Killer whined as Sam disappeared out the door and then went to stand by the window next to it, watching Sam until she got swallowed up in the crowd. Then he came back to his bed by the fireplace. It was time for his midday nap. And Rarity had work to do as well. Work that wasn’t all about finding out what happened to Martha.

  The rest of the day went by slowly. She probably had seven customers come in the bookstore. She knew Wednesdays might be the slow day from things other business owners had said, so she wasn’t really worried. Yet. The bell over the door went off just as she was thinking about closing early and heading home for a swim.

  The hiking instructor walked into the bookstore. Ender, no, that wasn’t his first name, it was something else…Archer. That was it. She ran a hand over her curly hair and then shoved it under the counter. What was she doing? She smiled and nodded, deciding not to call him by name, just in case she was wrong. “Good afternoon. Nice to see you again.”

  He came over to the counter and leaned on it. His dark hair curled over his ears, and his tan made him look like he should be surfing, not hanging out in a bookstore. He held out his hand, “Archer Enders. I’m glad that you remembered me, I wasn’t sure you would.”

  “It was a lovely tour. I’ve never seen anything quite like the area. I need to get out exploring more, but I’ve been tied to setting up the bookstore.” She smiled softly, hoping he didn’t think she was just hiding.

  “You should come to the Saturday tour. We’re going to Munds Wagon Trail. It has a lot of history as well as beautiful scenery. You should be back in time to open.” His smile was easy and infectious.

  “I’ll have to see if my friend is available.” She wrote a note on a piece of paper. “I’d love to come.”

  “I’ll save you two spots on the bus. As long as this friend is female.” He held her gaze with his, and Rarity realized his eyes were a stunning blue gray. “I’m sorry, that was forward of me. I’ll hold two spots and hope you come.”

  “I’ll check with her later, and we’ll give you a call.” She wondered why it was suddenly so hot in the store. Maybe she needed to get the air conditioner fixed.

  “I’ve been thinking of you since I met you.” He laughed. “I shouldn’t have said that and showed my cards. Anyway, on a more professional note, what books do you have on hiking in the area? You mentioned you might want to stock some that I could refer people to if they couldn’t fit in my tours.” He took out a notebook and a pen.

  “Let’s go see. I have an entire shelf of Sedona-related books available. You can tell me what I’m missing and what I need to stock up with.” She stepped around the counter, thankful for a change of subject. He’d been flirting with her. And since that hadn’t happened to her in years, she hadn’t been prepared for it.

  They talked books, which was a much safer subject for Rarity, but when his fingers brushed hers accidentally, she felt the jolt. She pushed the emotion away and turned toward her computer, where they’d been looking up the availability of the books from a list he’d brought.

  “I think I can order these three and get them at a price point your customers will appreciate. The other two, they’re out of print, so I would be buying them from a secondhand seller. I can see if I can get a few, but they’re going to be pricey.” She wrote some prices on the sheet and handed it back to him. “I’ll order ten of each, and we’ll see how it goes.”

  “Perfect. I’ll write up a sheet to put in the office for when people show up. Do you have a logo you can send me or any header information?” He tucked the note into his shirt pocket.

  “I do. I’ll send it over, and you can add it. Marketing was my job before I decided to quit the easy life and open my own business.”

  He laughed. “Same here. I was a corporate lawyer. The pay was great, but the scenery was horrible. Even on the fifteenth floor. Not like here.”

  “Are you new to the area?” She glanced at her watch. Time to start closing up.

  “Yeah. I’ve been here about three years, which means I’m still a newcomer to the old guys.” He stood and glanced out the window. “I guess you need to close up.”

  “Yeah, Killer and I need to get home. It’s his dinnertime.”

  He frowned and looked around the bookstore. “Killer?”

  Rarity walked over to the fireplace and picked up the little dog from his bed, where he’d been still sleeping. She ruffled his hair. “Some guard dog you are.”

  “I didn’t see him.” Archer held his hand out for Killer to sniff. “May I pet him?”

