I stared at the timeline. “There’s something I’m missing, and I just can’t figure it out.”

  “If a piece of information isn’t true, it will throw off the whole idea.” Greg moved over to the fridge. “I’ll grill the steaks if you’ll make a pasta salad.”

  “Okay.” I glanced back at the timeline. What piece of information on here wasn’t true? “Are you going back to work tonight?”

  He shook his head. “Nope. Tonight we’re finishing the thank-you cards and deciding what to do with the gifts. I’ve got a feeling I’m going to be busy tomorrow.”

  I poured two glasses of tea from the pitcher in the fridge. “Are we still going to the funeral tomorrow? I told Aunt Jackie that she and Harrold could ride with us.”

  “Maybe they should take their car. You might need a ride home.” He grabbed the tennis ball and showed it to Emma. “Ready for some fetch?”

  He and Emma went out to the backyard, and I put some water on the stove to boil. He’d seen something in my timeline and wasn’t telling me. Now I just needed to find out what I didn’t know.

  I salted the water and watched Emma and Greg play outside. I loved my life. And the fact Greg hadn’t fussed at the timeline was another reason we were good together. His phone buzzed on the counter where he’d left it before going outside. I glanced down, hoping it wasn’t the station or Esmeralda. It wasn’t. Sherry’s name showed on the display.

  I wanted to ignore it. To let him find her call later, when it was too late to ruin our perfect evening. Besides, he was the one who had promised we were doing the rest of the thank-you notes tonight. But the angel on my other shoulder kicked the devil off, and I picked up the phone. “Hey, Sherry, hold on, I’ll go get him.”

  “Oh, well, thank you,” Sherry responded.

  I could hear the subtext, like Why are you answering his calls? But I just took the phone out to the porch and held it out toward him. “You’ve got a call.”

  He groaned and threw the ball one last time. Emma took off to the edge of the yard. He jogged toward me. “Don’t tell me it’s the station. Toby’s on tonight. He wouldn’t call unless there was something bad happening.”

  “It’s not the station. It’s Sherry.” I handed him the phone and almost laughed when he rolled his eyes, but I smiled and went back into the kitchen to work on dinner.

  He followed me inside. “Hey, Sherry, what’s up?”

  He listened for a while, finally settling down at the table. She must have taken a breath, because he jumped into the conversation. “Look, I can’t help it that your customer traffic is down. I’m sure it doesn’t have anything to do with the fact you were questioned regarding the murder. Have you talked to Pat about this? Maybe you should just step away from direct customer work for a bit and let Pat work her magic. She always was better with people.”

  I heard Sherry’s response, and as she went on her tirade, Greg grabbed one of the cookies I’d brought home. He must have found another opening because he set the cookie down. “Sorry you feel that way, Sherry, but Jill and I are just getting ready to sit down to dinner. I need to go. We’re writing thank-you notes for the engagement gifts we got last week. Have a great night.”

  And he ended the call. He returned to the cookie and finished it. “Sherry feels that I should put out an all-points bulletin to all the people in South Cove stating she isn’t a murderer. She says her traffic today was slow.”

  “She shouldn’t attack people in the business-to-business meetings if she wants to be seen as a good person. A lot of people think she’s mean, and that doesn’t bring people to your shop, especially at the prices they charge for used clothes. I know they’re designer but give me a break. This is a beach town. Maybe she should sell swimsuits and beachwear.” I dumped the pasta into a drainer and ran cold water over it to stop the cooking process. I was pretty happy about the engagement poke he’d given her when he ended the call with Sherry.

  “Maybe you should add beachwear to your ‘more’ section. That way you can get into the clothing business too.” He laughed and went to pour more iced tea. “Never mind, then my Sherry calls would increase.”

  “Not to mention my interactions with her. I’d rather stay off her side of the business road and out of her awareness.” I poured the dressing into the bowl where I’d been putting chopped peppers, onions, and tomatoes.

