She put everything into her phone calendar so she wouldn’t forget, then glanced at Killer. “We’ve got some time before lunch. Do you think it’s too hot for a walk?”

  Killer glanced at the window, then snuggled back into his bed.

  Rarity laughed at the little dog. “Apparently you’re smarter about life in Sedona than I am. Looking at the temperature, you’re right that it’s too hot. Maybe I’ll just take a swim instead.”

  She started to get up, then noticed an ad for the spa on the same page as the search results for the cancer centers. She sat back down and clicked on the ad. Did people really think they could get rid of something like breast cancer with a few breathing techniques? She knew lowering stress levels could help, but she believed those modalities were best used in combination with modern medicine and treatments.

  She shook her head as she read the ad copy. The spa never used the words cured or treatment. It was lighter than that. More hopeful. And it preyed on the fear surrounding the disease. She flipped through the pictures of the staff again and saw a link to community events.

  The spa’s doctor was very busy with fund-raisers and cancer events. She flipped through several photos and stopped. Dr. Conrad and his wife could be seen at a table, talking. The couple hadn’t noticed the photographer taking a picture of a celebrity, talking to the press in front of them.

  Rarity tried to blow up the picture to see the woman who was talking to the doctor. It was Kim. She was married to Dr. Conrad, according to the note below the picture. Maybe it was an error. Maybe the person who had captured the photo had been wrong.

  Rarity keyed in Kimberly Conrad, Arizona, into the search line. A lot of hits came up, but when she changed it to images, she saw their Kim in several with her “husband,” Dr. David Conrad. There was no doubt. Kim was married to the doctor who owned the spa. She didn’t just work there. Which explained why she’d been so quick to excuse his actions. Had she only joined the group to get more clients for her husband’s clinic?

  She tried to call Sam, but no answer. So, she texted her. DO YOU HAVE TIME FOR LUNCH? WE NEED TO TALK.

  This time Rarity got a quick answer. NOON AT THE GARNET. I NEED TO CLOSE UP ANYWAY FOR A FEW MINUTES. THIS MORNING HAS BEEN CRAZY.

  Rarity still had time for that swim she’d promised herself. She went to change and work out some of the questions she had as she swam her laps.

  When she got to the Garnet, she saw Sam had beaten her there. She slipped into the other side of the booth and opened her menu. “What’s your favorite here?”

  “Everything.” Sam sipped her iced tea. “So, why are you here on a Monday? I thought you were taking those as ‘me days’ until business picked up.”

  Rarity gave her order to the waitress who’d stopped by and dropped off a glass of water. Then she answered Sam’s question with another question. “What’s your take on Kim?”

  “What do you mean? She’s a little flighty. She hasn’t been to a meeting for a couple of weeks. And when she’s there, it feels like she’s somewhere else. Like she’s observing the group and not participating. But that could just be my interpretation. Especially since I don’t fit the criteria for the group.”

  “Neither does she. Or at least, I don’t believe so anymore.” Rarity nodded to the waitress, who’d dropped off the tea she’d ordered. She wondered if she should have ordered a glass of wine or a beer instead. The swim hadn’t calmed her; instead it had brought up new questions about Kim.

  “Shirley told you that Kim’s just going through treatment. Maybe that’s what’s bothering you.” Sam sipped her tea.

  Rarity leaned forward. “I don’t think she has cancer at all. I think she’s there to get clients for her husband’s spa.”

  Sam didn’t say anything as the waitress dropped off their sandwiches. After she’d left, she pointed a fry at Rarity. “That’s some serious thinking. Do we have any evidence? The meeting’s tomorrow, and if she’s there, we can’t just out her and not expect fallout. Shirley adores Kim.”

  “I know. And Shirley’s the one I’m worried about. She’s dying for companionship. I think her husband is stuck in reliving World War II or maybe the first world war. I can’t tell since his book orders cover both wars. But I can tell he doesn’t talk to her a lot.” Rarity picked up her French Dip and dunked it in the au jus. “And if I’m wrong, Shirley will have to take sides. And we’ll lose her.”

