“You’re a hard worker. You’re a nice person. And you’re Sasha’s cousin. That’s three strikes in your favor. You earned this. Although I’m not sure it’s a promotion, it does come with a shift differential since you’re working later, and sometimes there are more bookstore sales than coffee shop buyers. I’ll warn you that the tips are lower.” I was trying to let her know that the shift wasn’t all that amazing, but Evie was having none of it.

  “I’d be delighted. And it works out with my plans. I was going to tell you when I got accepted, but I’m going back to school in the fall. This way, I’ll be able to work full-time and still go to school during the day. It’s perfect.”

  “It’s a done deal then.” I grabbed the clipboard. I’d text Aunt Jackie and let her know that Evie needed to take over her shift. That would make her feel better about giving it up. Next up was to hire another day person. We’d bring it up at the staff meeting. “Now I have to get my work done before you get swamped with customers.”

  By the time I got out of the shop, it was almost one. Too late to talk to Amy about lunch, so I headed home. I had sandwich stuff at the house anyway. When I went past Exquisite Gowns, Harper was sitting on the bench in front of her shop. She appeared to be crying. After the tiff with Greg, I should just ignore it and keep walking. Instead, I crossed the street and sat next to her. I pulled out a packet of tissues from my tote bag and handed it to her. “Are you okay?”

  She considered the tissues in my hand, then sighed and took them from me. “I’m fine. I guess I’m just reacting to losing my sister.”

  “Okay. Not that I’m questioning your grief process, but why the tears now? Did it have anything to do with Scott stopping by your shop yesterday?” I was probably pushing and definitely being less than thoughtful. So I leaned forward, my forearms on my thighs, trying to be supportive.

  “How did you know?” She shook her head. “Never mind. He said someone showed him where the shop was. He’s good at using people.”

  “I was walking this way, so I showed him where it was. Anything wrong with that?”

  She didn’t say anything for a while. “You probably don’t know this, but I wasn’t happy when Alicia married him. I thought she could do better, and I was worried about how he’d treat her. I was right on both counts. You probably did hear about his story on how she was missing. Well, she wasn’t missing. She ran away from him. And I was so hopeful that she’d be okay now.”

  “And then she was found dead.”

  When Harper didn’t answer. I pushed. “Harper, do you think Scott killed Alicia?”

  She shook her head. “He couldn’t have. He was working. He told me yesterday. His alibi is solid. And your boyfriend has already checked it. So he didn’t kill her.” She shivered again. “Look, I’ve got an appointment coming in at two. I need to get some stuff done. Thank you for the tissues.”

  I watched as she hurried back inside her studio. And, I was certain, she’d locked the door after her. Which was curious since she had a client coming in. It made me feel like maybe I was the one she was locking out of the shop. But why?

  Harper was a brilliant designer, but she had some demons in her life. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know why she did anything she did. I typically really liked everyone who moved into South Cove to start their life over, but there was something about Harper I wasn’t sure I liked. And I definitely didn’t trust her.

  When I got home, it was run time. The flowers taunted me, but I didn’t want to make Emma wait to run. I’d call as soon as I got back. Which took longer than I thought since I was stopped by Esmeralda just to chat. Then when I came back up to the house after my run, Toby had just pulled in the driveway. “What’s up?”

  “I’m crashing for a couple of hours since I have the night shift tonight. Greg says hi and he should be home for dinner.” Toby yawned as he locked his truck. “How’s CBM? Anything I should know? I always feel so checked out when Greg has me doing these doubles.”

  “Nothing big. Aunt Jackie’s going to step down, and Evie’s taking her evenings slot.” Something in Toby’s face made me pause. “Crap, don’t tell me you wanted it. I didn’t even think. I’ll tell Evie you get first crack at it.”

