“We haven’t had any visitors to the barn lately, right?” Cat asked, already knowing the answer. Sometimes they had inspectors come in to check Seth’s work, but the barn remodel was done a couple of years ago. “Maybe it’s been there a while?”

  “The crime tech log has it close to the door and in the middle of the floor. I’ve sent a picture to the EMTs and my guys, but they don’t usually wear jewelry on a crime scene. Just for this reason.” Uncle Pete tucked the baggie back into his pocket. “If you think of any explanation, let me know. Otherwise, it might be a clue to the killer.”

  “You think the killer might be female?” Cat asked, knowing the answer would put her back on the suspect list, if she had ever been off anyway.

  “Or a guy who likes nice jewelry. Either way, it limits our pool. They did DNA testing on it before they released it back to the evidence locker. I thought this might be a good time to see if anyone claims it or had seen it on someone.” He looked up as the music changed and the funeral director now stood in front of the chapel doorway. “Time for this party to get started. Do you want to sit together?”

  Cat took his arm. “That would be lovely. Thank you.”

  He smiled down at her. “Anytime. Just don’t go off interviewing suspects at the coffee service afterwards. I can’t really run to chase anyone down in these shoes.”

  “I’m sure you have at least one officer posted outside, watching the place.” Cat moved toward the chapel with her uncle. Seth and Shauna followed behind. She’d married Michael in this same church. Small town churches were like that. They held memories of baptisms, childhood, marriage, and finally, the goodbye ceremonies. We are a ritualistic society, Cat thought as they found a pew near the front and slipped into it. Seth sat down next to her and took her hand in his.

  She squeezed it, letting him know she was all right. And the service began.

  Several people from the college spoke about Harriet’s life at work. How passionate she was about passing on the heritage of the literary works of the greats. And that she’d be missed for her professional works. No one talked about Harriet, the woman. Finally, Stephen stood and approached the lectern. He unfolded a paper to read from and tried to press out the wrinkles. Finally, he looked up at the church full of people.

  “I want to thank everyone who came to honor Harriet today. She would have loved to have heard all your comments and how she’d made a difference in your lives. Harriet was the love of my life. We’d met in college and we were together ever since. Even though Harriet told me under no certain terms that even though we were married, she would never give up her work to play housewife for me.”

  The audience chuckled. Apparently, that had been a common statement they’d heard from her as well.

  “I never asked her to make that sacrifice. When we couldn’t have kids, we thought it was a blessing. We were both too busy with work to step back. I would have made a horrible father. I can’t keep a house plant alive.” Stephen paused and looked down to his notes. “Harriet wasn’t perfect, but she was perfect for me and our lives. And I guess, that’s all that matters. Thank you all for coming.”

  Cat watched as Stephen stepped off the altar and almost fell back into his spot on the pew. The minister came up and asked for a moment of prayer. After a few additional verses and songs, the funeral was over, and the minister asked everyone to gather in the back for some refreshments.

  After she said goodbye to Uncle Pete, Cat and the others moved into the reception hall next to the chapel. She scanned the area and spotted Stephen sitting by himself, a cup of coffee next to him at the table. Two cookies sat on a plate. She didn’t see the dean or Todd and his wife in the sparse crowd. She turned to Seth and Shauna.

  “Let’s let Stephen know we’re leaving and remind him about the dinner tonight. It looks like he could use some people around him to cheer him up a little.” Cat leaned a little closer to Seth. What was it about funerals that made the living remember what it meant to be alive?

  “Sounds like a plan. I’ll go get the car. I had to park down the street at that park; the lot for the church was full.” Seth squeezed her elbow gently and pointed toward the front door. “I’ll be at the front in five minutes at the latest. It should get pretty busy here and I’d like to beat the traffic. I need to feed Sam still.”

  “We’ll be there.” Cat nodded to where Stephen sat. “Come on, let’s say our condolences and wait for Seth by the front door.”

  Shauna stood by her side when they reached the table. She cleared her throat and Stephen looked up. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

  “Hi, I’m so glad you all came.” He scanned the room. “You’re one of only a few friendly faces. You’d think your uncle had already charged me with Harriet’s murder.”

