“Thanks so much for all of your help. You mentioned their donation. I found a reference in old ledgers about it, but no other details. I’m curious. When did this happen?”

  Marion beamed. “I’ve been here almost forty-three years, and that was one of the most exciting times. It was fun to be a part of the new library project. Your grandparents made a huge donation, and the town was so grateful. We wanted to name the building after them, but your grandparents were so humble and wanted to fly under the radar, so we didn’t make a fuss. But come here,” she beckoned her with a little wave like she was giving her a secret signal.

  Cassidy tentatively followed the librarian to the inside of the large conference room. “We wanted to honor them and their wishes, so everyone settled on this.” She pointed to a small bronze plaque above the door. “They didn’t want anything fancy.”

  “I’ve never noticed that before,” Cassidy said, as a warm feeling radiated through her. “That is so nice. I had no idea.” She pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of it for her collection.

  “I’ll be at the desk if you need anything during your research.” Marion waved her hand and hustled back toward the stacks.

  Cassidy wiped away a tear that leaked out and hurried over to start her search. She plunked down in a wooden chair and opened the search window. What a gold mine! She ended up printing twenty-five pages of articles and photos of her grandfather’s place.

  Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that it was past lunchtime. Gathering her things, she decided on a quick stop to grab some lunch before heading back. Elvis and the gals were probably wondering what had happened to her. I don’t quite have the whole picture yet, but many of the pieces are starting to fill in some of the blank spaces.

  14

  TUESDAY AFTERNOON

  After running her errands in town, Cassidy took a break to eat her sandwich in the Jeep. When her phone beeped with three rapid text alerts, she wiped her hands and glanced down at the screen. Austin. That’s odd. We don’t have any scheduled events until the weekend.

  The police are here. They want me to come down to the station.

  For questioning about the two dead women. I texted Annie, but she didn’t respond.

  Can you find her? I have no idea why they want to talk to me. Not a good way to start my day

  I’ll see if I can reach Annie. Do you need a lawyer? Cassidy asked. It’s almost twelve-thirty. Had he just woken up?

  She waited for what felt like many, painfully slow minutes, but received no response to her question. Starting the vehicle, she told her phone to call Annie. After three rings, she heard a faint “Hello. Annie’s Eats.”

  “Annie, it’s Cassidy Jamison. I got a text from Austin. He said the police want him to go to the station for questioning, and he couldn’t reach you.”

  “Oh, my stars. It’s because I’m out here near Berryville at a job, and the cell coverage is spotty. Crud. I can’t leave. I’m the only one here, and this lasts until three. This is not good. What would they want with him? All he does is work, eat, and sleep. He never causes any trouble.” Her voice rose several octaves as she continued to talk.

  “Don’t panic yet,” Cassidy said. “It might be nothing. I can run over to the police station and see what’s going on. Not sure if they’ll let me see him or not. Maybe they only have some more questions for him. I’ll fill you in as soon as I know something,” she said, balling up her sandwich wrapper.

  “You’re the best! I can’t thank you enough. Text me the minute you talk to him. I hate not being there to help him,” Annie said.

  “Will do. Don’t worry until we know something.” Cassidy clicked the disconnect button. She could feel her heart pounding in her temples. Why Austin? From what I can tell, he worked hard the entire time the reunion was going on.

  A murky thought crossed her mind and sent a shiver down her spine. Was there something deep-seated that I missed about him? Here I am, almost ready to hire him for the new project. Okay, get a grip, girlfriend. Your mind is going to the dark side. The police could just want to ask him some questions. Trust your instincts.

  She let out a long breath and put the Wrangler in gear. She headed two blocks over to the sheriff’s office, but finding parking at the government center at lunchtime took longer than the entire ride. She hustled to the front door of the brick building with the wavy nineteen-sixties awning over the sidewalk. She took a couple of deep breaths to calm down before she pulled on the glass door. The faint scents of antiseptic and burnt coffee tickled her nose when she stepped inside. Hoping her hair wasn’t wild from the drive over, she patted it down and steeled herself for her mission.

