Author: R A Wallace
Date: 2019-05-24 04:00:00+00:00

Misdirected in Teaberry
A Teaberry Farm Bed & Breakfast Cozy Mystery

R. A. Wallace

2019

Author’s Note

This is a work of fiction.  Names, characters, dialogue, places, and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner.  Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Material in this book is not intended as a substitute for legal or medical advice from qualified professionals. The author has no connection to any software or website mentioned.

© 2019 R. A. Wallace. All rights reserved.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Megan’s Recipe

Books by R. A. Wallace

Chapter One

The voice heard over the hospital sound system barely registered. A small portion of her brain automatically filtered it through the other information already there, sifting for any part of it that might be relevant to her. Finding none, her pace didn’t slow as she continued down the hall to join the others in her team.

Chloe Roberts had been on shift since zero dark thirty. Her work day would last longer than most. It was a routine she had grown accustomed to during her residency at the hospital though the actual times varied. As she grew closer to the group gathered in front of her, she could tell the conversation had already drifted from patients to supervisors. Given the scowl on Zach’s face, she was pretty sure she knew which supervisor in particular.

“I’m telling you, the guy has it in for me.” Zach Martinez was rarely seen at rest. He was of average height with a lithe frame, dark hair that he kept close on the sides but styled a little higher in the front, and wore dress clothes in the more modern cuts. He stood now with his hands on his hips, facing the others.

“Gordon Fletcher treats everyone that way.” Scott Nelson didn’t glance up from the notes he was reading. They would no doubt be tested on them as the day went on.

Chloe agreed with Scott. She couldn’t remember any time that Gordon Fletcher hadn’t pushed them. Then again, she couldn’t remember any time that anyone above the group of residents hadn’t pushed them. She shifted her gaze to Avery Campbell. The other female in the group, Avery was the serious, even-keeled member.

“I was surprised he didn’t suggest we investigate the new procedure before making comments on this one to see which of us comes up with the best alternative.” Avery didn’t bother to look around for consensus on her comment.

“He doesn’t suggest. He just dumps it in your lap,” Zach said with a pointed look at Avery.

Avery gave the barest shrug. “I would rather know all of the options before proceeding.”

Darius King looked around the group. “This isn’t helping. You know he’s going to devise some new way to make us compete with each other. We already have a million things to accomplish today. We need to figure out how we’re going to do all of that and whatever else Gordon Fletcher dumps on us today.”

Chloe could see the concern on Darius’s face. It wasn’t the first time he had mentioned the workload. As she looked around the group, she saw different emotions on each face. Since joining the team, she had grown accustomed to seeing those looks. Avery exuded quiet competence. She looked ready to handle whatever was thrown her way. Zach shifted his feet and looked ready to argue again. Scott glanced quickly at the rest of the group, then returned his frown to the notes in front of him.

The look on Darius’s face turned from concern to panic. Chloe knew exactly what that meant. She didn’t have to turn around to know that Gordon Fletcher was bearing down on the group. She steeled herself to hear the senior doctor give his orders for the morning before leaving the hospital for his own practice.

She was glad that she had. By the time Gordon Fletcher was done critiquing their recent work and barking orders, the team of residents had scattered. The only good thing about having Gordon Fletcher above them in the chain of command was knowing that he would leave the hospital relatively early each morning to return to his own office. It was a moment that Chloe looked forward to every day as she arrived for work.

***

“Well, what do you think?” Dan pushed his empty plate out of the way and reached for his coffee cup before leaning back in his chair.

“You’re right. It’s time. Instead of my faithful old truck, I will take the new car to the doctor’s office today.” Megan tried not to frown.

Dan saw through her bravado. “I know you love that thing. I know you’ve had it for a long time.”

“We’ve been through a lot together,” she conceded.

“I’m just saying that it might be time to move on.” He emptied his coffee cup before continuing. “I’ve done everything with it that I can do and it’s still not perfect.”

“In defense of my truck, it is pretty old. Perfect might not be an attainable goal at this point.” She set her tea cup down and rubbed her side.

His eyes dropped to her hand. “My point exactly. I don’t want you stranded somewhere just because your truck has gotten to that phase of its existence referred to as having character.”

She smiled at the thought. “It does have character, doesn’t it?”

“Not always reliable character,” he emphasized.

“I know.” She sighed. “But it served me well for a long time.”

“That it did.” He stood and quickly cleared the table of their breakfast things. He leaned in for a kiss before leaving the room. “I need to finish getting ready. Don’t work too hard. I can help with the linens when I get home.”