  “The stakes are high on this one,” Sam agreed as she bit into her southwestern chicken avocado on wheat.

  Rarity focused on her food, twirling the idea around in her mind. Finally, she set the sandwich down and met Sam’s gaze. “Especially if Kim killed Martha to keep her from exposing the spa as a fraud.”

  Chapter 22

  Rarity was nervous on Tuesday morning. She was leaving Killer at home with his favorite toys and a potty pad near the door today. She’d made an emergency dog door, but Rarity had found the dog didn’t like using it. Especially during the day. At night, she closed it, trying to keep other animals out of the house. Today, she left it closed as well. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about Killer. Just the mess he might make in her house. It was worth the peace of mind.

  She gave him a hug when she left the house. “Sorry, little dude. I need to know you’re here safe and not underfoot if something goes bad at the book club. I know, that sounds silly, but sometimes humans aren’t the most rational creatures. And I don’t want you to think you need to avenge your Martha’s death.”

  He ran to his bed when she let him down. He’d gotten the message and was sending one of his own. He wasn’t happy about being left home.

  Rarity waved at Terrance, who was out on his porch watching as she walked past his house to her bookshop. He waved back but didn’t try to chat. He must not be a morning person. Rarity had known people like that, but she didn’t understand them. Mornings were the best. She got so much work done in the cool of the morning, no matter what her daily to-do list had on it. She unlocked her door and turned over the Open sign. Then she got busy.

  Before the meeting, she checked the store for visitors, then went over to see Madame Zelda. She had hopefully timed her visit to be between the fortune teller’s on-the-hour forty-minute readings.

  Madame Zelda looked up from her computer screen as Rarity’s entrance was announced by the bells hanging on the door inside her shop. “What do you want now?”

  Rarity swallowed and moved toward the counter. “I wanted to ask you a question. I found some spa products in the alley a few nights ago. They were addressed to you.”

  “So? Is that a crime?” Madame Zelda dropped her gaze back to the computer. “The cops already dropped them off and asked me questions. So no harm, no foul.”

  “Yes, but I was wondering… Was Martha going to go after the spa for bad treatment? Or false promises? I’m not sure what the legal wording would be.”

  “Fraud.”

  A chill went down Rarity’s spine. “Fraud?”

  “That was what she claimed they did to her. She asked me to go and pretend I was a cancer survivor. The spa gave me the same song and dance they gave her. And they sold me all those products. I threw them away after Martha died. It didn’t seem worth the trouble. And I wasn’t going back there. Not ever. I’ve had a real doctor check me out, and I’m fine.” Madame Zelda shut the laptop. “When I help a person deal with problems, I’m called a charlatan, a fraud, a taker. But use the word ‘doctor’ in your name, and you can sell people anything.”

  “I’m truly sorry for your loss.” Madame Zelda was hurting from the loss of her friend, even if she wouldn’t hear it.

  “Martha was determined. That’s why I sent her over to your group. I’d hoped that she would talk to one of you and leave me out of the research side of things. I guess she just didn’t have as much time as we’d thought to get the job done.”

  “Have you told Drew all of this?” Rarity checked her watch. She had five minutes before the book club would start. She needed to reopen the store.

  “I told him when he brought back that spa stuff. It’s like a bad penny. It just keeps coming back time after time. No matter how far away you throw it.” She nodded to the door. “Go to your survivors. I have a client coming in soon.”

  “Stay safe. These people aren’t playing.” Rarity moved toward the door.

  “I know that. I cancelled all my appointments and told them I wasn’t ready to deal with my medical issues right now. That I’d be back when I had made up my mind on what I wanted.” She smiled. “Hopefully they’ll believe me. Martha flat-out told them they were crooks, and she was going to bring them down. Not the most discreet departure for her.”

  Rarity smiled. “I think I would have liked Martha had I gotten to know her a little better.”

  Madame Zelda laughed as the door opened behind where Rarity stood. “I think you’re right. You two have a lot in common. Conner, you’re right on time. Step into my parlor, and I’ll see Ms. Cole out.”