  She pulled out her phone and scrolled through Instagram to distract herself from her anxious thoughts as she waited for the line to inch forward to the information desk. When it was finally her turn at the counter, Maura Tinsley, a deputy who Cassidy remembered from high school, said, “Hey, Cassidy, it’s good to see you. It’s been a minute, hasn’t it? How can I help you?” Maura pushed a strand of dark curls out of her eyes.

  “It’s good to see you too. I didn’t know you worked at the sheriff’s office.”

  “Three years. I came over here from the tax office. It’s way more interesting over here. You never know what’s going to walk through the door,” Maura said with a wink. “What brings you by?”

  “My friend, Austin Taylor, was brought in for questioning. His sister is out of town, and she asked me to stop by and check on him.”

  “Austin. Oh, yes. He came in an hour or so ago. He’s in the back. I’m sure he’s fine. Sheriff Howell is with him,” Maura said with a slight smile.

  “Is Detective Turner available?”

  “Let me check. Last I saw of him, he was in the interview room too.” Maura cradled the phone’s receiver with her shoulder and punched several buttons. “I’m sorry. He’s not answering. He’s probably tied up. Do you want to leave a message?”

  “Maybe I’ll wait a bit and see if I can catch him when he’s done.” Cassidy chewed on her bottom lip.

  “Okay, but it could be a while. His meetings are looooong, and if he’s not here, then he’s always out on the road. He’s hard to catch,” Maura said, shifting red folders on her desk.

  Settling in a plastic chair next to a side table full of outdated magazines with crinkled covers, Cassidy sat so she could see the office area behind Maura and the door.

  Scrolling through the major news sites and the local ones, she read all the stories she could find on Darcy and Britt. Not surprisingly, Darcy’s death got more coverage than the former cheerleader, even on the local sites.

  By the time she had shifted in the chair for the fiftieth time, she heard a “Cassidy, what are you doing here?” from across the room. Zac, with a coffee mug in his hand, covered the distance between them in a few strides. “I didn’t expect to see you here. You okay?”

  “I’m fine. I got a text from Austin, Austin Taylor. His sister Annie is my caterer, and she’s out of town and very concerned about her brother. She asked me to stop by and check to see if he needed anything.” Like a lawyer She paused to stop herself from babbling and drew a long breath in through her nose, hoping that would calm the staccato beat of her heart.

  Zac’s bright grin faded like the sun when storm clouds roll in, and she couldn’t tell what was going on behind those hazel eyes. After an uncomfortably long pause, he said, “We had some questions we needed his help on. He’ll be out soon. Nothing to worry about.”

  A wave of relief rushed over her. Okay, so Austin’s not under arrest. And it sounds like he’ll be free to go soon.

  The detective, now in his stern business mood, stared at her.

  “Oh, that’s good. Annie will be glad to hear it. I guess I’ll wait here until he comes out to see if he needs a ride.”

  Without another word, the detective nodded and headed for the door to the back offices.

  Well, that was a little weird. He went from friendly to Oscar the Grouch in less than two seconds. Shaking off the exchange with the detective, she texted Annie with what she knew and promised a follow-up when she had more information.

  She waited about another hour until the door opened and Austin stepped out into the waiting room. “Hey, I didn’t expect to see you here,” he said.

  “I talked to Annie, and she’s up in Berryville. She asked me to see what I could find out about why you’re here and let her know. Are you okay? What did they want to know?” she whispered.

  “Oh, yeah. Fine. The sheriff and Zac had some questions about the two murders and what I’d seen at your place. Have you had lunch yet? I’m starving. I missed breakfast.”

  Cassidy nodded. “I have, yes. But if you want to grab something, I could get something to drink.”

  “Cool. Let’s go see if Marcie has any sandwiches left.” He held the glass door for her. “My car is over there. You want to meet at the coffee place?” I guess the police let him drive himself in. They weren’t looking to take him into custody. That’s good news

  “See you in a bit.” Cassidy headed for her Jeep and another trip to Main Street.