  He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me. “I’m afraid it’s too late for that. Sherry sees you as competition now that I put that ring on your finger. I’m afraid the attention is just going to get worse. But I’m fifty percent certain that she’s not a killer.”

  “That makes me feel so much better.” I shrugged him off with a laugh. “Start grilling the steaks while I finish this salad. I’ll need my strength to fight off the challengers you’re setting against me.”

  “I don’t control Sherry. Crazy is as crazy does.” He kissed my neck. “But you might want to watch your back for a while.”

  Chapter 21

  First thing Sunday morning, my aunt called to let us know that she and Harrold would be driving themselves to the funeral, as they were taking a couple of days and heading into wine country. As she ended the call, she said, “Make sure you wear something appropriate.”

  I set the phone on the table and rolled my eyes at Greg. “I guess wearing the banana costume to the funeral is probably not what my aunt would call appropriate, right?”

  He spit a bit of coffee out as he started to laugh. “Seriously, you need to warn me before you say things like that.”

  I threw a napkin at him. “I just wish she realized I’m an adult and I know what funeral-appropriate is.”

  “I’d give you a buck if you did wear the banana costume.” He stood and refilled his cup.

  We’d finished the thank-you notes last night, and all I had to do was take the lot to the post office tomorrow. The box of sealed and stamped cards was sitting on the table where the unknown flowers had been before Greg threw them away. In addition, there were several bags of gifts I needed to take back to stores and get a different item. If I found one on sale, I thought I might just have enough for a new food processor.

  “Not going to happen. You haven’t seen Aunt Jackie really mad yet. I don’t think I have the strength to deal with it. I could do the returns today, and if I stop at the grocery store too, I won’t have to go to Bakerstown tomorrow.” I had my planner open for meal planning for the next week. Monday looked busy. If I combined all these Bakerstown trips to today, I’d have reading time. “What’s your plans for today?”

  “I’m not sure yet. Either I’ll be busy, or I can help with the grocery shopping. I’ll let you know after we leave the funeral.” He glanced at the clock. “I’ll put the returns in the back of your car before I leave. I need to get ready and get out of here. I’m meeting someone before the funeral.”

  “Who?”

  He ignored my question and headed upstairs to change.

  “It’s not nice to keep secrets,” I called after him. Emma woofed in agreement. But I also let her outside, just in case she was announcing something else. I had at least thirty minutes before I had to get ready, so I took my coffee and a book out to the back porch.

  Greg came out to the porch before he left and said goodbye. Emma didn’t even move from her spot near the stairs.

  “You’re risking getting Emma hair on that suit.” I studied him. It didn’t matter what Greg wore, he looked good. His sandy-blond hair was cut short. And the suit was one I’d bought him last year. He’d needed a new one, and I knew he wouldn’t pay what I paid for it, so I gave it to him for his birthday. “You look good, Greg King.”

  “She seems to know not to approach when I’m wearing this. Did you tell her how much it cost?” He kissed me. “Don’t get lost in your book and be late.”

  “I won’t.” Okay, so I had before, but I had a timer set on my phone to remind me to get ready. I ignored the jab on the cost of the suit. Greg didn’t worry about fashion, but even he knew the difference in the suit. “See you soon.”

  “I put a change of clothes in the car, just in case I go shopping with you. So don’t leave them there, okay?”

  Always thinking a step ahead, that was Greg. “I’ll bring a sundress for me too.”

  “Maybe we can do lunch at one of restaurants with the deck over the ocean we’ve been meaning to visit.”

  “Now you’re just teasing me. Let me know what your plans are when you know them.” I went back to reading.

  “You’ll be one of the first to know.” He went back inside and left through the front door. I saw him get into his truck and wave as he backed out of the driveway. I guess he knew I’d be watching.