“I’ll do a little at a time but I would like to finish getting all the rooms put back to order now that the guests have gone.”

“I’m okay with that. I’m just saying that I’ll be home to help with it later.” He paused long enough to see her nod of agreement.

She finished cleaning the kitchen and managed to get the guest rooms mostly clean before her doctor’s appointment. The trip into town seemed different somehow. She knew it was the new SUV. It would take a little getting used to. Maybe over time, the new car would also grow character. She glanced into the rear-view mirror at the back seat. Before long, there would be a little one sitting back there.

Her doctor’s office was in a large medical building with several other doctors. Some had the same specialty, others were different. There was a smaller parking lot close to the medical building and a larger one across the street. Seeing no empty spaces near the building, she drove into the lot across the street and parked. She felt her phone buzz as she walked into the building.

There were different check-in points all over the building depending on the doctor. Megan walked through the building until she came to the window for her doctor. There were two women seated at the window. One was on the phone, the other was checking patients in. Megan took her place in line and pulled her phone out as she waited. She frowned when she read the message and looked up at the woman on the phone. She had been the one to call Megan. She waited in line periodically moving forward a few inches until it was finally her turn at the window.

Holding up her phone, Megan gave a wry smile. “I heard.”

Patsy Reyes gave a sympathetic smile in return. “Sorry about that. Doctor was called to a delivery. We’re rescheduling all of the appointments.”

Megan switched to the calendar feature on her phone and made a new appointment. After leaving Patsy, she made her way to the closest restroom. On her way out of the building, she ran into a familiar face. The woman walking toward her was even farther along in her pregnancy.

Amber Brandt laughed when she saw Megan. “I think we’re on the same schedule. I see you every time I come for my appointment.”

“I may have just broken the routine.” Megan motioned behind her. “My doctor cancelled on me today.”

“In their line of business, you can’t blame them,” Amber said. “Babies come when babies want to on their own schedule.”

“True. Good luck with your doctor.”

Amber watched Megan leave the building. She started moving toward the reception area for her doctor then stopped and turned to the restroom. Several minutes later, she stepped up to the receptionist for her doctor.

“Good morning.” Cecilia Masterson waited for Amber to sign into the computer. “Any changes since the last time you were here?”

“Shouldn’t be,” Amber said.

“Insurance information is the same?” Cecilia pulled Amber’s chart up on her computer.

“It is.” Amber waited patiently as Cecilia read through her chart.

“Okay then. I’ll call you when the doctor is ready for you.” Cecilia returned her focus back to her computer.

Amber looked around the large shared waiting area for an empty seat. She lowered herself into a chair and reached for a pile of magazines next to her. The first one on the pile was all about horses. Amber had never really been around them before.

She was going to set it aside when it began slipping from her hand. She caught it just before it fell. As she did, she noticed a card inside. It was one of those post cards with an ad that magazines include asking the subscriber to renew. It had her doctor’s name and address on it. Dr. Fletcher must be the horse lover in the office. She could tell from the pile of magazines that there were several others about horses.

She flipped the magazine over. Part of the cover was cut away. She was used to seeing that. The office usually cut away the subscriber’s name before setting the magazine out. She held the card in one hand, wondering what to do with it. Feeling guilty about putting it back in the magazine where anyone could see it, she finally folded it up and stuck it in her purse to throw it away later.

She glanced at the pile of magazines again. Those closest to her didn’t look interesting. The thought of getting out of the chair to walk around looking for one didn’t sound appealing. Finally, she picked up a newspaper. Glancing at the title, she could see that the focus of the paper was on local business news. It was a special paper geared to members of the business community. She wasn’t really interested in that either, but a headline caught her eye.

The name of her apartment complex was listed. Wondering what it could be about, she began skimming the article. She wasn’t surprised to learn that her apartment complex was co-owned by two local people. She was surprised to learn that her doctor was one of those people. She hadn’t realized that she was technically his tenant as well as his patient.

***

Dan pulled into the parking lot of his brother’s garage. He found Gabe working inside with the music blasting. He walked over to the radio first to turn it down. That got Gabe’s attention.

Gabe’s head popped out of the front of a truck. “Hey, brother of mine. What’s up?”

Dan joined Gabe at the front of the souped-up pickup truck. “I wondered if you had a verdict yet?”

Gabe grinned. “Megan’s missing her truck already?”