  “Of course, if he’ll let you. I haven’t seen him not like anyone yet.” Rarity watched as Archer leaned in and stroked the dog’s fur.

  “Aren’t you a special little one?” He smiled and nodded. “I’ll see you Saturday, maybe?”

  “Probably. Seven again?”

  “Yep. Bring your coffee. The lines at the coffee shop can get a little long on Saturday mornings before the hikes take off.” He tipped his hat and started to leave when a book caught his eye. “Sorry, have you closed your register yet?”

  She shook her head and put Killer down on the floor. She took the book he’d handed her and smiled. “I love this series. I’m afraid I’m a few books behind.”

  “Urban fantasy is my jam. I found his work in law school, and it was what I rewarded myself with when I’d finish a semester. Thank goodness he had a lot of books in the series to motivate me.” He handed her a credit card, and after she’d processed the sale, he took the book and receipt and tucked it under his arm. “Thanks for stocking those books for me.”

  “Thanks for promoting the bookstore.” Rarity followed him to the door and then locked it after him. She turned the sign from Open to Closed and started turning off lights. She found Killer back in his bed and picked him up. Tucking her tote under her arm, she left the bookstore, making sure to lock it and turn on the alarm. Killer barked as they started walking home.

  “Don’t look at me that way, he’s just a fellow business owner.” She held her tote closer and thought about Archer with the gorgeous eyes. She looked down at Killer as they waited for the light to change so they could walk across the street. “I am not ready for a relationship. Besides, I have you. That’s all I need for right now.”

  She just wished she believed what she said.

  Holly caught up with her as she passed by Madame Zelda’s. “Hey, I was hoping to catch you before you closed up. I’m on my way to work, but I wanted to tell you I know who our local fortune teller was seeing a few nights ago. Kelly O’Reilly. I guess they’ve been going out for a couple of months, or at least they’ve been very chummy at the Garnet, according to my friend.”

  “Interesting.” Rarity looked up at the twinkling lights around Madame Zelda’s window. “There were numbers for two Kellys in Martha’s phonebook. Of course, that doesn’t mean either one was the person she was seeing. I didn’t find anything that listed off who she was going on her date nights with.”

  “Well, we have a kind-of match. I guess we could call both the numbers and see what their answering machines say. It might tell us if they had this Kelly in common.” Holly sighed as she started walking with Rarity. “And again, even if it is, it could be a coincidence. Or he could be a Realtor or a plumber.”

  “Yeah, Sam and I were talking about that problem. So we have information, but no context.” Rarity paused at her street. “I guess we just keep asking questions and seeing if we can find a way to answer them.”

  Holly nodded. “You know this investigation stuff looks so much easier on television. They find the killer with the clue that the murder victim left in the sand next to their body. We didn’t even get to see the body.”

  “I’m kind of thankful for that.” Rarity waved as they parted ways. “Have a good night at work.”

  “Will do. I’ll need another book to read by tomorrow, though, so put some of your favorites aside for me. I’d love to know what you love reading.” Holly jogged across the street to the police station/city hall building.

  Rarity thought about Holly’s statement. Maybe they needed to know Martha better. Like, find out what she liked to read. Rarity didn’t remember whether or not Martha had been in the bookstore before the night of the book club, but if she had, her name and prior purchases would be in the computer. She’d make a note as soon as she got home to check on that tomorrow. And she needed to make a call.

  She dialed as she walked, but instead of reaching Sam, she got her recording. “Hey, Sam, you’re probably on your way over but I wanted to tell you that Archer came by the store today. He asked me to go on a hiking tour with him on Saturday morning. And you’re coming too. Anyway, see you soon!” When she hung up, she tucked her phone into her pocket and focused on Killer the rest of the way home. Talking about the neighborhood and things she wanted to do to the house when she finally got settled. He was a good listener.