  I tried to go back to reading, but Greg’s clandestine meeting had me wondering what was going on. I went back to the kitchen and rolled out the timeline again. Nothing stood out to me, so the missing item must be something Greg knew, and when he added it into the timeline, it stood out. And he thought the mystery might be solved at the funeral. This whole thing was turning out to be more like one of the novels I liked reading and less like real life.

  I sat down and tried to work it out. Sherry had been a suspect because she’d fought with Harper. The dead woman looked like Harper, so maybe Sherry had killed the wrong sister. Then Pat had confessed and Greg made short work of both of their guilt. Meaning, neither one had killed Alicia. So who had?

  Greg had stopped thinking it was random when he let me start running alone again. I marked that day on my timeline. So no masked random serial killer was running around South Cove, or Greg would have kept me inside.

  Evie had thought it must be the estranged husband, because, well, it’s always the husband. And she’d found some weird stuff with his Facebook story when he was keeping everyone updated on the search for his missing wife. But Greg had verified he’d been at work two states away when Alicia was killed.

  Which left Harper. Had she run out of the shop after a fight with Alicia? Then gone to Diamond Lille’s for lunch? She’d known I was stopping in to pick up the dresses. Maybe she’d planned for me to find the body. That was cold. Especially when it was her sister. And where had she been going with her lawyer buddy, Colton? And the big question that never got answered: Why didn’t she identify her sister as the victim when Greg took her inside the shop?

  Maybe I’d have some time to gently ask some questions today at the funeral. Especially if I got there early. If I knew what her relationship with Colton was and when Alicia actually arrived, that might answer a few of the questions. Or it might just give me more.

  I rolled up the timeline again and tucked it on the kitchen desk. Time to get ready for a funeral.

  * * * *

  Greg’s truck wasn’t at Bakerstown Funeral Home when I arrived. There were several cars in the front parking lot, and I worried I’d gotten there too late to talk to Harper alone. I checked my lipstick in the mirror and applied more before going inside. Makeup wasn’t an everyday thing, and I didn’t want to look off. Especially after my aunt’s admonishment that I dress appropriately. Having clown makeup would probably not meet my aunt’s standards.

  I stepped into the cool lobby of the funeral home and saw a lone person sitting on one of the velvet couches. Harper. I moved toward her and sat next to her. “Harper, I’m so sorry for your loss.”

  Harper looked up at me, confusion in her eyes. Then she blinked and it went away. “Jill, so nice of you to come. I know you didn’t know Alicia, but you would have loved her.”

  “I heard good things about her from Lara Gunn. Remember I told you that I worked with her a few years ago on a legal issue.”

  The confused look came back. “I don’t understand. You ordered books for her?”

  I smiled at that. Sometimes I forgot that not everyone knew my history. I must not have clarified in our last conversation. “No, sorry, before I owned the bookstore, I was an attorney in the city. I did divorces, family law, really.”

  “Oh, yes, you mentioned that. Her husband was less than supportive of her career.” Harper tightened her grip on the small clutch she carried. “It happens a lot. People get married to the wrong person, and then they find out who they really are after a few years. Alicia’s marriage was that way. I know you’ve met Scott. He’s very controlling.”

  “Is that why you’re having two funerals? One for you and your friends here, and one for his friends in Idaho?”

  She nodded. “It was a good compromise. Although I would have been fine going to Idaho for one combined event, he thought this would be better. I think he’ll get more attention if I’m not there. Who could love Alicia more than he did? Who had the bigger loss?”

  Harper was still acting strange, but at least she was talking. “You were against the marriage.” When she looked up sharply at me, I continued. “Lara mentioned it. That you hadn’t talked to your sister for several years because of the fight over the marriage?” I was pushing, but I didn’t have much more time before people would show up. Like Colton.

  “We argued. I’ll admit that. But that was years ago. She made a bad choice. It didn’t mean she needed to pay for it the rest of her life.”

  “No, that would be horrible. Did she come down here when she vanished from Idaho?” I was guessing, but from the surprised look on Harper’s face, I’d hit the nail on the head.

