Whiskey Rebellion (Romantic Mystery/Comedy) Book 1 (Addison Holmes Mysteries)

of time.”
    My mother turned off the headlights and drove slowly throu gh the park to the same place I’d tried to observe John Hyatt’s house from before. I got out of the car slowly and felt my way around to the hood. It was pitch black and when my eyes did start to adjust everything was still blurry.
    “Just let me gather some things and we’ll head off,” my mother said. “I packed us some snacks and caffeine just in case we needed the stimulation. I didn’t know how long this was going to take, and I didn’t want to be stranded out here without anything to eat. I even brought toilet paper in case we have to answer the call of nature.”
    I looked at the bulging picnic basket my mom held in her arms and knew we could ’ve been stranded out here for the next two weeks and still had plenty of food.
    “I hate to say it, but I’m going to have to leave the hat and coat in the car ” I said. “It’s too hot to go walking around in anything less than a bathing suit. I’m sweating like a pig.”
    “You’re right,” my mother agreed. “Your face is all flushed. Do you think Columbo would be disappointed?”
    Columbo would be laughing his ass off, but I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. “Nah, a good private investigator knows how to adjust to any situation.” I didn’t know if this was true or not, but it seemed to perk my mother up considerably.
    “You’re going to have to lead me around,” I said. “I still can’t see. I’ll just hold on to the back of your unitard.”
    “It’s a bodysuit. It was very fashionable when I was younger,” she said huffily. “Look, I can see the lights up ahead from John’s house.”
    “Well, I can’t see diddly squat,” I said, irritated. “Slow down.” I’d managed to trip over a log and run into a tree before deciding I needed to follow a lot closer if I was going to make it the rest of the way in one piece.
    “Sorry,” she said, slowing her step a little.
    We made a small camp of sorts about ten feet from the wrought iron fence that surrounded the Hyatt property. When I say small camp, I mean that my mother opened her backpack and laid down a camouflage blanket that my dad used the one time in his life he’d decided to go hunting.
    “It’s not a picnic, mom.”
    “I know, but there’s no need to rough it when we have every available comfort at our fingertips.”
    “Just grab the camera and that notebook over there. You’re going to have to document every detail for Nick’s records. This camera is great for long-range shots, so you should have no trouble getting the evidence we need. Okay?”
    “Gotcha. I can do this. Maybe I’ll get my Private Investigator’s license as well. This is fun.”
    I remembered that Victor Mooney had said that very thing to me just before he’d died.
    “Can you see anything?” I asked to change the subject. My vision was limited and all I could see were the bright lights that poured out of the ba ck windows of the Hyatt estate.
    “Lord, would you look at all those windows. Could you imagine having to clean them?”
    “Mom, focus! Can you see anything through the windows?”
    The sound of her gasp brought me to full alert.
    “What? What’s happening?” I hated not being able to see. I was missing all the good stuff.
    “There’s a blond woman in one of those silk Kimonos.”
    “That must be Loretta Swanson. She shouldn’t be here this late. Something must definitely be going on between the two of them. Make sure you’re writing everything down in the notebook I gave you.”
    “Right,” she said, doing just that.
    “Do you see anyone else?”
    “There’s a man sitting in a chair, but his back is to me. But I don’t think it’s John Hyatt. This man has too much hair, and it’s not as dark. It’s kind of a dishwater blond.”
    “Are they upstairs or downstairs?”
    “Downstairs, right in the living room. I think she should be a little more circumspect about entertaining gentlemen in her robe. I don’t think it sends the right signals.”
    I had a feeling that my mother and Rose Marie would get along famously.
    “Can you see in the upstairs rooms? Is John Hyatt up there?”
    “Just a minute. Let me get out the binoculars.”
    I watched in nervous silence as my mom filled pages in the little notebook I’d given her and snapped pictures like a pro.
    “Come on, mom. Don’t leave me hanging. What’s going on?”
    “Let’s just say that the blond and her guest are getting very