  “They just don’t know what to think.” Cat squeezed Stephen’s shoulder. “Thanks for inviting us. Seth’s getting the car. I’m sorry we have to leave so soon, but it’s the final day of the retreat, and I like to be there for last-minute questions.”

  “I’m just glad you came. It made the day a little less bleak. I’ll be back at the house as soon as they release me from this hell.” He nodded as someone Cat didn’t know came up to speak with him. “Vern, thank you for coming.”

  Cat and Shauna headed to the front door to wait for Seth. As they stood there, Cat couldn’t shake the thought that she’d seen that earring before. But where?

  “I thought it was nice that Stephen had the memorial donations go to the Covington scholarship fund for graduate students.” Shauna stood by the window in the little covered porch where she could watch for the car. “So much better than just letting all those flowers die. When Kevin died, I sent all the flowers to the hospital so they could put them in patient rooms.”

  “Yeah, because nothing says get well soon better than funeral arrangements,” Cat teased, but her mind was still on that stupid earring and where she’d seen it.

  “I’m sure they took off the cards. Flowers are flowers. When I went to church with my grandmother, the arrangement from funerals that had been held at that church stayed there for the next Sunday service. The minister always mentioned how nice it was of the family to donate them. I guess the flower budget for services must get a little overwhelming.” Shauna pointed to the street. “I see the car right there.”

  “Speaking of flowers, did you thank Linda Cook for the two dozen roses? Or is it my turn?” Cat followed her down the sidewalk where they could meet Seth. Linda was the widow of an author who had attended and died at the first Warm Springs Writers’ Retreat. She sent flowers every month even though Cat had told her it was unnecessary. She had told Cat that it was a nice way for her to keep Tom, her late husband, on her mind.

  “It was your turn, but I handled it since you’ve been busy with the retreat, the writing, and well, Seth.” She opened the back door to the SUV. She waited until Cat got in the car, then leaned forward. “Thanks for the door-to-door service. We could have walked to the park with you.”

  Seth laughed and caught her gaze in the rear-view mirror. “Cat, yes, but you couldn’t walk a block in those heels. Besides, it got me out of there early. I swear, funerals are the worst.”

  Cat didn’t say anything until they got back to the house. When Seth went to the other wing to take care of Sam, she sat at the table rather than heading upstairs to change clothes.

  Shauna put on a kettle for tea and got out two cups. “It looks like you want to chat.”

  Cat shrugged. “I wanted to thank you for taking care of everything.”

  “Emailing Linda wasn’t hard. I like chatting with her.” Shauna put tea bags in the cups and as the water heated up, sat down at the table with Cat.

  Cat shook her head. “I don’t mean that. Or not, just that. You do so much around here. The retreat wouldn’t be a success without you. I don’t think I say that enough. I get a lot of thanks from the guests since I’m the author attached to the retreat and I work with them more. You do a lot around here. I just wanted to say thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” The kettle blew and Shauna stood to finish their tea. “I have to admit I’m loving this adventure. When I moved here from California, I thought it would be at most a six-month thing. I’d get bored and quit or you’d find out you hated me and kick me out. Instead, it’s been a joy. I’ve learned a lot about myself and my passion for cooking. And we’ve helped a lot of writers. So thank you for bringing me along with you.”

  Cat held up the cup of tea. “To many more years of retreats.”

  “Don’t sip that tea yet, it’s hot,” Shauna said, but clicked her cup to Cat’s. “To many more years.”

  After finishing her tea and finalizing the logistics for the night’s dinner, Cat ran upstairs and changed. Then she wandered into the living room. She’d given the writers until three to update their counts and someone, probably Deek, had made a flip chart listing the writers’ names with room for word counts on an hourly basis. Pixie was checking in hourly, but Deek, Dalton, and Cari were less frequent. The only one who hadn’t added in words was Stephen, who was still at the church. Cat took her phone and took a picture of the goals board. She drew a star on Deek’s name. As of last night, he was ahead, but not by much. Looking at today’s listing, any one of the others could probably catch him, except for Stephen. He just didn’t have the time to write that many words.