  “She did. She was filing divorce papers and needed a place to stay.” She looked up past me and nodded.

  Colton Canyon hurried over to her, his black suit even more expensive than the one I’d bought Greg. The man was making money as an attorney. I tried to remember what I’d found out about him. Everything about him seemed to fade into the background. Except for one fact: he was from the same town as Harper and Alicia.

  “The service will have a closed casket.” He squeezed Harper’s shoulder, then focused on me. “Good morning, thank you for coming today. Harper appreciates the support from South Cove, but I’m sure you all had better things to do.”

  I let a small smile curve my lips. He didn’t want me or anyone from South Cove here. That was obvious. And we’d just ruined his day. “We’re a tight-knit community. I think you’ll find we support our own, in good times and bad. Being here for Harper, it’s our pleasure.”

  Colton took Harper’s arm and helped her up from the couch. “Sorry, we’ve got some final preparations for the service to attend to.”

  “Thank you again for coming.” Harper smiled and then turned to follow Colton back to Doc Ames’s office.

  A voice came over my shoulder. “I don’t think he liked you talking to Harper one bit.”

  I turned and saw Greg watching the retreating pair. He must have come in from the back door. “I didn’t see your truck here.”

  “I parked in the back. I’ve been chatting with Doc Ames. Apparently, this Colton insisted on a closed casket even though Doc assured him that the body was more than presentable.” He nodded to the chapel where the service was being held. “Do you want to take a walk with me?”

  I wouldn’t say I jumped to my feet, but clearly Greg was letting me play investigator for some reason, so I moved quickly. “Of course. Where are we going?”

  “I just want to check out the chapel for a minute. I’m curious about the setup.” He took my arm, and we stepped to the chapel doorway. Opening the door, I noticed the overpowering smell of roses. Cold roses. The altar was filled with arrangements. On one side was the casket, and on the other, a stand with an oversized picture of Alicia. It was an old picture. She was in her wedding dress, standing at another altar and smiling for the camera. But her smile seemed sad. “I didn’t realize how much she looks like Harper.”

  “Yeah, even though they chose a picture where she was a lot younger. I wonder why?” He studied the photo. “The photo they used for her missing person’s picture was just a year or so old and showed her face better. Why would they use this one?”

  “Maybe Scott insisted?” I touched the coffin. “I’m always sad when I hear about a woman who lost so much time in a bad marriage.”

  “Especially when they don’t have that much longer to live.” Greg put his arm around me. “Let’s go sit out in the lobby and wait for your aunt.”

  “What are you talking about?” I moved with him, looking up to watch his face.

  “According to Doc, Alicia had advanced cancer that had metastasized. She probably only had a few months to live anyway.” He held the door open.

  I paused and looked back at the casket. “Then why was Harper looking for houses for Alicia to buy? If she’d come here to die, why would she buy a house? That doesn’t make any sense.”

  He followed my gaze and nodded. “Good question. There’s a lot of things that don’t make sense. I’ve got some tests running at the crime lab now. I think once we find the truth, it will lead us to finding whoever killed this woman.”

  “Jill, Greg, I didn’t think you two would beat us here.” Harrold waved at us from the lobby area. They’d just come inside, and my aunt was checking her hair and makeup, holding up her small compact she took everywhere with her.

  “We wanted to miss the traffic.” Greg walked over and shook Harrold’s hand. “It’s nice of you to give up your day off to attend this.”

  “From what Lille tells me, this Harper girl needs some support from the South Cove crowd.” He looked around the empty lobby. “I hope my final appearance is a little more well attended.”

  “Don’t talk like that.” I gave him a hug. “You need to be around a long time so you can run buffer between Jackie and me.”

  He laughed and squeezed me. “That’s my pleasure.”

  “Airing our dirty laundry in public isn’t funny, dear.” My aunt sniffed as she put away the compact. “Do we have time before the service starts to sit down? My feet are killing me after yesterday’s event.”