Sadie turned to Palmer. “What are you doing?”

  “I know that this is hard to take, Sadie,” Palmer said as he tried to set a calming hand on her shoulder.

  She shrugged away. “Palmer. No. It’s too soon. It’s too...”

  “You can’t do this,” Elle shouted as Joanne slapped the first cuff onto her wrist with more force than necessary.

  “Do you really have to cuff her?” Sadie said as she approached them.

  The patrons of the shop stopped sipping their tea and all looked at the commotion.

  “Come on,” Sadie said. “You could just ask her to come to the station with you.”

  “That’s against procedure.” Joanne slapped on the other cuff with even more force.

  “Ow.”

  “You’re using more force than necessary,” Sadie complained. “For crying out loud.”

  Elle shot a questioning glance at Sadie, then looked around her shop that had a half dozen patrons scattered about.

  “I’ll make sure that everything is okay here,” Sadie offered. “I’ll stay and take care of everything.”

  Joanne took a firm grip of Elle’s upper arm and guided her to the door.

  Unable to think straight, Sadie turned to Palmer. “How could you?”

  “Sadie,” Palmer said. “I know you’re emotionally attached to this whole sordid story, but Elle is clearly responsible for the death of her sister.”

  Sadie pointed in the direction that Joanne and Elle had exited the tea shop. “That spectacle did not have to happen. That young officer, who clearly has something to prove, could have come here at closing time and, quietly and discreetly ask Elle to come to the station of her own accord.”

  Chapter 7

  After Elle’s arrest, Sadie was too angry at Palmer to stay with him at the Tea Shop. She went home right after. Sadie hugged her coffee mug as she walked out the back door of her country home. She looked out at the yard that was covered with yellow, orange and red leaves.

  “I’m going to have to find the time to rake those up before the snow falls,” she said to no one.

  Biscuit, who’d followed her out, let out a sympathetic little yelp.

  “Yeah,” Sadie said. “I know. You like playing in the leaves. Well... enjoy while you can.”

  He darted off, running wildly through the leaves, barking as they flew up into the air and chomping on them as they floated back down to the ground. After a few tiring runs, he finally returned to the edge of the patio, panting.

  “Feel better?” Sadie said with a chuckle.

  Biscuit grabbed his banana shaped chew toy and lay down with it.

  Sadie pulled back one of the wicker chairs that flanked her small outdoor table and sat down. Sipping her coffee, she watched the sun slowly turn the sky to gold, as the rays cast a shimmering light on everything.

  It was wondrous and beautiful yet fleeting. Soon the sun would disappear completely over the distant horizon. It was the time of day when she usually felt relaxed. It was the time of day to contemplate her accomplishments and to plan for the day to come. It was the time of day to just sit back and think of nothing at all, if she were so inclined.

  But there was no relaxation to be had that night. Even when she managed to cling to the fanciful flight of a bright red leaf as it flew across her yard, the moment it landed, her thoughts reverted back to Emma.

  There was no escaping it.

  Time, she thought. Yes. Time will ease the pain. In time her visions of Emma will be of her smiling and laughing, not the horrid vision of her hanging from the ceiling light. In time, she’ll think only of the good times. This aching will fade, she told herself.

  Sadie looked at her cup, knowing in that moment that she would have a sleepless night. She should have warmed herself a cup of milk. She usually avoided coffee at night and tended to opt for chamomile tea, but she just couldn’t bring herself to have any kind of tea at all. The very mention of tea was enough to churn her emotions up again.

  Orchid came up to brush against her leg while Biscuit came to sit at her feet, chewing on his toy.

  “This is so hard, guys,” Sadie whispered as she reached for Orchid’s tail and gently tugged as the tail ran through her fingers. “Palmer had Elle arrested. Could things get any worse?”

  Three dark birds suddenly flew by attracting Orchid’s attention. As she walked off to see what the birds were up to, Biscuit looked up at Sadie.

