Vanessa shook her head sadly. “I feel horrible that her wedding was ruined. And of course about Sally."

  Her priorities were a little off, but to be honest, I felt more for Mauve than I did for Sally too, so I couldn’t judge.

  "Yeah it's all pretty awful." I scooped some salsa onto a chip and shoved it in my mouth.

  "Do you know when the funeral is supposed to be?" Vanessa asked.

  "I think in a couple days. Things got put on hold a little because of the investigation, but I think they're releasing the body tomorrow."

  "Can you let me know once you have the details? I'd love to pay my respects. Or if Mauve needs any help planning it with Sally’s family.”

  Was she seriously trying to get more work right now? Wow.

  "Of course. Is there anything you need from Mauve from all the wedding plans?"

  Vanessa shook her head. “No. I handled everything."

  "Does she owe you money?" I asked.

  "No, she already paid. But thanks for the offer." Vanessa stopped when the server returned and put in a to go order.

  "Thank you for handling so much of the clean up."

  She shrugged. “It's my job."

  "So, how well did you know Sally?" Jules asked.

  Finally. I didn’t want to be the only one asking and fielding questions. But he and Belle had kept to their corners this whole time, shoveling chips into their mouths.

  "As well as most of the town, I guess. Or as the three of you do. We all went to school together, it's a small town."

  I nodded. “During all the wedding preparations, did you hear anything from anyone that would make you think they had it in for Sally?"

  Vanessa’s brow furrowed. “No. I don't think so."

  "That's too bad,” Jules said.

  She held up a finger. “Wait. I did overhear a small argument between Sally and Annie."

  My pulse skittered. “What about?"

  "Something to do with Lee. I don't know what, but they were always fighting about something."

  Lee and Annie again. Interesting.

  "So I've heard."

  Vanessa scoffed. ”Don't you remember high school?"

  I shrugged. “I’ve tried to block most of it out."

  "I wish I could." A mix of old anger and bitterness passed through her expression before she wiped it clean.

  It was looking like Annie was now our main suspect. Between what April said and now Vanessa, it made sense. It was probably too easy, and I couldn't really see Annie as a killer, but I made my living on finding the least likely suspects and figuring out reasons why they'd kill someone.

  If I was writing this story, I probably would choose Jules as the killer. He was pretty and fun and anyone would get sick of having a spoiled and conceited woman following them around, demanding they change their ways. Sadly, I understood why Markle had some suspicions, but since I knew Jules so well, it was insane to imagine him as the killer.

  It was also insane to focus on only one suspect when there was so little physical evidence.

  "Is there anyone else you think might've done it?" I asked.

  Vanessa shrugged. “My money's on Annie or Lee."

  “I see.”

  The server returned with all our food, interrupting our talk of murder and suspects.

  Vanessa clutched her paper bag of tacos. “I should probably get going. Thanks for the company and please let me know if Mauve needs any more help."

  I smiled. “Will do. And I'll text you with the funeral info once I have it."

  "Great. Thanks. You three have a good day."

  Jules waved. “You too." He waited until she was out the door before he turned back to me. "So, what next?"

  "Next, we eat and then I guess we should go talk to Annie. See what she has to say."

  Chapter Sixteen

  Annie’s house was pretty impressive, a bit insane for one person to live in, but lovely. It was made out of gray stone and white trim, a big porch that reminded me of the ones in the Deep South.

  My biggest issue was the tiny piece of land it was stuck on. She could probably spit and hit the side of her neighbor’s house from her porch. Then, walk across her porch and spit on the other neighbor’s house.

  “I don’t see her car parked out front,” Jules said.

  I shrugged. “Maybe it’s in the garage?”

  “Might as well go knock and find out.”

  The three of us got out of the car and walked up the cobblestone pathway to the porch steps.

  Jules rang the doorbell and knocked a couple times, but no one answered the door.

  A man poked his head out the door of the house next door on the left. “Can I help you folks?”

  Jules put on his most charming smile. “We’re looking for Annie.”

  The neighbor stepped completely onto his porch and squinted at us. “She left.”

  My jaw dropped. “Left?”

  How could she be gone? Didn’t the Sheriff tell people at the wedding to stay in town?

  He nodded. “Yeah. She had some business in New York she had to take care of. She’ll be back in a few days.”

  Jules raised a brow. “Oh really?”

  “Yeah. She asked me to keep an eye on things.”

  “Ok. Thank you. Guess we’ll have to try back later.” I herded the other two towards the steps.

  No point in staying if she was gone.

  Her neighbor piped up again when we were halfway down the steps. “If you need to get ahold of her for something important, you might try that boyfriend of hers.”

  “Boyfriend?” I turned to frown at him.

  I hadn’t heard anything about Annie seeing anyone.

  “Yeah. I forget his name. But he’d know.”

  How was that supposed to help us. A name would’ve been helpful. Just the knowledge that Annie had a boyfriend, not so much.

  Jules waved him off. “It can wait. Thank you.”

  “No problem.”

  The man didn’t duck back inside his house until we were back inside the car.