“I think she’ll adapt okay. I’m just wondering if there’s any life left in her truck. We aren’t real sure what we’re going to do with it yet. Seems silly to let it sit unused.” Dan checked out the truck in front of him.

Gabe nodded his agreement. “I agree. I think it has a lot of life left in it. But I also think it’s going to take a lot more effort to keep it going.”

“What are you saying?”

“It would probably have a better home with someone who has the time to baby it.” Gabe wiped his hands with a rag.

Dan understood what his brother was saying. He pointed outside. “What’s with the camper?”

Gabe walked over to the open door to the bay and looked out at his parking lot. On the far side, there was an older model toy hauler.

“One of my customers gave it to me for payment.”

“Seriously?” Dan looked at the trailer more closely. “It’s not bad.”

“I know. My customer is pretty flush. He’s real into the off-road trail circuit. Bought himself a new trailer and gave me this when I got his pride and joy going for him again.”

Dan slapped Gabe on the back. “Looks like you’re getting more business.”

Gabe looked at the small group of vehicles parked in his lot. Some were waiting for repairs. Others were fixed and waiting to be picked up.

“Thanks to Megan. I think that web site she put up for me is really helping.”

Chapter Two

The knot in her stomach tightened with each step that she took. Mandy stopped on the corner and reminded herself to breathe in and out slowly. She didn’t want to be in the middle of a panic attack when she reached the book store. She knew that a book signing was a big step in her career as a writer. She was actually looking forward to meeting some of the children who enjoyed her stories. She knew that many children did. The reports of her sales had been steadily growing.

She would never forget the kindness of the people who had helped her to become published. She’d first met Megan when the older woman was working on a mystery about the death of Mandy’s writing instructor. Megan had gotten Mandy in touch with another man who shared a love for writing children’s stories.

Everett Plant was an interesting character who owned a craft store in Teaberry. Like Mandy, he didn’t really seem to fit in with others around him. Instead, they both preferred spending time in the worlds they created in their own minds. The honking of a horn startled her. Mandy realized that she’d been standing in the same spot on the corner for quite a while. She looked around to orient herself.

She was standing in front of Tea & Thyme, a shop that sold products and also had a small area on the side where shoppers could sit and enjoy a cup of tea and something sweet to go with it. She took another breath and realized that she was feeling much better. She continued walking down the sidewalk. It was nearly summer now. The leaves on the trees were fully formed. A bird flew past her into the closest tree with a long piece of grass trailing behind it.

She knew there would be more baby birds soon. The thought brought a smile to her face. She could picture the drawing in her mind that she would use to tell the story of it. Her fingers closed reflexively together as though the colored pencil was already in her grasp.

The door to the shop next to her opened and someone walked out. The woman smiled at Mandy before continuing on her way. Mandy peered inside the windows. Togs had some interesting clothes in the display. She remembered going shopping with her mother when she was very small. She would hide in the clothes on the racks until her mother found her. She could picture drawing a circular rack filled with clothes and a small child slipping inside.

“Hello, beautiful day, isn’t it?”

Mandy turned to the voice. A small, serious-looking man with skin a beautiful shade of mocha paused to offer her a smile. She could see his kind eyes behind his thick glasses. She nodded her agreement and watched him enter the antique store. Vintage Teaberry looked to be full of treasures. She wondered what a small child might find inside.

“Mandy?” Megan stopped in front of Tomes and waited for the young girl to close the distance between them. “I’d heard you were going to have a book signing. Congratulations.”

“Thanks.” Mandy exhaled and offered a quick smile.

Megan pulled the door open and waited for Mandy to pass through. “It’s this weekend, right?”

“There she is. I thought you’d gotten lost.” The man in front of them was standing in the middle of the bookstore. He quickly separated Mandy from Megan and drew the younger woman to the other side of the bookstore.

Megan crossed over to Tia and lifted her brows in silent question.

“Del Langley, her agent, though technically I understand he’s also her publisher.”

“A man of many hats?” Megan watched them from across the shop. Mandy was silently listening to whatever Del was saying. Del was gesturing a lot with his hands.

“He’s a man of many somethings, I’m just not sure what yet.” Tia tilted her head as she watched them.

“I’m planning to stop in on Saturday to get my copy signed if I can make it.” Megan continued watching Mandy and the man who obviously wasn’t happy about something.

“That’s the day Jennifer and Jim are getting married, right?” Tia smiled encouragingly when Mandy glanced at her.