  “Jill, I don’t want to work evenings. I’m just surprised Evie wants to. She must be feeling a lot more comfortable here than she was.” He must have sensed my follow-up question because he shook his head. “No, I’m not telling you anything more. I’m just surprised that Evie wanted the shift. Look, I’ve got to crash. If my truck’s still here at five, knock on my door and wake me up please. I’m setting my alarm, but when I’m this tired, all bets are off.”

  “Sure, I’ll be glad to.” I paused before diving in again. “Are you sure Evie’s all right?”

  “Talk to her, not me. I’ll see you after this crazy time is over. Sorry I bailed on you for the readathon.” He moved toward his apartment.

  “No worries. I don’t usually count on you during festivals anymore since Greg seems to book all your time up before I can. Hey, I told Evie she could call the station for an assist if she felt uncomfortable walking to the bank at night with the deposit. You think that’s going to be a problem?”

  He turned and rubbed a hand through his hair. Yawning, he answered me. “Probably not. There might be some nights we’ll be too busy to help, but she can just lock the deposit up downstairs, and you can take it in the morning.”

  “Go get some sleep. We’ll work out the details at the next staff meeting.” I took Emma inside the house and locked the door. The flowers were almost all dead, and I still didn’t know who had sent them. I grabbed my phone and looked up the florist. No answer, and then I got voicemail. I left a message without much hope I’d get a call back. With that off my to-do list, I glanced at the only item left. The thank-you notes. I moved the item to my Sunday list and then closed my planner. I was free the rest of the day. Technically.

  I made lunch, then sat outside on my back deck with a book. Emma took the time to explore the yard and check for any intruders like rabbits, or worse, turtles. She hated turtles with a passion.

  Greg was home before I even had time to finish the book. It was like musical trucks in the driveway. Toby took off about four thirty, probably going to Lille’s for a meal before reporting to the station. Greg came home about five. He saw me when he drove up, and instead of going in through the front door, he came through the yard and greeted Emma, who had been waiting for him to get out of the truck.

  “Hey, what are you doing out here? I thought you’d be busy writing thank-you notes.” He came up on the deck and gave me a kiss.

  “Keep dreaming. I pushed it off until Sunday. Hopefully you’ll be done with this investigation and you can help. You have better handwriting than I do. Not to mention better tact. What if your mom sent us a really ugly piece of sculpture I don’t like? I might offend her before even getting the role of daughter-in-law.”

  He laughed as he sat next to me. “Won’t happen.”

  “You are overestimating my tact meter.” I wrapped my fingers around his.

  He shook his head. “Nope. I just know Mom sent us a check and not an actual gift. I’m thinking we should put any monetary gifts into a vacation account. Then when we find time, we have the money set aside. Rather than have time but no money. I’ve played that game. It really isn’t much fun.”

  “You’re the practical one. I feel like a jerk now all the times I asked to go on a trip and just put it on my credit card.”

  “We’re entering a different stage of our lives. Now we make decisions as individuals. What’s good for you or me in case it’s just you or me in the future. After we get married, we’ll be an us. Then we can talk about what we want to do with our lives and our money.” He held up a finger. “Unless you don’t want to have joint finances.”

  “Wow, so much to think about. I thought getting a dress was going to be the big issue.” My stomach was hurting a little.

  “We can keep doing what we’re doing. Or we can combine our finances into joint accounts. We just need to talk about it sometime.” He patted my leg. “And by the look on your face, you need to talk about it some other time. You’re looking a little freaked out.”

  “Guilty as charged.” I didn’t want to offend him, but I’d been on my own mostly since I graduated high school. Even when I was married before, we didn’t have any shared assets. Which made it easy to do the divorce papers later. A little too easy. I wanted this marriage and this relationship to be permanent, but I guess I’d never thought about money issues. “Should we make dinner before this becomes awkward?”

  “That ship has passed, but yes, let’s make dinner.” He kissed me. “You can go back to trying to trick me into saying something about the investigation, and I’ll dodge all your questions. Then we can forget we even started this discussion.”

  “Sounds good. I got pork chops out. Grill or fry?”

  He leaned his head back. “It’s too nice to go in and fry them. What are we going to do for sides?”

