“Wait, I’m confused. What was your point?” I grabbed plates out of the cabinet and set up the table while we talked.

  “You have a real job. You know if Austin didn’t have his staff, he’d never rent a bike if it meant he’d have to get up from his sun chair.” He drained the pasta and ran hot water over the noodles.

  “Oh, that’s your point.” I pulled out a bag of salad and dumped it into a large bowl. Then I chose two dressings, Greg’s ranch and an Italian blend for me. “Why do you think you’ll be called back into the office? Is the case breaking?”

  “No, but the DA’s going to be ticked that I let both Sherry and Pat go. He thinks Sherry is a killer and I’m just the dumb ex-husband who can’t see her flaws.” He put the spaghetti and sauce into a bowl and set that on the table, then took the sheet of garlic bread out of the oven.

  “Do you see her flaws?” I took two sodas out of the fridge and set them on the table.

  Greg took his soda and put it back away. He poured a glass of milk. “I need something without caffeine if I’m going to get any sleep tonight.”

  “Sorry, I should have asked.”

  We sat down at the table, and after we’d filled our plates, he broke the silence. “If anything, I see Sherry’s flaws better than anyone else. But that doesn’t mean she’s a killer. We both know that. And Pat’s confession, well, I blew that out of the water when I asked her what she’d done with the gun she shot Alicia with.”

  “No. She didn’t.”

  He smiled, but a bit sadly. “She told me she threw it into the ocean. She didn’t know what kind it was, as she bought it off a homeless guy in the city. It was kind of genius.”

  “Except Alicia was killed with a set of pruning shears.” I rolled my spaghetti on my fork.

  He nodded. “Yeah, there was that.”

  “I know you don’t want to talk about the case, but have you looked into Harper’s background? And the dude’s?”

  He nodded. “Starting some work there. And with Alicia’s husband. There has to be something going on with him. Why would she leave her happy marriage? I don’t buy that she was kidnapped then found dead two states away from her home. It’s more likely she ran and he came looking for her.”

  “So why isn’t the DA looking at him with the same intensity as Sherry?” I took a bite of the warm, fragrant bread. I loved it when Greg was working out things in his head, because that was when he loved cooking.

  He caught my gaze. “Because he dated Sherry last year, and she broke it off. Badly.”

  “Oh, hurt feelings.” I returned my attention to my dinner. “So he thinks the two of you should be on the same page with Sherry.”

  He just looked at me.

  The call came as we had just finished cleaning up the kitchen and putting away the spaghetti for another day. Greg held up the phone. “Looks like I’m going in. I’ll take this in the office.”

  “The office is filled with gifts. You probably can’t fit,” I warned as he moved toward the living room.

  “Okay, the back porch it is.” He punched the button and answered the call. “This is Greg King.”

  I wasn’t quite sure who had the raised voice that I’d been able to hear through the wall before turning the volume up on the television show I’d found. It was a cooking show and, bonus, one I hadn’t seen. I took out the book I’d brought home from the office and curled up on the couch.

  Greg kissed me on the back of the neck, and I jumped. “I didn’t hear you come inside.”

  “I’m quiet. How do you think I catch the bad guys?” He glanced at the television. “I saw this episode. They’re in Cleveland, right?”

  “I think so. I got caught up with the story.” I held the book up for him to see. “You’re going in?”

  “I have to drive to Bakerstown and make an appearance to explain why I let a perfectly good suspect go. I guess the fact she was innocent isn’t enough.” He leaned down and kissed me. “Don’t wait up.”

  “Okay.” I didn’t want to sound sad, but I’d been quietly rooting for a night at home.

  He pointed to the office. “When are you doing those?”

  “I’m not.”

  When he looked at me with a question in his eyes, I laughed.

  “I’m not because we are. Maybe Monday when I’m off? I’ve got a busy weekend ahead.” I opened the book again. “Maybe you should come work the readathon with me.”