“Yeah. Think we should save her?”

“It would take a strong person to withstand him,” Tia murmured before crossing the shop.

Megan followed her.

“I’ve ordered in a large shipment of Mandy’s first book to have them on hand.” Tia turned to Mandy with a warm smile. “I’m looking forward to seeing what you come out with next. The first one is so charming.”

“Writing the book is the easy part. Selling it falls on me.” Del shook his head. “I can’t do that if she won’t cooperate with me.”

Mandy’s eyes shifted from Del to the floor.

“I don’t see the problem,” Tia said. “Her first book is a major hit. She already has a large following.”

“If she wants to make it in this business, she needs to treat it like a business. That’s where I come in. She needs to do what I tell her and write what I tell her to write.” The color in Del’s face increased as he spoke.

Tia put a hand on Mandy’s shoulder. “I’ll have a table and a chair set up for you over there. There will also be a big display of your books in the window. I’ve had ads in the paper and posted in different shops in town.”

Mandy’s smile of gratitude was spontaneous and fleeting. It ended as soon as Del began speaking again.

***

Emmet sat in a booth in Jammin’T facing the front door. His Gatsby style hat sat on the bench seat next to him as he waited for the love of his life to show. A smile split his face when she entered, deepening the laugh lines emanating from the corners of his blue eyes. Jennifer slid into the bench seat across from him.

“Hey, Dad.”

“Hey, sweetie. How’s your day going so far?”

“I think I’m going crazy.” She smiled at Tyler when he approached the booth. “Iced tea, please.”

“Do you two know what you’re having for lunch yet?” Tyler’s eyes automatically roamed around the diner.

Jennifer leaned back to look around Tyler at the board near the kitchen. “I’ll have the special.”

Emmet nodded his agreement before Tyler departed. He smoothed down his mustache and goatee. “It can’t be that bad, can it?”

Her eyes flashed around the room unseeing as she counted up the many details. She held up her hand as she began listing them using her fingers.

“Jim’s Uncle Nolan says there won’t be any problems with him performing the ceremony. My girlfriend from college, Piper, was able to shift her work schedule, again, and swears there won’t be any issues with her getting here. The hall is rented. We have the band picked out. I had my final fitting for my dress. The caterers and I have finally agreed on a menu.”

Emmet raised both hands as Tyler returned. “It sounds like everything is handled.”

She blew out a breath and smiled her thanks to Tyler as he set the glass of iced tea in front of her. “I don’t know. I guess I just never realized how crazy coordinating a wedding could be.”

“Don’t forget to enjoy it,” Emmet said.

Jennifer’s mind was pulled from her to-do list. “What?”

Emmet leaned forward. “You’re marrying the man you love this weekend. This is all good. You should enjoy it.”

“Yeah.” She reached for her iced tea. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“Everything will work out. Try not to worry so much.”

“Okay.” She smiled. “Okay, you’re right. How have you been?”

The overhead lights glinted off his round, wire-rimmed glasses. “Daryl, Vince and I have been practicing. We’re singing at several events this summer.”

“Let me know when they are so I can make sure I’m there.” She pulled her phone from her purse and jotted down a note to check on the overnight arrangements for some of her out-of-town guests.

Emmet shook his head and smiled. His gaze went over Jennifer’s shoulder to the front door as someone else entered. It was a young girl, probably no more than her early twenties. He remembered when Jennifer was that young. He didn’t remember his daughter ever looking so lost though. The young girl looked around the room before finally settling on an empty stool at the counter. He watched her cross the room trying to think of what she reminded him of. A wisp. She was a wisp of a pixie with hair so light it was nearly white.

“Here you go.” Tyler set their food in front of Emmet and Jennifer. “Can I get you anything else?”

When they both shook their heads, he left their table and crossed back over to the other side of the counter. He turned to the young girl that had just entered. She had taken a notebook from her bag and was sketching. He couldn’t help himself. Tyler leaned over.

“Wow. That is absolutely amazing.” He looked behind him at his sister, Holly, then back at the likeness of her. The artist had captured Holly’s essence with just a few strokes of her pencil. “How do you do that?”

Mandy looked up with enormous blue eyes and pressed her lips together.

Tyler straightened. “I’m sorry. That was rude. I shouldn’t have looked at your drawing without asking first.” He gestured behind him. “That’s my sister, Holly. I’m Tyler.”

Mandy flashed a quick smile.

“Are you here for lunch?” He pointed to the board next to Holly’s window. “Everyone seems to like the special.”