  After finding a seat at a small table in the corner, Cassidy took a sip of her iced chai and looked across at Austin, who pulled off his sunglasses and set them on the table. “So, what exactly did the police ask you?” she asked.

  “They had a lot of questions about Britt and Darcy. And they wanted to know what I remembered about both of them last weekend—like who they were hanging around with, if I ever saw Darcy with Vince, and if anyone had any altercations with the victims. They also asked a fair number of questions about Mac. I don’t remember ever talking to him. Maybe I got him a drink. I don’t remember.”

  Cassidy leaned forward, waiting for more details. After a long pause, she asked, “Well, did you have answers for them?”

  “Not really. I had a couple of conversations with Darcy and several with Britt. She hung around the bar more. I didn’t think any of the convos were that big of a deal. They were mostly about their drinks or the weather.

  “There was one thing the detective seemed to be interested in. One time, Britt and Darcy were at the bar with some other women. Britt and her bunch did most of the talking. Then the chatter stopped, and they all left, one after the other. Not to go back to their seats or something. They all took off out the main doors, but they went individually. It was like about five minutes apart. It caught my eye, and I remember watching them all slip out like they were waiting their turn to be the next to leave. It looked odd. It was like Darcy, that guy Vince, Britt, and some other gal were all leaving, but they didn’t want to be seen together.”

  Cassidy furrowed her brow. “So, explain that again.”

  “It was like they were together, but not really. I remember seeing Darcy pick up her purse and head out the barn doors, and Vince was minutes behind her. Then the other blonde woman on the reunion committee ran over to Britt, and they had a lively conversation, and then Britt flew out after them. The other woman waited a bit and then she left too. It was weird.”

  “Who was the other woman?” Could that be the night Darcy went missing?

  “I dunno. She was blonde,” Austin said, taking a bite of his pimento sandwich.

  They’re all blonde except Darcy. “If you think of who it is, let me know.”

  Glancing down at her phone, Cassidy noticed several missed texts. “It’s Annie. I didn’t send her an update.” Slightly embarrassed that she had forgotten to respond, she tapped a quick text.

  Thanks, popped up on her screen I haven’t heard anything from Austin either. Tell him to check his phone.

  “She said to check your phone,” Cassidy said.

  He nodded and polished off his sandwich. “Yep, she’s been blowing it up. I guess I should have told her I was done, but I was hungry. When I got the call, I wasn’t sure why the sheriff’s office needed me to come in. It turned out to be a big nothing. But they did tell me not to leave town.” He shrugged and scrolled through his phone.

  “I need to get back to work. I’m glad things worked out for you.”

  “Thanks for coming down here. I appreciate it,” he said with his megawatt smile. “See ya around. Hopefully soon.”

  I’m glad he wasn’t called in for more than a few questions—but they still told him not to leave town.

  15

  WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON

  “Cassidy, you got a minute?” Levi asked, knocking the dirt and grass off his boots on the mat at the back door.

  “Hey, Levi. I haven’t seen you in a while. How are things?” Ruthanne asked, stacking the old ledgers in a pile on the desk. “Cassidy, I’m taking these to storage. I didn’t find out anything else about the fire.”

  Levi looked surprised for an instant and then changed the subject. “Vern stopped by with his proposal. He got it back quicker than I expected, so I flipped through it. I think you’ll be pleased.” He handed her a manila folder, and she thumbed through the stapled pages until she got to the total cost.

  “This is interesting. His projected numbers for all the construction aren’t anywhere near what I thought they’d be.” She sank in her chair and scrutinized the drawings he had included.

  The bells on the front door jangled, and Elvis yipped and tore through the office to greet Roxie, Aileen, and Kate.

  “Whatcha looking at so seriously?” Roxie asked, dropping her purse and an old photo album on the table.

  “Vern brought over his estimates and plans for the cave,” Cassidy replied.