  “Not a chance. I’d rather hang out with Mr. Fun here.” He waved his phone in my face. “I’ll see you later.”

  I read for a while, then I got restless and went to grab a notebook. I wrote down everything I could think of about the murder and about Harper and her sister. The clue was there with the two of them. I knew it. For the rest of the evening before I wore out, I looked up all the players online and wrote down everything I could find. Including silly things like what kind of dogs they had, if any. You could tell a lot about a person by the type of posts they made about their pets.

  Bleary eyed, I studied the pages. Nothing that screamed killer like missing small animals from the neighborhood or lack of parental figures in their childhood homes. Although “dude” had been an only child. And he’d lived in Boise, too, before moving to California for college.

  Had he followed Harper here? I hadn’t felt the couple vibe when he’d shown up at the shop. Mostly just the lawyer vibe. She said boyfriend, but it didn’t feel like they were even friends.

  As I turned off the lights and checked that the front door was locked, my attention turned to the flowers. The florist hadn’t called me back. Maybe Greg had sent them and he was waiting for me to say something. He couldn’t blame me for not, as he hadn’t been home a lot since they’d arrived, but I didn’t think he’d go this long without saying something. I’d call them tomorrow.

  * * * *

  With the readathon in just three days, my shift was filled with parents and kids picking out their books for the weekend. When they asked me to choose between two books, I had to tell them that I hadn’t read either one. Deek would have known the best choice, but I wasn’t Deek. And my usual clientele for the shift were tourists or commuters. Adults.

  When Deek came in early that day, I almost hugged him. “So happy to see you. That little girl has been staring at those two books for over an hour. Her mom’s over there reading the book she bought for herself.”

  “April always takes her purchases seriously. Her mom’s used to it, but I’ll see if I can help her.” Deek stuffed his bag under the counter and put on his apron.

  “When she asked me, I didn’t know what to say since I haven’t read either.” I dished up a slice of cheesecake for the waiting mom. “I feel like I don’t know books at all.”

  “Kids’ books aren’t your specialty. You know all the mystery stuff. I’m just not into dead bodies. I’d rather read young adult. April always loves a good fantasy. But she wants to branch out too. Don’t worry about it, I’ll help.” He took off and greeted the little girl.

  I gave the cheesecake to her mother. “Sorry I couldn’t help her decide.”

  “No worries. I like April to make up her own mind about things. Deek will steer her to the right book. He’s so good with all the kids. I was talking to my PTA group, and everyone loves Deek. You need to hold on to him because I’m sure someone would snatch him up in a heartbeat.” The woman took a bite of the cheesecake. “Besides, her indecision gives me time to enjoy a treat while she’s pondering.”

  I hurried back to the counter where the line was beginning to form again. This readathon was going to make this the highest sales month of the year so far. And after a slow January, we could use a good month.

  By the time noon rolled around, Evie had come down to start her shift. I was beat. My feet hurt, and I had a bit of a headache. The crowd had slowed a little, but not much. I finished my closing-shift items and groaned. I hadn’t done any of the snack bags.

  “What’s wrong?” Evie came next to me and rang up a coffee for a parent.

  “I didn’t do any snack bags.” I glanced at the office door.

  Evie shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll stay late and finish them up today. No problem.”

  “Are you sure?” I felt so grateful, I could hug her too. Now I knew I was tired. I never thought about hugging anyone outside my pooch and sometimes Greg.

  “I need the extra hours this month. Homer has a vet appointment and a grooming next week. He’s killing me. I think I could raise a kid for less money than I spend on him in a year.” Evie smiled, and I knew she was joking. Kind of.

  “I know. Emma’s annual is next month, and I won’t even tell you how much I spend on treats for the dog. But they are our kids, right?” I took off my apron and put it into the laundry basket. “I’m heading home to nap for a bit.”

