“No taking candy from men in white panel vans who seem to have a maniacal grin. Got it.” I rubbed Emma’s head. “Besides, I have my own protection squad.”

  “She’s not going to stop a bullet. But she does make me feel a little better about you being out here alone. Besides, we need to get back to normal life. Before I go crazy with unfounded worry.”

  “Just wait until we have kids.” I pushed him toward the door, laughing as his face fell.

  He grabbed me around the waist. “You’re evil, Jill Gardner.”

  “And you love it.”

  Once Greg had left, I grabbed my planner and looked over my to-do list. The thank-you notes were still there, and I moved the item to next weekend. Greg was so going to help with this. I needed to do a grocery run that I’d been planning on doing later this week, but maybe it would be better to get it over with today. And I could drop off some cookies to Doc Ames and check in on him and Carrie.

  Which really meant see what gossip he’d tell me about Alicia’s death, if anything. Doc was hot and cold on information. Sometimes he was super chatty. Other times he was a locked vault. Cookies should open him up. And besides, I felt bad since he didn’t get to come to the party yesterday because of work.

  And maybe Deek would call me back and we could talk about his book.

  With my plans for the day set, I grabbed laundry from the hamper, set up a washer load, then returned to the kitchen. Laundry was always on my list. I poured a second cup of coffee and grabbed a book that I’d tucked in my tote Friday morning. A few chapters, and then I’d start on my list.

  It was almost noon by the time I’d finished the run and two more loads of laundry. And I was halfway done with the New Zealand–set women’s fiction I’d picked up. This would be my staff pick of the month, and I’d need to write a review for Deek’s newsletter, but this would be easy. Good books made for good reviews. As I got ready to head to town, I thought about the review and how I’d start it. Since Deek had begun this staff review column, I’d grown to love sharing my favorite books with my customers even more. And I reached more people than when I just did it by word of mouth.

  I stopped at Coffee, Books, and More, going in the back door since we weren’t open on Mondays for a couple more weeks. I boxed up the cookies and, on the way out, grabbed another book off the Advance Reader Copies shelf in the office. I might need another book to read before the end of the day, especially if Greg didn’t come home for dinner. I figured if he did, we’d spend an hour a day on the thank-you notes until the gifts were all opened and cards sent.

  This was our elephant, and we were going to eat it one bite at a time. At least that was my plan.

  I drove straight to Doc Ames’s funeral home. I pulled in the crowded parking lot and realized that he must be having a funeral at the chapel. So much for my investigative skills. I probably should have looked at his website to make sure he was free.

  Instead of parking and dropping off the cookies, which seemed a little inappropriate, especially since I was dressed in a tank, shorts, and flip-flops, my usual off-work attire, I pulled out of the lot and headed to the grocery store to do the shopping.

  If I was lucky, I might run into Harper or maybe her lawyer boyfriend. Or maybe a South Cove business owner who had some gossip. Everyone always thought I knew everything about the investigations that Greg handled in South Cove, but really, most people around here knew more than I did since neither Greg nor Toby told me anything unless it was by accident. Or to throw me off the scent. Which rarely worked since I’d stumble into something and not realize I was actually in danger.

  Amy was out, since she worked Mondays at city hall. So I just did my shopping.

  My phone rang as I was checking out. It was my aunt, probably checking on my progress with the thank-you notes. Aunt Jackie was queen of the local manners club.

  “Good morning, Aunt Jackie. How’s your day off going?” I used my shoulder to hold on to the phone as I pulled out my wallet and swiped my debit card.

  “I’m busy getting the plans set up for Saturday’s spring festival. Have you bought the prizes for the readathon?” My aunt had me on speaker phone, and I could hear Harrold talking in the background.

  “Crap. No. I forgot all about the supplies.” We were doing book coupons to everyone who finished the twenty-four hours. They had to check in with us every hour they wanted credit for. Some of the kids would start early and go home to sleep, others were treating it like a sleepover. No matter how they set it up, everyone needed a bag of candy that they’d get when they signed up. I had to have full-leaded and sugar-free stuff and at least two hundred bags. I was hoping we’d bring in a lot of kids for the readathon. Twenty-four hours of reading started Friday morning at six when the bookstore opened. Then we’d be open from Friday to Saturday at noon. We had Lille’s delivering a late-night snack run for all the kids who were sleeping over. And it was all hands on deck until they started leaving on Saturday after hitting their twenty-fourth hour of reading. “I didn’t get snacks at the store. I’ll go back in and do a second run. Anything else you can think of?”

  She listed off a ton of things like sodas and juices and individual chip bags and mini pizza treats we could warm up in the microwave. This event was going to cost a fortune in food supplies alone. But it was worth it. Kids could bring their own books or buy them at the store. And everyone who finished won a book coupon. And all the parents would be there, looking at books too. We suspected we might have our biggest sale day ever. At least that was the plan.

  I made a quick stop at the party place before leaving town. I bought paints, crayons, white paper, bags, and after a groan, glitter and glue. Evie was hosting a craft table, with one of the projects painting a rock. The store would be cleaning up glitter for weeks, if not months.