  Rarity saw the young man blush as he hurried toward the reading room. Rarity stepped through the door and saw Shirley waiting at the door to the bookstore. She turned back to see Madame Zelda peering out the doorway at her. “Have a good evening.”

  Madame Zelda frowned, then reached out for Rarity’s hand. She held it for only a few seconds before she dropped it. “Stay safe. You’re in danger.” Then she slammed the door and Rarity heard the locks click shut.

  “I’m not sure I’m the one I have to worry about,” Rarity mumbled as she hurried back to her own store.

  Shirley stood from the little bench outside the door. “I figured you were out buying something for the book club.”

  “No, actually, I totally forgot. It’s been a crazy week around here. How are you and George?” Rarity unlocked the store and hurried to move the sign over to the main hallway. “I should start some coffee and get lemonade set up, though.”

  “Anytime you want me to bring treats, just let me know. I could have whipped up a couple dozen cookies for tonight. Maybe I should run home and bake a batch.”

  “You’re not leaving to go bake. We can get along without cookies for one night.” Rarity pointed to the fireplace. “Go sit and I’ll be right out.”

  “Okay, if you say so.”

  Rarity was coming out of the back when she heard Shirley call out, “Rarity? Did Killer get out? I don’t see him anywhere.”

  “I left him at home for tonight. I was worried it would be too late for the little guy by the time we got done.” Rarity felt the lie on her lips, but she didn’t want to give away anything to whomever might be listening.

  And she’d been right. There were others in the store with Shirley. Sam, Holly, and Malia were all gathered around the fireplace. Rarity set the coffeepot down and plugged it in. There was a tray of cupcakes on the table. Apparently Holly had stopped at the store when Shirley mentioned not baking. “Coffee will be ready in about ten minutes. I’ll go get the lemonade.”

  Sam stood and met Rarity’s gaze. “I’ll do that. You sit and get the group ready for our chat.”

  Rarity nodded and pulled out the flip chart. “Anyone have anything new to report?”

  “I’m afraid Kelly is off our list. I talked to his alibi, a young woman from Flagstaff. She came into the Garnet looking for him to tell him off. They were together all night when Martha went missing. This Kelly dude is a complete jerk, but it doesn’t look like he’s a killer. She’s so mad at him right now, she wouldn’t have lied for him to get him out of a parking ticket. He didn’t call after they spent the night together.” Holly crossed her legs under her. “I know he was our best suspect, but he didn’t do it.”

  Malia raised her hand. “I talked to Madame Zelda’s home neighbors, and they said she was at a party that night and brought home one of the older men in the neighborhood. He said she was surprisingly still there in the morning. Then the guy hit on me, asking if I wanted to check him out. It was gross.”

  Rarity wrote down the information and pressed her lips together to keep from smiling, or worse, laughing at Malia’s estimation of the man’s prowess. “Anything else?”

  “Kim called and said she couldn’t come tonight. She had a work event.” Shirley didn’t look up from the crocheting she was doing. “I don’t think she’s very committed to the group. But it’s voluntary, right? I guess people should be able to come and go based on their priorities.”

  “Thanks for the update.” Rarity wrote down Kim’s name, which made Shirley frown, but then she underlined Madame Zelda’s name. “So, I went to chat with our town’s fortune teller tonight. That’s why the door was locked when you got here, Shirley.”

  Shirley nodded, her concern over Kim’s name being listed forgotten. “Did she tell you anything?”

  “I found a box of spa supplies in the alley by the trash last week. They were Madame Zelda’s. The same ones the police department found in Martha’s house. I went to ask her why she had them.” Rarity looked around the room, then dropped the bombshell. “She said she went undercover for Martha at the spa. That Martha thought people there were lying to her.”

  “Like her doctor?” Malia shook her head. “Man, that’s cold. You trust what your health professionals tell you. Otherwise, how can you give informed consent?”

  “The spa is telling survivors that their cancer came back and that they can be cured with these treatments.” Rarity watched the room, waiting for the dots to be connected. But when that didn’t happen, she went on. “It looks like Martha found out and was planning to take legal action against the spa.”