Mandy’s eyes went to the board then returned to Tyler. She smiled again and nodded.

“Anything to drink? Iced tea? Lemonade? Holly makes the lemonade herself.”

“Lemonade, please.” Mandy looked over at Holly as Tyler put her order in. He returned a few moments later with her drink.

“I can tell you’re an artist. You have amazing talent. Do you only draw people?”

Mandy shook her head. “I draw what I see. I would like to draw more animals, but I’m not around them much.”

“We have a whole menagerie.” Tyler turned and saw Holly throwing looks his way as she worked at the grill on the other side of the open window. “Can I show her your picture?”

Mandy took a breath then nodded her agreement.

Tyler lifted the notebook and held it for Holly to see. Her face lit up. He set the notebook back down. “If you ever need cats, horses, or cows, we have lots of those. I’ll tell Holly that you might stop by.” Tyler told Mandy where they lived. “We’re there after we close.”

Mandy smiled her thanks then turned her focus back to her drawing.

Chapter Three

Amber pulled into her parking space at her apartment complex after work. It was a struggle to get out of the car. She was happy that the doctor had told her at her morning appointment that she would need to stop working. She was due in a matter of weeks and didn’t think she’d be able to go on much longer. It was only a part time job. She wasn’t planning to return to it right away after the baby was born and there were no promises made that it would be waiting for her anyway. She was relieved to be able to inform her supervisor today that she wouldn’t be back. They’d both known the day was coming.

She entered her building and immediately went to the mail room. She wasn’t alone. Another resident had just opened his box and pulled his mail out. She recognized him but only to say hello. She knew he worked the afternoon shift. She often saw him during the day. She smiled a greeting and then laughed when he pretended to not have enough room to get around her to leave the mail room.

“Don’t trip over the carpeting there,” he said in a more serious tone before leaving.

She looked down at the floor. Much of the rest of the carpeting in the mail room was worn thin, but one area was torn completely with a flap of the carpet folded over.

“Thanks.” She reached inside her box. It was stuffed.

She pulled everything out. It was coupon day again. In addition to her regular mail, there were a lot of flyers with local ads in her box as well. She rolled everything up in her hand and made her way slowly to her apartment.

The carpeting in the center of the hall was worn as well. She was so used to seeing it that way, she didn’t notice it anymore. She could hear noises from inside some of the apartments as she passed them. There was a slightly musty smell in the hallway, as though the entire floor needed a good airing with all the doors and windows open to the warm breezes promising summer.

Tossing the mail on the dining rom table, she continued to the single bedroom to change out of her work clothes. That was another reason why she was happy to quit working. She no longer had anything appropriate for work that fit her. After rinsing her face with cool water, she headed for the kitchen. The baby was hungry. She glanced at the pile of mail as she passed by it. After fixing a quick sandwich, she returned to the dining room to separate the mail.

Aside from the ads, there were very few letters. One in particular looked out of place. She shoved the last bite of sandwich into her mouth to free up both hands before opening the letter. She groaned when she read it. They were increasing the rent again. Her hand went to her side. It was going to make things even more difficult.

She reached for her purse and pulled out her phone. She’d text her husband to let him know. Maybe it would be better than telling him in person. Lewis would have some extra time to process it before getting home. Before she could send him the news, she found a text from him. She sank heavily into the chair as she read it.

He’d lost his job. Amber took a deep breath. There was a second text. She scrolled to read it. He was out looking for work. That was good. Her eyes closed as she realized the full implications of Lewis losing his job. It also meant he’d lost his insurance. She was due to deliver in a matter of weeks and was no longer covered. She knew there were other options for insurance now, but she didn’t know how long it would take to get coverage, if they could afford it, and if her doctor would accept it.

She opened her eyes and looked at the pile of mail. Most of their bills were autopay. Although they didn’t get paper notices, they were still due. The biggest bill of all would be the delivery, of course. But Dr. Fletcher had been her doctor all along. He’d still handle her delivery, wouldn’t he? There was only one way to find out. She called the office. After connecting to his receptionist, she heard Cecilia’s voice.

“Hi, this is Amber Brandt. I’m a patient of Dr. Fletchers. I just found out that we lost our insurance. I’m sure we’ll be covered again sometime soon, but in the meantime, I just want to make sure that the doctor will still deliver my baby.”

“I’m sorry, but the doctor doesn’t accept patients who aren’t covered by insurance,” Cecilia said.