  She tucked the phone into her jeans pocket and then walked through the rest of the room. The table with the pictures was still set up and Shauna had made a sign to take as many as you want. Cat started setting up the pictures in a more organized fashion. Yes, she was a touch OCD, but she wondered if that was her writing style controlling the other parts of her life. She wrote better when her mind was organized, and she needed her life to be organized as well.

  She came upon a picture of Todd and his wife. They were smiling at the camera, even if his arm around her seemed a little protective, maybe even controlling. She wondered what that picture said about their relationship, if anything. She moved a picture of her and Seth next to the other couple. She and Seth, even though they were having problems, seemed more open. The smiles less staged or forced. As she leaned over to closer examine the wife’s face, Cat froze. She picked the picture up and ran to the kitchen.

  Shauna sat reading a book, a full cup of tea in front of her. She set the book down when she saw Cat come in. “What’s wrong?”

  Cat set the picture on the table. “Is it my imagination or are those the earrings that Uncle Pete has in the evidence bag? Or at least one of them.”

  Shauna picked up the picture and closely reviewed the picture. “We need to send this to Pete.”

  “I thought you already sent him pictures.”

  Shauna went to the desk and grabbed her laptop. “He probably has it, but I want to make sure. Because he didn’t pick up on the earring, now did he?”

  Cat texted her uncle to let him know that Shauna had sent the email. There was no response. “I wonder if he’s taking a nap.”

  “We just saw him at the funeral.” Shauna closed the laptop. “We’ve done everything we can do. Now it’s up to Pete. Let him do his job.”

  The door to the kitchen opened and Pixie stepped inside. “Hey, Cat, do you mind meeting with us a minute? We’ve got some questions. And you too, Shauna.”

  “We’ll be right there. Are you guys in the living room?”

  Pixie nodded. “We’ve been talking about the retreat and have some follow-up questions from what you said on Thursday.”

  Cat stood and rolled her shoulders. “And just like that, we’re back to work. I wonder why they want you to come too?”

  “Recipes probably.” Shauna picked up a copy of her book. “I’m just going to smile and hold this up. Maybe I should get a recipe card for one of the book’s recipes, then put the vendor links on the back.”

  “Put the retreat’s website on the back too and I’ll approve it as a marketing expense.” Cat held the door open for Shauna. “I love the creativity that comes out of our retreat weeks.”

  When they reached the living room door, it was closed. Cat frowned and pushed the door open.

  “Surprise!” a chorus of voices called out. The room that had been set up for the retreat just a few minutes ago was now filled with balloons and a very large cake.

  Deek was the first to greet them. “I know you’re taking us to dinner as our thank you for coming to the retreat, but we wanted to return the favor with more food. So here’s a thank you for holding the retreat. We know it’s not easy and you all have busy lives besides the retreat, so thank you for giving us this gift.”

  Stephen started clapping and then the group joined in. She heard clapping behind her and Seth walked into the room.

  “Seth, you were supposed to come in with the others,” Pixie called out. “I told you to hurry.”

  “Darling, this is my hurry speed. I still get some cake, right?” Seth put an arm around Cat. “I think your writer friends are a pretty amazing bunch.”

  Cat looked around the room and nodded. “I couldn’t agree more.”

  16

  They were just finishing the cake when Uncle Pete came into the living room. He looked around at the balloons and streamers. “Did I miss a birthday?”

  “Hey, Pete, do you want chocolate or white cake? Or one of the border pieces that have both?” Seth picked up the cake cutter. “I didn’t even know they made cake this way.”

  “I’ll take chocolate with vanilla ice cream.” He moved over to Cat. “I came in through the kitchen, but no one was there.”

  “Sorry, the writers threw an end of retreat thank you party for us.” Cat looked around at the group eating and talking together. “This is the first time this has happened, right, Shauna?”

  Shauna wiped her mouth with a napkin. “These guys are the best. I’m going to miss them on Monday morning.”