  I dropped all the supplies off at the shop and was walking out to the Jeep when Evie called out from the apartment balcony. “Hold up. We’ll be right down.”

  I grabbed my soda from the stop I’d made at the drive-through on the way out of town and leaned on the side of the car. She and Homer made their way down the stairs, then Evie hooked him to a lead and came over without him. He barked a greeting, then went over to the side of the building where the grass grew and lay down.

  “I didn’t expect to see you today. I thought you and your man were in the city.” Evie handed me a sheet of paper.

  “That trip was canceled due to murder.” I shrugged as I took the paper. “It happens. What’s this?”

  “I found it when I went back to Alicia’s husband’s Facebook page. I took a chance and friended Scott Draper. Weird thing was he accepted. A lot of condolences on the loss of his wife. I guess he’s enjoying the attention. I’d be too wiped to be posting on Facebook if something happened to someone I loved.” She pointed to the paper. “That woman chats him up a lot. And they’ve been going to dinner a lot. One of the other people on the page commented that it must be nice to have people to take care of you. Then this woman stopped posting. That was yesterday. Like they thought it looked odd?”

  “Maybe. Or maybe she’s a late sleeper and hasn’t been on. Or she’s at work.” I wasn’t seeing what Evie was seeing in the comments, but I only had her report of the issue, I hadn’t read the comments myself. I was beginning to worry that I was getting Evie down a rabbit hole and she was seeing unicorns instead of horses. “Maybe you should back off on this. You seem invested.”

  She sighed and looked over at Homer, who was watching us. “Maybe. I just wish I’d seen the signs in my own relationship. Maybe that’s why I’m seeing them here. My eyes are open now, and all I can see are warnings. Even when they aren’t there.”

  “Greg thinks something’s off with the husband, too, so your instincts were good there. I just worry you’re getting too invested in him being the killer.”

  Evie nodded and went back to gather up Homer, who was barking now. “I get what you’re saying. And I’ll cool it. But you know, it’s always the husband.”

  “So the book says.” I laughed and waved as she went back upstairs to her apartment. All of us who worked at the bookstore had read a thriller by that name and had a fun time discussing the book and its themes.

  That was the good thing about working with people you liked. You had a lot to talk about. I went back down the alley and onto the road. By the weekend, I’d have to walk into town it would be so busy.

  When I got home, my aunt called. I thought she must have seen my Jeep in town, because she always knew exactly when to call. “Everything’s bought and at the shop. I’ll start putting together snack bags tomorrow after my commuters leave.”

  “Good, I was just going to tell you to put that on the daily to-do list for all shifts. Harrold can work on them during my shifts this week too. We should be done by Thursday night.”

  I thought we’d be done with the prep work earlier than Thursday, but my aunt never shortchanged a plan. “I wanted to talk to you about staffing for the Friday sleepover. If this investigation is still going on, I don’t think we can count on Toby being there. Greg’s going to need him as deputy.”

  “Especially with the festival going on. Even if there wasn’t this unfortunate murder thing.” She sighed. “I thought I was being smart by hiring a police officer as a part-time barista, but he’s giving us a lot of staffing issues.”

  “Toby is not. He takes care of his shifts and then switches with Deek when he can. We should be supportive of local law enforcement.” I didn’t like the way she was talking about him.

  “Says the woman who’s engaged to the head detective.” She chuckled. “Never mind, I was just questioning my own decision-making, not yours. So if Toby can’t be there, I guess I’ll plan on being there through the night. I’ll send Harrold home about ten. The man needs his eight hours or he’s a wreck. And he has to open his shop on Saturday anyway.”

  “Actually, if you both go home at ten and then you come back around seven the next morning, I think we’ll be good. I’m going to stay the full night, and I’ll have Deek do the same. We’ll send Evie up for a power nap from midnight to eight. And then I’ll send Deek home as soon as breakfast is over.” I grabbed a notebook and started mapping it out. “I don’t feel comfortable with just one of us there overnight, but Deek and I should be able to handle seven hours with just the two of us. As long as these kids actually sleep. I suspect a few parents might hang around for a while as well.”

  “Are you sure? We could call in a temporary or two. I’d have to get them trained, but mostly it would be kid wrangling, not handling the store.” My aunt never suggested hiring temps for the local events, which meant she was really worried about staffing for this one.

  “Hold off on that idea. I have a better one.” I just wondered what I could offer to make it work.

  “Are you going to tell me?” my aunt asked.

  “Only if it pans out. Hold on. Let me call you right back. Then, if I strike out, you can hire two temps for the week.”

  “Jill…”

  I did hear my aunt call my name, but I could pretend I didn’t. And if my plan worked, she’d be happy anyway and maybe forget that I’d hung up on her.

  At least that was my hope.

  Chapter 12

  I dialed the number I knew by heart. When Sadie answered, I quickly asked, “I didn’t wake you, did I?”

  Pies on the Fly was basically a wholesale bakery that had a home base in Sadie’s garage. A very clean and remodeled garage that looked like a baker’s dream kitchen. She had been a stay-at-home mom when her husband died years ago, so she’d taken the life insurance money he’d left her and started her own business. One where she could be home with her son, get him off to school, and be available at three when he got home. The only problem was she worked nights. Now that Nick was living in London and working in finance, she didn’t need to be awake when he got home. So she slept during the day so she could have a little time for herself at night. And the Methodist pastor she’d been dating for a few months.