Amber felt the cold sweat on her skin. “But I’m already his patient. I just need to fix this. And I will. Please, I’ll be in labor in a couple of weeks or even less. Dr. Fletcher told me this morning I could go at any time. He told me to quit work. My husband just lost his job.”

“I’m sorry. It’s policy. Once you have insurance that is accepted by the office, call for a new appointment.”

Amber heard the silence on the other end of the line. That couldn’t be right. She was sure Dr. Fletcher would continue to see her. And the increase in the rent. Maybe she could talk to him. He would understand. She could ask him to take payments for now. Payments for the doctor fees. Payments for rent. She reached for her purse again.

***

Brianna stood on the loading dock at the rear of the feed store. She had the clipboard in her hand of the supplies they were expecting to be delivered. She watched as the massive truck and trailer backed up and stopped barely a fraction of an inch from the dock. The driver jumped out and climbed the steps to join her on the dock.

“I’ll have this unloaded for you in a few minutes.” He was a young man, probably in his twenties. He quickly opened the back doors of the trailer. After unstrapping some of the shipment, he began using the hand truck to offload it from the trailer. When he was done, he retrieved an electronic tablet from the cab of his truck and asked for her signature.

Brianna held up the clipboard in her hand. The driver stood waiting impatiently for her to sign. He needed to leave for his next delivery. There was no way he was going to stand there and wait for her to figure out if everything now sitting on the dock was also on her list and vice versa.

She quickly scribbled her name as best she could. The driver pulled the large truck and trailer out of the lot before she even had the plastic wrap cut away from the first stack of inventory. It took several hours for her to get everything open, checked against her list, and either stored in the proper place in the back room or out on the floor to restock the shelves.

It wasn’t until she was completely done with the whole task that she realized there was a slight difference in the name of one of the items. The difference was so small that she doubted that it would matter. She was just glad that she was finally done. Most of the inventory they had received was heavier than what she was accustomed to lifting. If nothing else, the job was definitely a good workout.

***

Tom waited in his truck in the long line of vehicles in front of the high school. He watched as the kids erupted from the building almost at the same instant the bells began to ring. He knew he used to be that age but it still amazed him that they looked so young to him now. He didn’t remember that part. He remembered feeling more like an adult at that point. He was sure his grandson must feel the same way now.

He spotted Ethan as soon as he cleared the front doors. He was taller than most of the other kids. Tom couldn’t remember when that had happened either. He quickly texted a message to his grandson. He watched as Ethan reached for his phone then stopped and looked at the row of cars waiting. Tom could see Ethan’s smile from where he sat. Ethan’s long legs ate up the pavement and he was soon climbing in beside Tom.

“I didn’t know you were picking me up today.” Ethan dropped his book bag on the bench seat between them.

“Casey got a callout. He thought he’d be back by now, but he’s still out.” Tom waited his turn to leave the school campus.

“You aren’t taking me to Casey’s office?” Ethan watched the other kids as they left the school.

“Not today. The vet’s office is technically closed though his receptionist is still there for emergencies.”

“Are we going to Caro’s?” Ethan turned to look at his grandfather.

“We can go do the chores at the farm first.” Tom glanced over at Ethan. “Sound okay?”

“Sure.” Ethan settled back in his seat.

“There’s something I wanted to talk with you about anyway.”

Ethan turned to his grandfather again. “Yeah?”

“Caro and I really enjoyed our last trip together. We’re thinking of taking more.”

Ethan smiled. “You want me to check her place while you’re gone?”

Tom pulled onto the street behind a long row of other vehicles. “Not a bad idea. The thing is, we use her car all the time now really. It’s easier for her to get in and out of.”

Ethan pictured his grandfather pushing the regal-looking woman up into the truck. “Yeah, I can understand that.”

“Caro and I were thinking that you might like to have this truck.” Tom glanced at Ethan quickly. “What do you think? You’ll be driving before you know it.”

“Really? I mean, yeah!”

Tom chuckled. “Sounds like a plan. Of course, it comes with a backup driving instructor. For when Casey isn’t available to teach you.”

Chapter Four

Amber had no idea where she was. If it weren’t for the GPS on her phone, she would never have found the address for Dr. Fletcher. She was outside of Teaberry surrounded by farms. In previous years, she may have been in the general area at some point in her life, but she honestly couldn’t remember it now. She pulled into a long drive and followed it up to a rather impressive looking house. She could tell that it was designed to look like it belonged in the country but more like the type that would be featured on the front of a magazine.

