angry with me. I told you up front how it is.”
    “I’m not angry,” Tosh said sullenly. He perked up and smiled at her, leaning across the seat to kiss her cheek. “Promise, I’m not angry.” He bussed her cheek a second time and started his car. “I’ll pick you up at six tomorrow. I won’t pretend we’re anything more than friends to my brother, but if you could wear something knockout and fawn all over me, that would be great.”
    “I’ll see what I can do,” she promised. “See you tomorrow.”
    He waited in the driveway until she was safely inside, and then he drove away.
    As soon as she stepped inside, she saw her grandparents sitting together on the couch, their heads close together in conversation. They turned to her with smiles when she entered the room.
    “Hi, honey, were you out with Jason?” her grandmother asked.
    “No, I was with Tosh. I bought a building.” She sat heavily on the chair opposite them, her legs suddenly numb with renewed shock.
    Her grandparents blinked at her in unison as if their eyelids were working in coordination. “You what?” Mr. Middleton asked.
    “I bought the Stakely building,” she said.
    He took a sip of his coffee before answering. “I always liked that building. What are you going to do with it?”
    His matter-of-fact attitude made Lacy smile, easing some of her anxiety. “I have no idea. What do you guys think I should do?”
    “That’s up to you, honey,” her grandmother said. She sat back with a nostalgic smile. “Lots of good memories happened at that building. Remember, Tom, when it was a happening marketplace?” Her hand rested on his forearm.
    Now it was Mr. Middleton’s turn to smile. “Those were good days. The town was bustling and not everyone was old and dried up.”
    “I didn’t know it was ever a marketplace,” Lacy said.
    “It closed when you were a baby,” her grandmother replied.
    “What was it like?” she asked. She sat back as her grandparents began to regale her with tales of what the town had been like fifty years ago. As they talked, a picture began to form in her mind. Wouldn’t it be great if the Stakely building could be returned to its former glory? The thought that she had no idea how to embark on such an adventure tried to intrude, but she wouldn’t let it. Where there was a will there was a way, right? How hard could it be to renovate a one-hundred-year-old building?
    “I’m supposed to look at it tomorrow with the inspector,” Lacy said when their reminiscence was finished. “Will you go with me?” she asked her grandfather. Maybe it was an old-fashioned notion, but she believed that all men were endowed with the ability to know things about construction, whereas she knew nothing at all.
    “Love to,” he said. His tone didn’t change, but she knew he was pleased by her request. For so many years, he had been alone, standing on the periphery of their family and looking in. Lacy felt bad about all those wasted years; she was anxious to make up for them by including him in her life as much as possible. Plus, she genuinely liked him. Like her grandmother, he was a kind, wise, and no-nonsense person.
    “It’s a date, then,” she said, standing. “Good night you two.” Don’t stay up too late, she was tempted to add. Even though she yawned on the way to her bedroom, she had trouble falling asleep. The day had been eventful, to say the least. She had bought a building. Tosh’s brother was coming to town, and he thought she and Tosh were dating. Most of all, though, her mind kept replaying the earlier scene with Jason. And even though the fight had been ugly, her thoughts dwelled mostly on what