  Uncle Pete took the plate and spoon Seth had given him. “Cat, I hate to pull you away from the party, but can we talk in the kitchen?”

  “Is it news?” Stephen came up next to them. “May I be allowed to hear it?”

  Uncle Pete nodded. “I guess it’s not a secret. Or it won’t be in the morning.”

  “Then let’s just talk here.” Stephen nodded to the group. “They’ve been a part of this since the party and well, after Harriet was found. They all should know if you’ve found the killer.”

  Cat nodded when her uncle looked at her for permission.

  He sat down on the wing chair and set the plate on the coffee table. “Okay then, here’s the story. Cat and Shauna sent me the pictures of Todd and Jessi Lancaster at the party. I’d already asked them about her zombie costume, but she swore she’d thrown hers away as soon as they got home that night. Todd even said he’d seen her put it in the trash and that their trash collectors came the next day.”

  “Did you send people to the refuse place to try to find it?” Seth asked, clearly involved in the story. “Because yuck.”

  Uncle Pete chuckled. “And that’s just what my people said when I sent them there. It was pretty much a wash since what we’d be trying to prove was it wasn’t in the trash pile. And we didn’t find it. I’ve got the lab working on it but I’m pretty sure it’s the one we found on Harriet. Surprisingly, the two women were almost the same size. And the clothes were oversized.”

  “So a negative of a negative doesn’t always prove a positive,” Deek said.

  “Exactly.” Uncle Pete beamed at Deek like he’d said something totally not crazy.

  Cat, on the other hand, was still confused. “Wait, so you can’t prove Jessi or Todd killed Harriet? Are we back at square one?”

  “No, I couldn’t prove it, but now, thanks to the picture and my discussion with the lovely couple—who threw each other in front of the bus, may I add—now I have probable cause to hold them. And once that DNA comes back from the earring, I’m sure it will be a match to Jessi.” He looked at Stephen. “Jessi told me that Todd was having an affair with Harriet. Those numbers in her diary were extensions at the college.”

  “That’s where I’d seen them before. Tammy has a list of professors hanging on her wall to call when their books come in. The one is the dean’s number.” Cat hit the palm of her hand to her forehead. “I kept thinking about them, but then I’d think about Michael and get lost on a different trail. The numbers must have reminded me of my office number when I was a teaching assistant. I’d forgotten that was how everyone said them. The first three numbers were all the same, so they would drop them when telling someone their office line.”

  “There were two,” Stephen said, looking confused and pained at the indiscretion. His voice lowered as he asked a question it didn’t look like he wanted an answer to. “Two numbers. Was she having two affairs?”

  “After we figured the shorthand, we called both numbers. One was Todd’s office number, the other the number of the dean. According to the dean, Harriet kept in close contact with him as they were building this case against the retreat. He denied any affair. From the way he spoke about Harriet, I believe his statement.”

  “The dean is the one behind cutting the retreat’s funding. Harriet was just his Trojan horse. And bonus, as long as he kept her in front of him, he looked sympathetic. I think I’m filing a complaint with the board tomorrow.” Cat squeezed the bridge of her nose. “Or maybe Monday.”

  “You’re saying Jessi found out about the affair and targeted Harriet?” Stephen tried to get the discussion back on track.

  “Exactly, except Todd assumed no one, including Jessi, knew about the affair. He was wrong; his wife had figured it out. Jessi says she followed Harriet out of the party on Saturday night. She asked to talk to her in the barn, then Harriet attacks her with a shovel. Then she left saying the woman was crazy.”

  “So she was alive when Jessi left?” Cat asked.

  “That’s Jessi’s story. She thinks that Todd must have seen them going in the barn and followed them. He sees Harriet attacking his wife, who’d just lost a baby a few months before, and he snaps. Jessi is a little obsessed about the knight in white armor description of his actions.” Uncle Pete sighed and picked up his cake. “Of course, Todd’s version has the facts a little different, saying Jessi must have been the one who killed Harriet. He was just a scapegoat. The problem is both of them say Harriet died right after the party broke up at eleven.”