  And with that, the financial talk awkwardness was gone. Now we were talking about food and our days. I would have to weigh the pros and cons and talk to Amy and maybe my aunt to see what they were doing. I figured my aunt was going traditional and combining everything. Maybe Amy and Justin were taking a different tactic. It didn’t hurt to learn from others’ successes and mistakes. I’d find some time to talk to Aunt Jackie and Amy over the weekend. I didn’t want to have the deer-in-the-headlights look again. Greg put up with a lot from me, and I wanted to be able to discuss this topic fairly the next time it came up.

  I wondered how other couples got around these land mines in their relationship. And what other ones Greg and I hadn’t even started to explore. Maybe we were just too different.

  My heart told my brain to shut up.

  After dinner, Greg opened the door to the office and took out ten packages and the thank-you cards. “Go get a notepad and write this all down while I do the thank-you cards. If we do ten gifts a day, we might be done with this before the wedding next summer.”

  “Good plan.” I hurried into the kitchen and came back with a brand-new notebook. One that didn’t have my notes written about the current murder and who had said what and when.

  We’d gone through the ten gifts, and Greg and I’d agreed not to return any of them. They were all surprisingly useful. I needed to replace several items in the kitchen anyway, and the gifts we’d opened were like we’d gone shopping for them ourselves. Including a new set of kitchen towels and hot pads. “Tomorrow I’ll get a box set up in the kitchen, and we can put the stuff we replace into that for the community center charity yard sale.”

  “Just don’t get our new stuff tucked in there. Someone might think we didn’t like the gift.” His phone rang. “And now it starts back up again. Thanks for getting me out of my head for a few minutes.”

  I kissed him quickly. “Thanks for getting a start on the pile in the office. I thought we’d never get these done.”

  “You forget who you’re living with. I can’t leave a project undone.” He hit a button on his phone. “King here, how can I help you?”

  I went upstairs to get the hamper and wash at least one load of clothes tonight. Especially since my weekend was going to be shorter than normal. By the time I got the washer going, Greg was standing in the kitchen with his keys, waiting for me. “Wait, let me guess. You’re out of here.”

  He chuckled. “For a few hours. I’m interviewing someone over Skype from Scott’s station to confirm his alibi. There’s just something about the guy I don’t trust.”

  “I know, I feel the same way.” I glanced around the kitchen and shrugged. “I guess it’s an evening of reading for me. The laundry’s started. The kitchen is fairly clean. And I don’t have anyone to talk to if I wanted to chat.”

  “You could talk to Emma. She’s a very good listener.” He pulled me into a hug. “Did you talk to the florist?”

  “About the delivery?” I shook my head. “No. I called and left a message. Again. The flowers are going to be gone before I know who to thank for them.”

  He frowned at the offending bouquet. “Maybe I should call. Or stop by.”

  “It’s just flowers. If they were poisoned, we’d be dead by now.” I rolled my shoulder. “Someone just isn’t going to get a thank-you note if we don’t find out.”

  “Maybe we’ll find out before we finish the notes?” He grabbed his hat and headed to the door. “Lock up after me.”

  “Yes, Dad.” I followed him and watched him pause on the deck until I threw the deadbolt. Of course, I could just throw it open again after he was gone, but he had a point about me being here alone. Esmeralda was my closest neighbor, but I don’t think she’d even hear if I started screaming.

  I looked at Emma. “What do you think? Reading or ice cream?”

  When she woofed, I nodded at her. “You’re right. Why limit ourselves? Let’s do both.”

  Chapter 16

  Harper came into the shop early on Thursday morning. She ordered coffee, then went strolling through the bookshelves. I still had commuters in the shop, but when the last one left, she came back to the counter with two self-help books about getting your life together after divorce.

  “Is this all? Or do you want a treat to go with your reading material?”

  Harper shook her head. “The books are for a friend. And I’ll pass on the treats. I need to slow down on the sweets. I’ve been mainlining sugar for the last month.”