  Smiling, Sadie reached down to pet him behind the ear.

  “I just can’ accept it, Biscuit,” she said. “I can’t accept that Elle killed her own sister. I mean, Emma was hanging from a ceiling light in the kitchen. How upset do you have to be to do such a thing? You would really have to hate that person, wouldn’t you?”

  And how strong? Sadie wondered.

  Had Palmer taken that into consideration? Had he considered how Elle had managed to stab Emma in the abdomen, then drag her up to hang her from the ceiling.

  Okay, she could have thrown a rope over the pipe that ran along the ceiling, then hoist her up... but still.

  Elle?

  Or perhaps Elle had had some help. Someone was back there with her, helping her.

  Adam? But why in the world would Emma’s fiancé want to see her dead? And in such a horrific way?

  No. It couldn’t be. None of it was possible. She just knew it.

  Biscuit pawed at her hand that had stopped petting him. I wish I could help make you feel better.

  Sadie snorted as she resumed petting him. “Yeah. I wish you could help make me feel better, too.” She looked up as the last ray of sun faded to nothing.

  “Elle is acting so strange,” she said. “She’s always been a little quirky, but this is different. There’s no emotion. No remorse. No real grief.”

  Biscuit suddenly let out an alerting yelp and a second later the doorbell rang.

  “Urgh,” Sadie let out. “I’m really not in the mood for visitors.”

  The doorbell rang again, and Biscuit let out another yelp, only with a little more gusto.

  “Go away,” Sadie muttered. Smiling, she looked down at Biscuit. “Can’t you go and scare whoever that is away?”

  I wish I could.

  The evening grew silent for a moment, then the sound of footsteps spurred Biscuit to bark wildly as he ran down the patio and around the side of the house to greet the visitor.

  I should stand up to greet whoever it is, Sadie thought, but she couldn’t bring herself to move. She just sat there, waiting.

  Yapping amicably the whole way, Biscuit arrived at the heels of the visitor.

  “Is your doorbell working?”

  Sadie looked up to see Kenwood coming around the side of the house.

  “Kenwood,” she said, finally finding the strength to get to her feet. “You’re back from New York.”

  “I am,” he said as he set a bag down on the small table by the steps and came to her. “I wish I could have come back sooner.”

  “Oh, Kenwood,” Sadie lamented as she fell into his open arms.

  “I heard that you lost a close friend of yours.” He kissed the top of her head and held her in a warm embrace.

  She nodded into his chest as a fresh wave of tears began to form.

  “Emma, right?” he said. “Emma Grandy?”

  “Yeah,” Sadie mumbled. “I still can’t believe it.”

  “I’m so sorry.” He pulled back slightly and looked at her for a while, his eyes warm and loving. “How are you doing?”

  Sadie looked up into his warm and caring eyes. “I don’t know what to think anymore, Kenwood. I just can’t get my head around this one. I was with Emma just minutes before she was found dead. I was with her that day. I was right there in her shop, having tea and working on my cookbook and...” Her voice trailed off as the vision of Emma hanging there came to her mind once again.

  “I know,” Kenwood cooed. “I know.” He pulled her close to him and held her tight, his cheeks resting against hers.

  They held each other for a long moment and finally released each other when Biscuit let out a quick, short yap.

  “I almost forgot,” Kenwood said as he took a few steps back and reached for the paper bag that he’d left on the small table by the steps. “I figured you probably haven’t been eating much, so I brought you a few treats.”

  He brought the bag to the table beside Sadie and pulled out a small pastry box and two small cartons of ice cream. “We have some soft and chewy pastries... something akin to a petit chou... and they go quite nicely with chocolate ice cream and even better with vanilla ice cream... whichever you wish.”

  “You made these?” Sadie said as she opened the small pastry box.

  “You bet,” Kenwood said. “You know how I love to bake for you...how I’d love to make you happy.”

  She smiled then looked at the beautifully decorated bite-sized pastries in the box. “They look expertly done.”