  I cranked the engine. “Well, this is suspicious. She takes off? Right after Sally’s murder? She’s not going to be here for the funeral if she doesn’t get back soon.”

  Jules sighed. “Yeah, this isn’t looking good for Annie. But she has to realize this looks bad, right? She’s making herself look more guilty.”

  I huffed. “Yeah, to us. But is Markle even looking into her?”

  “When he was interrogating me, he didn’t share his other theories with me or if he even had any other theories.”

  Of course.

  I pulled out of her driveway and headed back home. “Ugh, he annoys me. And who is this boyfriend? I didn’t see her with anyone at the wedding. She seemed to come alone.”

  Jules shrugged. “Maybe it’s a new relationship.”

  “Yeah, but from what everyone is saying, she would’ve wanted to rub it in Sally’s face that she had a boyfriend since Sally currently didn’t as far as we know.”

  Jules sucked on his bottom lip. “True.”

  “None of this is making sense.”

  I turned to look over my shoulder at Belle. “Hey, text Vanessa and ask for the wedding photographer’s info. I want to get copies of the candids of the reception. Maybe they’ll show something we missed.”

  “More for your murder board?” Belle asked.

  I nodded. “Yeah. I need to put it together tonight.”

  “Well, we can’t do anything about Annie right now,” Jules said. “Is it time to talk to Fred?”

  “Yeah, but we should probably handle him carefully. I don’t want him going off crying to Kate who then tells her boss.”

  “Yeah, Kate is really protective of him. I think if we handle it the same way we did Vanessa, it shouldn’t make him suspicious.”

  “Yeah, but he doesn’t post every little movement he makes like Vanessa does. I have no idea where he is so we can accidentally bump into him.” I’d already tried.

  “Hmm. He’ll definitely be at the funeral, but that’s still a couple days away. Should we try and find Lee?”

  I groaned. “I guess. He seems the type to keep up with social media. But I am really not looking forward to talking to him.”

  Jules chuckled. “He’s a complete prat. I was hoping you two could go without me.”

  “Uh uh. No way. We’re doing this for you in the first place, so if we have to deal with Lee, so do you.”

  “Fine. I’ll check online to see if he’s posted anything.” Jules pulled his phone from his pocket and started swiping and tapping at it.

  “You know, maybe we should be looking through all the suspect’s social media posts. It might give us more information than bumping into them at random spots in town and trying to strike up a conversation about murder.”

  Jules looked up at me with a grin. “You’re that desperate not to talk to Lee?”

  “Yes. But I mean it too.”

  “Does that mean back to your place?”

  “Yes. I’m already headed that way.”

  “Thank goodness.” Belle’s mutter from the backseat made Jules and I burst into laughter.

  She’d apparently had more than enough people today.

  And so had I.

  Chapter Seventeen

  I groaned and rubbed at my aching forehead. "Is it wrong to hope they're all guilty somehow? They seem to be nothing but a drain on society. Other than Fred. I hope he's innocent. It's hard to tell though, because he doesn't have much of a social media footprint."

  Jules looked across the table at me. “Doesn't mean he's a killer. I don't have much of one either.”

  "I just meant I can't rule him out in any way. Not that I've been able to rule out any of them yet. Belle, have you heard back yet about the wedding photos?"

  Belle turned from her spot by the stove where she was boiling water for tea. “Not yet. She said she'd email them over before the end of the day."

  "Where are you going to fit the photos? Your murder board is already so full it might be time to turn it into a murder wall."

  He was right. I’d left the murder board leaning against the wall across from the table and there was still a pile of papers and notes spread out between Jules and I.

  We’d printed off a bunch of possibly relevant social media posts and photos and taken notes on everything we could remember about the wedding, about Sally, about Annie, about Lee, and about everything we’d heard today.

  And we were absolutely nowhere, and Jules was right that my murder board looked awful. It was a complete mess.

  "True. I'll move it if I need to."

  "I'm in love with this board though. Makes you look a little like a serial killer planning your murders. Or a cop. I can't decide which."

  I chuckled. ”My writing ones tend to look pretty similar."

  But I couldn’t think about that right now because if I did, I’d get even more stressed about the deadline I was careening towards.

  "How would you feel about me making one for your magic?" Jules asked.

  I jerked my head towards him. “What do you mean?"

  "I'm intrigued by all of it. I'd like to figure it out."

  Belle shook her head as she brought our mugs of tea over to us. "You two are so much alike. You have to understand how everything works. You have to uncover every mystery."

  Jules grinned at me. “I guess that's why you became a mystery writer."

  "It doesn't explain you. Maybe you should've stayed in finance."

  He ignored my teasing. “Music has a mystery to solve. You have to find the hidden clues inside each note that leads you to the next one. It's what I love about it."

  I turned to Belle. “Is that how you see music too?"

  She sat down next to me and of course the dog came to join us, staying right by her side. ”I see mystery in music, but I approach it a different way. I want it to keep its mystery, so I tease around the edges, letting it lead me instead of me trying to understand it."

  "Your different outlooks fascinates me."

  Jules smiled into his mug. “We may come at it in different ways, but we both get there in the end."