  The three huddled behind her, staring over her shoulder. “So, what’s the total damage to move forward?” Kate asked.

  Before Cassidy could reply, Ruthanne breezed back in. “Oooh, what’s everyone so interested in? Let me see.” She and Elvis scooted closer for a better look.

  “The plans for the new venue. This is so cool. Can you imagine going to a show in a cave. I can’t wait. The acoustics will be faaaaaaabulous,” Aileen said.

  “Your grandparents never knew what to do with it. Evelyn said your grandfather wanted to turn it into a tourist attraction for cave tours, but it wasn’t as deep or spooky as some of the others in the area, and it never seemed profitable or the right time to do it,” Kate said.

  “Plus, there are so many other caverns around with stalagmites and stuff that are more interesting. This one just looks like an underground room with rocky walls,” Ruthanne said. “But lucky for you, that is perfect for what you want to do with it.”

  “We could do an epic Halloween party down there,” Roxie added with a wink.

  “Levi, if this is a firm estimate, I think it’s doable. Ruthanne, what do you think? Now, we would have to spread out the payments,” Cassidy said, staring at the stack of papers in front of her.

  Straightening her reading glasses, Ruthanne peered over Cassidy’s shoulders. “Hmm. That’s definitely doable. That’s a good bottom number. I’m pleased as punch. When you said you wanted to do this, I thought it was going to be a multimillion-dollar project. This is relatively affordable. And it wouldn’t take long to recoup the costs if you can keep it booked. I can do a quick projection for you if you want an idea.”

  Cassidy nodded. “Yes, please. That would give me some targets. And if I can land one or two more of those music tours, we’d have a nice nest egg for the project,” she said, tapping her bottom lip with her finger.

  Levi nodded. “It’s a very clean site. The biggest expenses will be the air-filtration system and the add-ons for the bathrooms and the entrance. I think we can do this, gals.”

  “Okay,” Cassidy said. “Quick vote based on what we’ve seen here. Do we move forward?”

  All hands shot in the air. “Elvis votes yes too,” Aileen added, picking him up and waving one of his little paws in the air.

  “Then it’s unanimous. Levi, could you let Vern know to send over the contract and the rest of the paperwork? I’ll get the lawyer to take a look at it, and we should be good to go. We’ll have to come up with a timeline. I don’t want the construction to affect any of the events we’ve already scheduled.”

  “Will do,” Levi said. “We can contain it to that side of the property. It won’t affect the garden, barn, or amphitheater. We’ll need to do some landscaping and decide if you want a path from the current parking lot or not. You’ll need a maintenance road somewhere for deliveries.”

  “Levi, you’re on a roll,” Aileen said. “This is so exciting.”

  “We need a cool name for the place,” Kate said. “This is going to be such a popular addition to the property.”

  “So true,” Roxie said. “Who else can provide a cave for someone’s next shindig? You’ll be the talk of the valley. Oh, I went through my old photo albums last night, and I found some of the honky-tonk if you want to borrow them.”

  The small crowd around Cassidy’s desk moved to the table as Roxie flipped through the old photos, many in black and white that had yellowed with age.

  “Oh, look. There’s Jack and Evelyn in front of the infamous bar,” Aileen said.

  “Cassidy, you look like your grandma in this one,” Ruthanne said, pointing to another photo of Evelyn in a swing.

  “And there’s Roxie with Willie Nelson and George Strait. Is that Glen Campbell? Look how young they look. Oh, look: the Polaroids are starting to fade,” Aileen said.

  “Oh, my stars, that’s Roxie with Conway Twitty, and John Denver’s in this one. They look so handsome. Wow. This is going down memory lane. And there’s Waylon Jennings.” Ruthanne bounced up and down and pointed.

  “These are great,” Cassidy said. “They’ll help with the theming of the new venue. You’re right, we need to give it a fun name. And we need to work on some design themes.”

  “How about The Underground?” Kate asked. “That could be a little nod to the bootlegging that went on around here, too. Or what about The Lair?”