It had taken her longer to find Dr. Fletcher’s place than she had anticipated. She kept telling herself not to think about needing a bathroom but it wasn’t working. She needed to get inside Dr. Fletcher’s house and quickly. She didn’t see a car in the driveway but that didn’t surprise her. There was a very large garage attached to the house and several outbuildings. Some of them looked like barns but others could be used to store vehicles.

She knew that Dr. Fletcher started his day early at the hospital and was done taking patients at his office by now. She was sure there was a good chance he was here. She stepped up to the front door and rang the bell. There was no answer. The baby shifted and pressed against her bladder. She pushed the doorbell again. When there was no answer, she stepped back and tried to look into a window but the curtains blocked her view.

Frustrated, she considered checking some of the outbuildings but she didn’t think she could walk that far. Definitely not without stopping at a bathroom first. Amber took a deep breath and headed back to her car. She would find a bathroom somewhere. Then she would try Dr. Fletcher again. She knew that if she explained her situation, he would agree to deliver the baby and take payments for the rent and medical fees until she and Lewis got back on their feet.

She drove back down the long driveway to the road and stopped. She looked first to the left and then to the right. She couldn’t remember which way she had turned in. It was left, right? The baby shifted again. She absolutely had to go. She pulled out of the drive quickly and nearly hit a car coming down the country road as she did. She regained control of her car and started driving faster than she should. Maybe she could just stop at someone’s house and ask to use their bathroom?

She drove past a crossroad that she didn’t recognize. Maybe she should get her phone and key in her home address to follow it? She glanced over at the passenger seat. Her purse was out of reach. She pulled on the seatbelt strap trying to loosen it a little then stretched over as far as she could manage given her condition. It wasn’t far enough. The sound of a blasting horn made her sit upright quickly with her heart pounding in her head.

***

Zach Martinez moved through the hospital as quickly as he could without actually breaking into a run. It wasn’t that he didn’t need to be somewhere. He just didn’t want to attract any more notice than he needed to the fact that he was late for his shift. He finally reached his floor and saw his team gathered by the nurses’ station. He quickly moved to join them and was only slightly out of breath when he got there.

“Where have you been?” Scott asked.

“Car trouble. What did I miss?” Zach looked around the group.

Avery flashed him a look. “Only everything. I’m sure Gordon won’t be pleased when he hears about it.”

Zach scowled. “Doesn’t mean you have to be the one to tell him.”

Avery pointedly scanned the area around them including the nurses’ station. There were people everywhere. “He’s going to find out.”

“Hopefully, he’ll understand and won’t hold it against me.” Zach glanced over at the nurses’ station and offered a smile to the group of people standing there. He had made it a point to get to know all of them. Maybe if he talked to them on the side, they wouldn’t say anything to Gordon?

Chloe offered him a wry smile. “Good luck with that.”

“Yeah. Gordon Fletcher doesn’t understand the meaning of those words. He holds everything against everyone. The man doesn’t have an ounce of kindness in him.” Scott waved a folder in the air. “We have work to do.”

“Unless you want him to cite all of us, we’d better get to it,” Darius said. “We’re already behind on our schedule and we haven’t even started.”

“Geez, Darius. We’ll get it done.” Zach reached for the folder.

Darius held it just out of his reach. “I’m not done studying it. Some of us believe in preparing.”

Zach held on to his temper, but barely. He turned to Chloe. She sighed and handed him her folder of notes.

“Come on.” Scott motioned to them before turning to leave. “We need to get on this.”

***

Mandy walked down the long hall to the mail room. She was glad that she didn’t run into any of her new neighbors along the way. She had only moved into her new apartment recently. She used to live on the second floor of an old house. She hadn’t really wanted to move, but the owner had decided to sell.

She’d taken the new apartment because of the rent. It was cheap enough for her to get by with her job. She hadn’t really begun to make much with the sales of her books yet. Although she understood they were selling, the money didn’t seem to be flowing her way. Maybe she shouldn’t have signed the contract that she did. At the time, she was just so thrilled to be published. Getting only the tiniest percentage of the net sales seemed like a good trade off given that the publisher would be handling everything else.

She reached the center of the long hall where the main entrance to the building was and turned to the mail room. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found that it was also empty. There was one neighbor in particular that she tried to avoid. He seemed to be home a lot during the day. She’d never said more than hello to him but he often launched into a rant about the condition of the apartment complex they lived in. It forced her to remain where she was and listen until she managed to escape. She stepped over the torn section of carpeting and opened her box. It was crammed full. She tried to remember the last time she’d checked her mail but couldn’t.