  “Stress will do that.” I rang up the purchases and told her the total. “Is the shop doing well? Anyone who saw that dress you made me would have you make them a dress even if you were working out of a barn in the countryside.”

  “I might be there sooner or later. Buying the building was a great idea, but now he’s saying I’m partners with him. And he’s not the easiest guy to get along with. I’ve got Colton looking at my partnership agreement with Alicia to see if he has any inheritance rights.” She shook her head. “Sorry, you don’t want to hear my sad story.”

  “I’m a barista. You should hear the stories I get.” I poured myself a coffee and came around the counter, perching on a stool. “I’m sorry about your sister. I hope this doesn’t sour you on South Cove.”

  “Oh, no. I mean, it’s fine.” She avoided meeting my gaze as she sipped her coffee. “Alicia would want me to go on with my life.”

  Go on with her life? It had been less than a week. Man, this woman had no attachment at all. “That’s nice. Hey, we have a friend in common. Lara Gunn was one of my clients when I was a lawyer.”

  Harper looked up sharply from her coffee. “You know Lara?”

  “I helped her with her divorce.” I set my cup down. “I used to do family law. I have to admit, I like running a bookstore more.”

  Harper’s hand rested on the books I’d put into one of our CBM bags. “Working with divorced people must be hard. It’s hard to put your life back together, right?”

  “Sometimes. Sometimes both parties are ready. And in the extreme cases, one needs to be out of the relationship for their own sanity. So like I said, it depends.” I nodded to the books. “Are you going through a divorce? Not to get personal or anything. I just thought with the choice of reading material, you might be.”

  “No, I’ve never been married. Like I said, the books are for a friend.” She pretended to glance at her watch. “Look at the time, I need to open the shop.”

  “Come back anytime. I’d love to get to know you better,” I called after her, but when she turned, the look on her face was pure panic, not friendly.

  “Sure, that would be awesome.” And then she hurried out of the shop.

  Greg came in the shop a few minutes later. “Hey, you look bored. I thought you had a big event starting tomorrow?”

  “I do, but I guess everyone bought what they wanted. Besides, Deek and Evie will do the stocking on their shift. I don’t want them to be bored. I can read or something without feeling guilty since I’m the boss.” I leaned into him and gave him a quick kiss. “Why are you here?”

  “I just saw Harper leaving the store. What did you say to her? She ran down the street.” He climbed on a stool and pointed to a chocolate chip cookie. “Can I snag one of those? My brain is fried from trying to figure out who would want to kill this woman. Did you know she taught Sunday school? And sang in the choir? From what everyone tells me, she’s pretty close to being declared a saint. Mostly for staying with her husband. Not a lot of people outside the cops he worked with liked the guy.”

  “One cookie coming up.” I held up a cup. “Coffee?”

  “Water. If I drink another cup of coffee, my hands are going to shake.” He took the glass of water from me and then bit into the cookie. He set it down. “Okay, spill. Why don’t you want me eating a cookie?”

  “What are you talking about?” I stared at him, confused.

  He took my hand. “You have that look. Like something’s bothering you. I figured it was the cookie. Is it me?”

  “No you don’t. You don’t get off that easy. You’ve promised to marry me, and I’m holding you to it.” I shook my head. “It was what you said about Alicia. If she was the kind of woman that everyone loved, why isn’t her sister at least a little upset about her death?”

  Greg scratched his head. “Now, that’s a good question.”

  I watched as he finished his water and picked up his cookie.

  “I’m going back to see if I can find someone to answer this. Maybe they weren’t as close as we’re guessing.”

  As he walked out, my aunt walked in. “Good, I caught you at a quiet time. I wanted to see how much of the stocking for this weekend was done.”

  Busted. I smiled and greeted my aunt. “Actually, I’ve been swamped all morning. A lot of lookers. I guess they’re getting ready for the readathon. I was just about to pull out the boxes and see what I could get done before Deek and Evie come on shift.”