  Rarity opened the lock on the front door and got their dinners going. Killer’s was easy—she just opened a can of wet food, refilled his water dish, and made sure he had dry kibble. The vet would probably tell her that she needed to keep the dry out only at feeding time, but for now, Killer had full-time access to food. Which Rarity thought was the best for all concerned.

  Then she put a frozen entrée into the oven and set out the makings for a salad. Happy with her choices, she changed into her swimsuit and went to swim the knots out of her shoulders. She’d spent more on the house for the pool—she was going to get her use out of it.

  She saw Sam come out of the house with Killer at her feet. Sam had a bottle of wine and two glasses in her hand. Rarity wasn’t surprised to see her. She’d given the extra key to Sam just in case. She paused at the edge of the pool. “I have five more laps unless you need to talk now. Or you can grab a suit from my dresser and join me.”

  “I’m fine. I ran this morning when it was cool. There’s a reason I live in the desert rather than by the ocean. I like my exercise dry, not wet. I’ll just pour the wine.”

  “If you want something to eat, throw an extra frozen dinner into the oven and reset the timer.” Rarity went back to swimming without waiting for an answer. Sam was over at her place a lot. Having a friend nearby was so different from when she’d lived in St. Louis. There, she had work friends, but after happy hour, she’d gone home to make dinner for Kevin while they’d gone out to dinner as a group. After a while, they’d stopped asking her to go out with them entirely. She liked having Sam live so close. It reminded her of their college days when they’d shared an apartment. She finished her laps, then climbed out of the pool, drying herself off with a towel as she walked over to the table. She wrapped the towel around herself and sat down.

  “Good swim?” Sam filled Rarity’s wineglass.

  Rarity used a second towel to work on her hair as they were sitting. With the heat, she’d be bone-dry in no time, but she didn’t like how her hair dripped down her back if she didn’t towel-dry it. “I love that pool.”

  Sam laughed and sipped her wine. “I grabbed some type of dinner and put it in the oven. So my dinner will be done about ten minutes after yours. Thanks for that.”

  “You showed up and looked hungry. What could I do?” Rarity sipped her wine. “Did you get my voice mail?”

  “About hiking on Saturday? Yes. I’m impressed that you took the initiative and set this up.” Sam held up her phone. “I’ve got it in my calendar.”

  “I didn’t. Archer came by and talked me into going. I’m ordering some books for his customers, and he wanted to walk me through the ones he could recommend.”

  “You have two guys after you, and I can’t even get one to come to breakfast.” Sam sipped her wine. “It’s like college all over again.”

  “No, you were the social butterfly in college. I dated three, maybe four guys the whole time.”

  “True, but everyone wanted to date you. You just didn’t see it. You thought they were all just so friendly,” Sam groused.

  “They were friendly.” Rarity smiled, remembering the fun they used to have when they’d go out with a gang of friends. “Anyway, you went to breakfast with one of those two guys you’re claiming are hung up on me this morning.”

  “Only because you kicked him out of the office.” Sam nodded. “Yeah, he told us. Did you find anything else out?”

  “Holly stopped me on her way to work.” Rarity explained what Holly had said and that it didn’t rule out anyone from Martha’s planner. “We need to find out who these other guys are.”

  “Let me see the list.” Sam stood waiting for directions on what Rarity had done with it.

  She pointed inside the house. “On the island.”

  Sam came out and smoothed the page down on the table. She pointed to one of the numbers in the first phone number. “Okay, what is that number? I can’t read your handwriting.”

  “It’s a seven. What are you doing?”

  Sam held up a finger and dialed a number. Then she wrote down on the paper a name and company name.

  Rarity turned the page to see it. “Roger, from Sedona Plumbing?”

  “Yep, and now we’re down to four. Don’t worry, I’ll do the wrong number excuse if anyone really picks up.” She dialed the rest of the numbers, hanging up on two and leaving the Kellys until last. On the last call, Sam put the recording on speaker so Rarity could hear it.