  “Nope, I’m awake and waiting for Bill to pick me up for dinner out. We haven’t been out in months it seems. Usually, we’re doing something at the church.” She giggled. “I feel like a teenager, getting dressed for a date.”

  I smiled, happy that her new love life was working out. Sadie had tried dating once before, only to have it end when the man in question went back to his ex-wife. “So how busy is next weekend?”

  “Nothing really. The church decided to suspend normal activities so we could support the town. Why?”

  “Will you be baking on Friday night?” I knew she typically took Friday and Saturday nights off from baking, but with the additional orders for the festival, she might have to work.

  “No, unless there’s an emergency with my Friday deliveries, I don’t plan on baking again until Sunday night. Why the twenty questions?” I could hear the question in her tone as she followed up, “What’s going on, Jill?”

  “How would you and Pastor Bill like to earn a donation to the kids’ program at the church? Or I could pay you for your time? Either way.”

  “Doing what?”

  “I need a couple of adult bodies to stay overnight with me and about fifty kids that have signed up for a readathon at the store on Friday night. We need you from about nine to eight the next morning.” I held my breath, hoping Sadie would say yes.

  “I don’t see why that would be a problem. And no, you don’t have to pay us. But the youth group is looking for a sponsor for summer camp fees this July. Maybe you could reach out for that. Let me confirm with Bill to make sure he doesn’t have plans, but I’ll be there after dinner on Friday. Can I bring my own books? I have a few of Nick’s old favorites I’d love to read aloud again if we have kids that age.”

  “Of course.” I should have known Sadie would say yes, as long as it didn’t interfere with her own business. She just had a big heart. “Thanks for doing this.”

  “No problem. I’ll call you tomorrow with Bill’s answer, but I’ve got to go. He’s ringing the bell.”

  After I hung up, I thought about how fun it had been when Greg and I were first dating. Maybe that was the chemistry everyone talks about. When you’re finding out how much you have in common. Of course, it might just be the red car theory where you focus on the things that bring you together rather than the differences. Which was probably why most of my relationships hadn’t lasted. I only looked for the good things.

  Greg had his bad points, mostly his dedication to his job and his tendency to be a workaholic. But since I was the same way, I guess I saw it as a positive, not a negative.

  I texted my aunt the news that Sadie and maybe Pastor Bill would be joining us. I’d let her know about the donation after Sadie and I finished our conversation. Now, staffing for the weekend was marked off my list, and I could settle into reading.

  When Greg got home later that night, I was curled up on the couch with a cooking show on the television and the new advance reader copy in my hand. I’d already written my review for the first book and sent it to Deek’s email. I assumed I’d get a shocked response back, since I was actually a day early on my deadline, not a week late, but by the time I’d shut down my laptop, I hadn’t heard a thing.

  I had already eaten a sandwich for dinner along with two of the cookies I’d planned on taking to Doc Ames. Maybe I could head that way tomorrow. I’d checked his website, and he didn’t have a funeral scheduled. I decided I’d call in the morning to make sure he was available and grab a fresh box of cookies from the shop for the trip.

  I set my book down. “Do you want dinner?”

  “I sent out for Lille’s about seven. How about you? Did you eat?” He fell down on the couch next to me, watching the television host make a Cuban sandwich. Of course, the chef had roasted an entire pork shoulder beforehand. “That looks amazing.”

  “It’s in Ohio. Do you want to take a foodie road trip sometime? We could start writing down all the places we want to stop, and by the time we got home, we would have gained ten pounds.”

  “I don’t gain weight. That’s your fear.” He squeezed my hand. “My metabolism takes care of me.”

  “You work out at the city rec hall gym three mornings a week before you go into work.” I turned down the volume on the television. “That’s what takes care of you.”

  “True. So what have you been doing today?”

  “Nothing much. I went shopping. Did some work on next weekend’s festival, and then read.” I studied him. “What about your day? Did you find a killer?”

  He shook his head. “No, but there’s a suspect. At least one that the DA thinks is pretty viable. Known to have a temper. Was seen in an altercation a few days before with someone. And had a pretty good motive, if not that it was Harper’s sister that was killed.”

  “No. They aren’t thinking that Sherry killed Alicia. That’s crazy.”

  He leaned his head back and shut his eyes. “I feel the same way. She just doesn’t have it in her. She’s all bluster and no bite. But the DA’s pretty sold on Sherry being the killer. So I’m building a case against her.”

  “If she didn’t kill Alicia, there’s no case to be built, right?”

  He stood and started toward the kitchen. “Darling, if you look hard enough at any of us, we could convince a jury that you were a killer, even if you never picked up a gun or a knife. I’m looking for a good alibi, but she doesn’t make it easy. She says she was walking and window shopping in Los Angeles during that time. That she didn’t see anyone. And then she decided not to spend the night, so she drove back and slept in her own bed.”

  “Maybe someone saw her,” I said.

  “That’s the hope.”

  * * * *