  “Enjoy.” Evie watched Deek as he went to another young reader by the bookshelves. “He can do all the kids today. I’ve got the craft table Friday and Saturday, if anyone wants to stop reading for a while. I’m hoping they’ll all be too engrossed in their stories.”

  I grabbed my stuff and left through the back door. I wasn’t kidding when I said I was planning on a nap when I got home. And I had three more days to get through before the event was over and I could go back to my quiet morning shifts.

  I made my way through the narrow opening between my building and the next that held Antiques by Thomas and almost ran into a man who was coming into the passageway. I held up my hand to stop me from running into his chest. “Whoa. Nothing back there except an alleyway. All the shop entrances are on Main Street.”

  “Oh, sorry, I was just looking for Exquisite Gowns for You. Do you know where the shop is?” He glanced up and down the street. “I got myself turned around.”

  “Harper’s shop is that way. However, I’m not sure if she’s open. I think she does most of her work by appointment only.” I pointed him down the road as I wondered why a man would be looking for a dress shop. “Maybe you should call ahead.”

  “I wanted to surprise her. I’m Scott Draper, her brother-in-law.” The man smiled, and I finally recognized him from the pictures that Evie had printed off.

  “Oh, I’m sorry for your loss.” This was Alicia’s husband.

  Scott nodded. “Bad news travels fast, I guess.”

  “It’s a small town. When someone’s killed here, the news gets around. And there’s the fact that I’m engaged to South Cove’s police detective.” I pointed again toward Harper’s shop. “I’m heading that way. I can show you.”

  “That would be kind of you.” He smiled. “I’m always getting myself lost. I guess living in a small town like Meridian all my life has made me a bit out of place when I leave. I can probably tell you how to get to every farm and business in between Nampa and Meridian, but here, I can’t find anything.”

  I thought he was overstating the complexity of South Cove. “It’s pretty easy. One main street where the businesses are. One road into town from the highway. At that stop sign, you go left to get to Southern California, right to get to the northern part of the state. You’re staying over at the Castle, right?”

  He looked shocked. “How did you… Oh, yeah, small town.”

  “Actually, mostly the fiancé part there.” I pointed to the road. “When you leave here, turn right. It’s the next road. And you have to turn right at that road. Left will get you a quick splash into the ocean.”

  “I’m on the edge of the world here.” He shook his head as he looked around. “Last night when I walked outside, I thought it was going to be lighter. It wasn’t even nine, and it was pitch black.”

  “There’s no light on the other side of the road. Once the sun goes down, it gets dark. You must have some places like that where you’re from.”

  “The mountains or the desert. Even with that, it’s becoming harder and harder to find land that’s not being built on.” He glanced around at the buildings. “It must be the same here.”

  “Not as bad as in the city, but sometimes.” I paused outside the dress shop. “Here you are.”

  He looked up at the building and blanched. Not the typical reaction of a killer, at least not in my head. “Thank you.”

  “No problem. And I am very sorry for your loss.” I left him standing there and crossed the street. I looked back once, but he was still standing in front of the building. Mourning his wife’s passing? Or taking in the place of his last kill? From what I’d read, killers liked to do that. Visit the scene of the crime. And I’d walked him right to it. I shook the thought away.

  As I moved past Diamond Lille’s, I heard my name being called. Busted again, except walking Scott to his sister-in-law’s shop was not my fault.

  Chapter 14

  “Jill? It is you. It’s been a while since you came to visit.” Doc Ames hurried toward me from Diamond Lille’s front door. “How have you been?”

  “I’m good. How are you?” I gave him a quick hug. He looked good. Like he’d been out in the sun more.

  “I am so sorry that Carrie and I couldn’t attend your party. My workload is crazy right now.” He paused for dramatic effect. “People are dying to get into my funeral home.”

  “Ha, ha. But yes, I understand. Having a party in the middle of a murder investigation seemed a little dicey to me, but Greg didn’t want to put it off. This week we have the readathon on Friday and Saturday, so I’m swamped at work. I’m sure Carrie told you about the spring festival.”