  "You two always made such beautiful music together." I’d always been able to listen to them for hours, letting their music create a soundtrack for the stories in my head.

  "It's been a while. We should do it again soon."

  Belle ducked her head with a smile, but I could tell she liked the idea.

  "You should do it tonight when we come for dinner."

  "You in?" Jules asked.

  Belle nodded. ”Sure."

  "Just like old times."

  Belle and Jules started discussing what songs they had in common that they could play around with, but I tuned them out as I glared at my murder board.

  Teddy padded over to sit at my feet, his head cocked as he inspected my work.

  "Can you read?" I asked.

  He made a weird sound in his throat, like she was scoffing at me. “Don't be ridiculous. Of course not. But I can see the photos. And the rest of the mess."

  "What do you think?"

  Maybe I was crazy for asking a dog’s opinion, but I kept hearing how good their instincts were. And I was out of ideas at the moment, so any fresh viewpoint could help.

  "They all sound like terrible people. Makes it hard to choose one to root for."

  I snorted. “Yeah, I'm having the same problem."

  He cocked his head at me. “And for all you know, none of them are the killer and you're looking in the wrong place."

  Something I was trying valiantly to ignore for the moment.

  "Thanks for that. But I'd rather rule these guys out first."

  If I added more now, it would completely overwhelm us.

  "Foolish."

  "What?" I asked.

  "You should broaden your search before narrowing it down."

  “Why? That makes no sense. Right now, I have a small group I need to look into and if none of them pan out, I can then find more suspects. Why would I go looking for more suspects if the actual killer is in this group?"

  Instead of responding, Teddy huffed and turned his back on me to return to Belle's side, doing one of those doggy smiles when Belle cooed at him and rubbed at his head.

  Spoiled brat.

  Jules rose from his seat and came over to stand next to me. “You ready to head to my place for dinner? You could probably use a break from all that. Unless you're planning to bring your murder board with you?"

  He was coveting my murder board.

  "Nope. A break sounds good. My brain is running in circles."

  Very slow circles.

  "Mine too. This is starting to feel a little hopeless."

  I hated seeing him is such low spirits, without his usual mischief and bounce.

  "We'll figure it out. I'm honestly really counting on those photos to show me something. I'm glad either Mauve of Vanessa had the idea to have the disposable cameras all over the reception."

  Belle chuckled. “It was Vanessa's doing. Mauve actually wasn't thrilled with the idea since it's a bit...old fashioned, according to her."

  "That's right. She wanted a hashtag or something." Apparently weddings had their own websites now.

  "We don't exactly live in a town that's up on all the trends. Vanessa talked her down from that idea."

  "At least Vanessa had one good idea for the wedding."

  "It wasn't that bad. Well, other than the murder. You're just still mad because they both shot down you and Jules' idea about the fireworks."

  I scowled. “Yeah. I am."

  It would’ve been so fun and pretty.

  “Fireworks? At a wedding? That's tacky." Teddy made a weird gagging sound.

  I made a rude gesture at the dog. “Shut up. Your face is tacky."

  He struck a pose, looking like some kind of show dog. “My face is glorious. Everyone loves my face."

  Jules shook his head sadly. ”Oh dear. There are two of them."

  "Like you're any better."

  I let out a surprised bark of laughter. “Oh, look at Belle getting salty."

  Jules looked as proud as I felt. “We're good for her."

  "It's definitely us and not this little mutt butt."

  Belle ignored us and smiled down at her dog. “Do you need a leash or will you follow us down the road?

  Teddy made a huffing sound. “I do not like leashes. I will not wear one."

  "Does that mean you'll stay with us and no talking in front of strangers?" Belle asked.

  He sat and wagged his butt, giving her a doggie smile. “I am a dog. Not a moron like Harriet thinks."

  I scowled. “Only my mother is allowed to call me Harriet. I'll change your name to Lard Butt if you call me that again."

  He gasped. “You would not dare."

  "Oh, try me. Please."

  Jules couldn’t hide his amusement. “She'll do it. And she'll do it so much everyone else will start calling you that too."

  "Fine. Though I do not understand why you butcher a perfectly good name like Harriet and try to sound like a male." He sniffed.

  "Keep it up and I'll change it to Princess Buttlicker."

  Teddy turned and waddled over to the door. “I thought we were going to the man's house?"

  Jules laughed. “I have a name."

  "Well, now calling you humans by your names seems to be a dangerous thing to do."

  I grabbed a few files and the inkwell and journal, shoving it all in my bag. “Let's just go. He'll argue with us all night until it's time for breakfast if we let him. If he runs off, well, we're better off."

  Teddy released a quiet grumbling growl. ”I’m going to take a dump in your bed."

  “You do that, I'll shave off all your fur except for what's on your butt. Do you have any idea how ridiculous you'll look?”

  "Okay, time to separate you two. I'll take this snarling animal, Belle, you get Teddy." Jules grabbed me up and tossed me over his shoulder, carrying me laughing out the door.

  I tickled his sides and he shuddered and jerked so hard he almost dropped me on my head. "Careful."

  "Sorry." He slid me carefully to the ground, holding me by my hips to keep me steady. "You okay?"