  “Thank you.”

  Despite her praise, she pushed the box of pastries away.

  “Don’t you want to try them?”

  Sadie shook her head. “I’m sorry, Kenwood. I’m not really in the mood to try anything... to eat anything. I’m not in the mood for a treat.” She sat back down and looked at him. “I certainly appreciate the thought, though.”

  He pulled up another chair and sat near her. Reaching for her hand, he held it between his, his thumb gently caressing the back of her hand. “I can’t imagine how difficult this must be for you.”

  She huffed and nodded. “You’d think that I would be used to seeing death by now. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve come upon an unfortunate and horrific scene. But this one... Oh, Kenwood,” she said. “I close my eyes and I see her. I go to bed at night, and I hear her. And then there’s Elle. She’s been arrest, you know. Have you seen her yet?”

  “I know that she’s down at the station, but no. I haven’t had the chance to go down and see her yet.”

  “Well, you risk being shocked when you do,” Sadie said. “I’ve never seen anyone react to the death of a loved one this way.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” He smiled as he leaned in to gently kiss her cheek. “I wish there was something that I could do to help make you feel better.”

  Now, where have I heard that before? Biscuit looked at Kenwood and let out a friendly little yelp.

  Sadie glanced at Biscuit and let out a soft chuckle before looking back at Kenwood. “Just having you here helps.”

  Kenwood leaned in closer and warmly wrapped his lips around hers. The kiss was soft and sweet, filled with longing, but with just as much restraint.

  “You know how much I care about you, Sadie,” he said, his voice husky as he pulled away from the tender kiss.

  “I know,” Sadie said. “I appreciate it.”

  Kenwood leaned back in his chair, keeping a close eye on her. “This ice cream is going to melt if we don’t eat it,” he said with a sly grin.

  Smiling, Sadie picked up the small carton of chocolate ice cream, snapped off the small spoon that was taped to the top and flicked the top off the carton.

  “Dig in,” Kenwood said after doing the same with the vanilla ice cream. He plunged the spoon into the slightly softened dessert.

  “Hmm,” Sadie said as she savored the rich chocolaty treat. “This is really good.”

  “And it goes super well with that puff pastry. The pastry is deliberately bland, but it has a nice texture that marries well with the soft coolness of the ice cream.”

  Sadie picked up the small ball of dough, took a bite then added a spoonful of ice cream to her full mouth. Nodding, she picked up another pastry ball. “You’re right. The textures work really well together. You could almost make a frozen treat that marries them both. Maybe find a way to put this ice cream in this little ball of dough.”

  “Don’t think I haven’t tried,” he said with a chuckle. “The mess in my kitchen can attest to that.”

  Imagining the state of his kitchen, Sadie laughed as she spooned yet another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth. “You know what they say; you have to break some eggs to make an omelet.”

  “Yep. And you have to make a mess of your kitchen if you want to develop something new and innovative.”

  She laughed again and sat back looking at him. For the first time since Emma’s death, she was able to fully let go. It was a great release that she needed more than she could have imagined.

  They finished off their respective cartons of ice cream, ate the remainder of the pastries then sat back as the dusk of the evening turned to darkness.

  The delicate little white lights that Sadie had strung around the perimeter of the patio automatically turned on once it was dark enough.

  “Nice,” Kenwood said. “I love the ambiance that you have out here. So quiet. So peaceful.”

  “I never tire of it,” Sadie admitted. “The endless view, that sweet smell of autumn leaves and the caress of that cool breeze.”

  “I certainly wish that I had a view like this,” Kenwood said. “The view from my backyard is immediately cut off by the dense forest behind my house.”

  Sadie smiled but felt the fatigue of the day weigh down on her. Though it was still early despite the near total darkness, the day had worn her out. “I really appreciate you stopping by, Kenwood,” she said, hoping to discreetly and delicately indicate that it was time for him to leave.