  “That’s why I’m here. I came to have lunch with my girl since she’s going to have to work the weekend. I sure hope Lille gets someone hired soon.” He glanced back at the restaurant like he could see Carrie working. “Anyway, I’m preaching to the choir. You probably work as much as your future husband does.”

  “Maybe not quite as much.” Here was my opening. “Hey, did anything weird come out of the autopsy for Alicia? I swear this is the strangest case.”

  He nodded toward Scott Draper, who was now knocking on the shop door across the street. “Besides the poor woman’s family? The sister doesn’t recognize her or at least doesn’t identify her. And then the husband comes in and is cool as a cucumber. Wants to know what the police think about the killer. You know me, I’m a vault when it comes to information about a case.”

  Yeah, except for chatting with me right here on the street. Total vault. But that’s not what I said. “He’s odd. I was just talking to him.”

  “He’s a cop, or was a cop. I couldn’t get the story straight. You’d think a cop would know not to even try to talk to me about these things. It’s up to the police what they release to family or hold back because of the case.” He rubbed his face. “But maybe they do things differently in Montana.”

  “Idaho.” When Doc looked at me oddly, I added, “He said he was from Idaho.”

  Doc’s gaze went to Scott, who was now walking into the shop. “That’s odd. I could have sworn he said Montana.”

  As I walked home after turning down coffee with Doc, I texted Greg letting him know that Scott and Harper were in the shop together, talking.

  When I didn’t get a reply, I called his cell.

  He answered with, “Yes, I got your text.”

  “The one I just sent?”

  “Yep.” He paused. “Anything else?”

  “Don’t you think that’s weird?”

  “Family members often get together after a death to do things like plan the funeral or comfort each other. Nothing happening here I can arrest him for unless you found out something I don’t know.” His voice turned to stone. “Now, I’ve got to get back to investigating, which is my job.”

  “Yes, sir.” I hung up on him before he could tell me he loved me or even that he was sorry for being abrupt. Now I really needed a run. But I hadn’t asked about dinner or, crap, the flowers. I was going to call that florist when I got back from my run.

  I didn’t even look at the mail when I got home. I ran upstairs, changed, and clipped a leash on a surprised Emma. Typically, our setup time took a while, for me to transition from work mode to home mode. But today, I needed that burst of feel-good juice to push off the less than positive chat I’d had with Greg. And all the work I had to do for the readathon.

  When we’d finished and I was walking up the hill, I felt amazing. Like the bad mojo had slipped out of me along with the sweat that covered my body. Emma was even doing the happy doggy walk, even though I could tell she was tired.

  And all those positive feelings disappeared when I saw my aunt’s car parked at my house. She got out of the driver’s side when I walked into the driveway.

  “Good, you’re here. I didn’t want to have to drive back when you showed up.” She nodded to Emma, who yipped a greeting to my aunt. Emma loved her. Aunt Jackie pretended like she was immune, but I’d seen her petting Emma when she thought no one was looking. “We need to go over this plan one more time.”

  “The readathon? It will be fine. Everyone knows what they’re doing.” I moved toward the house and unlocked the door. “Come on in. I’ve got to shower and change if you really want to talk about this weekend. There’s sodas and tea in the fridge.”

  As she came inside, she headed directly for the kitchen. “Don’t be long. I’ve got to have dinner with Harrold before I go to work.”

  “Five minutes. Ten tops.” I hurried upstairs.

  When I came down, I heard my aunt talking to Emma.

  “Who’s a good girl? Now sit. Lay down.” My aunt paused. “Now stay.”

  I leaned on the kitchen doorway. “You’re good with her.”

  My aunt jerked and twisted her head toward me. Color filled her face, but then she just nodded. “She just needs a firm hand. That’s all. Grab some water and come sit down.”