  The man who answered spoke with a slight Irish brogue. “This is Kelly O’Reilly. Leave a message or don’t, I don’t care either way.”

  Sam hung up the phone. “Bingo.”

  Chapter 10

  Sam and Rarity had decided that they’d go together to tell Drew what the group had pieced together. They met outside the bookstore. Rarity called into the store, where she’d left Killer with one of his hidden treat toys. “Killer, I’ll be back in a few minutes. Be a good boy.”

  “I’m not sure he understands those words.” Sam chuckled. A few blocks before the police station, Sam backed out. “Just don’t tell him I was involved. I hate to have him discount me as a crazy before our first date.”

  “Do you have a first date planned?” Rarity asked her retreating friend.

  Sam shook her head. “Not yet, but if I go in there and tell him we’ve been snooping, I’m sure there won’t be a first, let alone a second or third.”

  “Sam, you’re such a chicken.” Rarity crossed the street and went inside the police station. The same woman, Sue, was sitting behind the desk. Her face lit up when she saw Rarity. “Is Drew available?”

  “Yes, he is.” She stood and knocked over a cup filled with pens. “Oops, sorry about that. Go on over to the door, I’ll buzz you in. I’m assuming you know your way to his office?”

  “Since I was just here yesterday, I think I can handle finding it.” Rarity waved a hand and disappeared into the door that had just beeped open. She wondered how far her friendship with Drew could cover up her attempts to find Martha’s killer. Maybe there was a good reason she was pushing this idea. Like her new dog was infiltrating her brain with his ideas. Killer wanted her to find Martha’s killer as a last act of respect for his prior owner. Who knew exactly what any dog knew, or if they could think at such an advanced level? Of course, Rarity thought dogs were smarter than most people on the planet.

  She found herself outside Drew’s door, watching him read a file.

  “Come in or go away. Your choice.” He looked up and caught her gaze. His eyes were a dark brown color. And the combination with a good tan and comfortable and gently used clothing made her think that he was the good guy she thought he was—and that he might actually believe her.

  Longshot number four thousand, four hundred, and thirty-five. She took a deep breath, then went in and sat down. She pulled out a piece of paper that had Kelly O’Reilly’s name and phone number on it. She pushed it toward Drew, and he reached across the desk and picked it up.

  “What am I looking at?” Drew looked up at her. “Besides the obvious.”

  “He’s a link between Martha and Madame Zelda. They were both seeing him, we think. At worst, he’s attached to both women.”

  Drew stared at her, then took the piece of paper and put it in the file. “I can’t just go in guns blazing based on the fact that these two women might have been seeing the same man. This may be Arizona, but it’s not the Old West, where the cowboy rides in on a white horse and saves the day.”

  “All I’m asking is that you talk to Madame Zelda about where she was when Martha died. Rumor is, they had a history, and both their husbands left at the same time.” Rarity stood and walked toward the office door. “I can see myself out. Since you’re busy.”

  “Look, I don’t know who’s feeding you information from the case, but you need to be careful. Murder investigation is a dangerous hobby for a bookseller.” He watched her walk toward the door.

  Rarity could see him in the reflection of the window by the door. He didn’t look angry, he looked amused.

  “Hey, tell your friend to come by next week and we’ll do coffee without the folks. If she’s interested in something other than just matchmaking. I need to know potential dating partners for a while before we move to the dinner-and-a-movie part of the ritual. What if I can’t stand her laugh and we’re on our way to Flagstaff for a meal? I could be stuck in a truck with a laughing hyena for hours.”

  She turned and laughed in spite of herself. “Sam’s laugh is fine, but I’ll pass on your message. I feel like we’re in high school again.”

  “I’m going to go out on a limb, but since you brought it up, are you available for coffee?” His eyes twinkled. “I get the friend thing, so if I’m overstepping, I apologize. I don’t want to get involved with one friend when the other is more my type.”

  “Actually, I’m in a not dating period.” She mentally shook her head. Sam had been right after all. “And I’m a pretty loyal friend.”