  He got the hint immediately and got to his feet. “I’m glad I was able to help break the... well, the pain of it all.”

  “You did,” she said as she stood and faced him. “Thank you.”

  “I know that you’re rattled by this case,” Kenwood said as he gripped her shoulders in a firm hold. “I want you to know that I’m going to start working on it immediately. I going to head down to the station right now and talk to Elle. We’ll get to the bottom of this, Sadie. I have a few interesting things to look into, and I’m going to figure this whole mess out.”

  “But Palmer has already determined that Elle is...”

  Kenwood nodded. “I just want to make sure that everything is in order. I want to make sure that we’ve got it right. I don’t want this case to go to court only to find that we cut a few corners and arrested the wrong person. If Elle really did kill her sister, I want her to think about her crime for a long, long time behind bars. If not, I want to find out who did.”

  Sadie nodded. “Good. Thanks.”

  Chapter 8

  After a good night’s sleep, Sadie felt a little better the next morning. It was still a chore to drag herself out of her bed, but she sensed a certain degree of optimism that hadn’t been there before.

  Kenwood? Was Kenwood’s assurance that he would look into the case responsible for this sudden burst of optimism on her part?

  Shrugging, she headed off to the bathroom for a quick shower then, wrapped up in her fuzzy pink robe, she headed out to the kitchen.

  Yapping for attention, Biscuit did his little pee pee dance by the back door.

  “I’m coming,” Sadie said as she made her way to him. “I’m coming.”

  She opened the back door and he bolted out to find an appropriate spot to relieve himself.

  “How about you?” Sadie said to Orchid who was purring as she sat on the edge of the counter.

  “Meow.”

  “Right,” Sadie said. “No time for small talk. All you want is some food.” She popped open a small tin of food, spooned it onto a small dish and set it down in front of Orchid. “Here you go.”

  By that time, Biscuit had finished his business and was eager to come back inside.

  Sadie let him in, filled his dish with kibble and set it down for him.

  “Now that you guys are taken care of, I’m going to go get dressed.”

  She headed off to her room. This time, she decided to put a little more thought into her attire. She pulled on a nice fitting pair of black pants, a baby pink turtleneck, over which she threw on a cute little black vest.

  After slipping on her black booties and a warm jacket, she grabbed her purse and headed out.

  “Later, guys,” she called out as she opened the front door and headed out.

  Eager to know the status of Emma’s murder case, she got into her car and drove down to the police station. Just as she pulled into the parking lot, her phone rang.

  Smiling as she read Kenwood’s name on her phone, she got out of her car and slowly made her way to the door as she answered the call.

  “Sorry to bother you so early,” Kenwood said. “Did you sleep well?”

  “Like a rock,” she said as she entered the station.

  “Good,” he said. “I’m happy to hear that. I was hoping that you could come down to the station this morning. Are you up for it?”

  Sadie glanced at the clerk who nodded, allowing Sadie in. She walked to the open door of Kenwood’s office.

  “I’m up for it if you are.”

  With a confused smile on his face, Kenwood looked up at her, looked back at his phone and back at her again. “Okay, then. Bye,” he said into the phone. Shaking his head, he looked at her with a funny smile on his face, set the phone down and stood to greet her. “I mean, hello,” he said to her.

  “I just happened to be parking the car when you called.”

  “Looks like we’re on the same wavelength.”

  “I guess you could say that.”

  Smiling, Kenwood came around his desk and leaned in to kiss her cheek. “You’re looking a little better than you did last night. Should I take the credit for that?”

  “You can take a bit of the credit. But I wish I could say that I feel a whole lot better, but... truth is, I’m just trying to get through. Don’t get me wrong. I really enjoyed your visit last night and your promise to look into the case gave me hope.” She leaned back to look down the hall where the holding cell was. “I was hoping to have a chance to see Elle. If I’m going to get any closure on this, I need to have a good long talk with her. I need to hear her side of the story... the whole story.”