  “I’m surprised she didn’t burn it down. I would have been that mad,” Holly admitted. “So, we think that was the motivation for why Martha was killed? That she was going to ruin the spa’s reputation?”

  “Basically. I know it’s a long shot, but with Madame Zelda’s information, it rings true.” Rarity filled her cup with coffee. “And there’s something else.”

  “You think Kim had something to do with this. Since Martha was here the day when Kim came with me.” Shirly pointed to the name. “She’s just a sick girl. Why would you push this?”

  “Mostly because she’s married to the guy who runs the spa.” Rarity saw the denial unfolding in Shirley’s eyes. “Shirley, she lied to us. I think she was just here to try to get business for her husband’s clinic. Maybe Martha recognized her.”

  “And they went to meet. Remember how Kim was the one to push us all exchanging phone numbers?” Holly leaned toward Shirley. “You said that Rarity wanted to protect us and Kim said—well, she disagreed.”

  “What did she say?” Rarity looked around at the group. Everyone but Sam had their heads dropped.

  “Kim said that night that you were just trying to sell books. That’s why you didn’t want us to share our phone numbers. And that you didn’t care about us.” Shirley looked up first. “She was wrong. I’m sorry I brought her into the group.”

  “Shirley, you don’t know what you don’t know. Sometimes people don’t show their true colors at first.” Rarity underlined Kim’s name again. “Quick poll, who has gotten a phone call from Kim since giving her your phone number?”

  “Not Kim, but the spa has called me three times since then. I guess I was assuming I was on some sort of cancer call sheet,” Malia said. She stood up and got a cupcake. “I never associated it with me giving my number to Kim.”

  “I got those calls, too.” Holly stood and poured a cup of coffee. “That’s just wrong. You shouldn’t try to sell stuff to people who are working through issues. We could have been a serious cancer survivors’ group. And then what would have happened? Kim and her husband would have made money off us.”

  Rarity looked around the group members, who were all staring at Holly.

  She paused as she walked back to her chair. “Wait, why are you all looking at me like that?”

  “A ‘serious’ cancer group?” Malia shook her head. “Dude, way to dis us.”

  “I didn’t mean that. I meant we’ve seemed to have gone on to be a survivors’ group and a sleuthing group. I don’t think anyone here is still freaking out about surviving.” Holly’s eyes widened. “Sorry, are you guys still dealing with it?”

  Rarity smiled and sat down again. “Well, not all the time. But I have been lately. I’m doing my annual mammogram this next week, and I have to say, I’m a little freaked out. I’m meeting a new oncologist too. I’d appreciate good thoughts on Monday.”

  “We’ll do a breakdown next week first thing and let you download all the feelings and ideas.” Holly glanced around the group. “Does anyone else need to get something off their chest before we go back to trying to figure out who killed Martha?”

  They all shook their heads.

  “Okay, so we’ve crossed off Madame Zelda, Kelly O’Reilly, and that leaves the spa as the motive. Do you really think someone would kill her because of money? Or the opportunity to make money?” Rarity glanced around the circle. Every one of them nodded their heads.

  As Shirley did, though, she held up a finger. “We don’t know that it was Kim who killed Martha. She might have just said something to the wrong person about Martha being here that night. Maybe someone from the spa wanted to keep her quiet. Someone besides Kim. Come on, guys, you know she couldn’t do this.”

  “Do we really know anything about her?” Sam went to get a cupcake. “I didn’t know her as well as you guys did, so maybe I’m off here, but something felt wrong when I met her. She didn’t seem honest.”

  “Which she’s not,” Malia added.

  Shirley glanced at the clock and tucked her crochet project into her bag. “Doesn’t mean she’s a killer. I’ve got to go. George hates it when I’m late.”

  “Okay, we’ll see you all next week. Maybe we can find time to talk about the book we planned on reading a few weeks ago.” Rarity stood and gave Shirley a hug as she walked by. She whispered in her ear, “You’re a good friend.”