She reached inside multiple times and kept pulling things out, glancing at them quickly as she did. There were a lot of coupons. Those might come in handy. There were also flyers to welcome her to the neighborhood. They had more coupons on them. Then there were some letters. Once she had everything out, she left the mail room and walked slowly down the hall back to her apartment.

She could hear noises coming from some of the other apartments as she passed them. She tried to imagine what the people inside might be doing. She wondered what a child would think if they were walking down the long hall instead of her. Would they be sad? Or excited to be on such an adventure.

How would she describe it in a story? Mandy looked around. There were pictures on the walls here and there. The floor was covered in carpeting but worn in the center. It was as though the millions of steps before hers in the very same spots had ground the carpet beneath them. Would a child be dismayed or comforted that so many people had taken the same path before them?

She reached her apartment door without knowing how she’d gotten there. After dropping all of her mail on her counter, she began separating it. Coupons and ads in one pile, real mail in another. One letter in particular looked important. She opened it up first and frowned. It looked like her new apartment was no longer the cost savings she had hoped it would be. The letter said her rent was increasing.

Chapter Five

“What do you mean you have to cancel? That’s not possible. I have the hall reserved for my wedding that day.”

Jennifer was glad she was already sitting. She wasn’t sure what would have happened otherwise. She closed her eyes and listened to the voice on the other end of the phone repeating the information. The place she had rented for her wedding at the end of the week was being closed for immediate repairs.

Ironically, it was due to being cited for an inordinate number of violations of the fire code. She knew the building was old. She just hadn’t considered that the owners hadn’t kept it up the way they should have. She heard her desperate plea as though the words came from someone else.

“The man I’m marrying used to be a co-captain of the fire department. The building will be full of volunteer firefighters that day. It couldn’t possibly be any safer.”

Even as she said them, she knew the futility. Of course they weren’t going to risk being cited yet again under those circumstances. She listened to the same apology before finally hanging up.

She was still sitting in her office staring at her phone when she felt his presence in the doorway. She looked up and saw Jim leaning against her doorframe.

“I heard,” he said. “The fire captain called me to let me know.”

She stood and crossed over to him. He opened his arms and she stepped inside.

He wrapped his arms around her. “If it’s any consolation, he apologized profusely.”

She tried to laugh. It didn’t come out that way. She took a deep breath. “What are we going to do?”

“We will think of something.” He tilted her head up. “Does it matter where we get married?”

An image of her walking down the aisle with her father at her side was followed by one of her with Jim at her side for the rest of her life. She shook her head slowly.

“Good. Then even if it ends up being in the middle of the street, we will get married. Okay?” He leaned in for a kiss.

This time, she managed a smile.

***

As the pressure of the baby continued, Amber pressed her foot harder on the gas pedal. She was hopelessly lost now and unable to reach her phone. She couldn’t stop because she needed to find a bathroom. Just when she was certain she couldn’t make it any longer, she saw a beautiful old farm house appear after rounding a bend. It disappeared as the road wound around again. She thought she could make it if she could just hurry.

She rounded the final bend too quickly and veered out of her lane. She panicked when she saw the large pickup truck aimed directly for her. She tried to correct her path but couldn’t do it in time. As she pulled one way on her steering wheel, she saw the driver of the pickup truck pull the other way on his. Before she knew it, she was stopped in the middle of a field.

Tom came to slowly. He could hear Ethan calling his name but he didn’t understand why. He felt hands pulling on him. They were small hands. Not Ethan’s. His vision cleared.

“Megan?” He tried to move.

“Tom. Are you alright? Can you move?” Megan flashed Ethan a look of relief. “Call for help.”

Ethan nodded his agreement and pulled out his phone. Tom could hear Ethan’s voice but it sounded far away.

“Can you move?” Megan repeated.

“The other driver.” Tom looked out his windshield. All he could see was the tree he’d hit. “Where is she?”

“There’s a car in the field. I’ll go check on her.” Megan looked at Tom closely. “Are you going to be okay here?”

“Help is on the way.” Ethan stood by the driver’s side door of the truck.

“Good. You stay here with Tom. I’ll go check on the other car.” Megan began walking toward the car. Halfway there, she saw the door open and then someone was struggling to get out. She tried to move as quickly as she could to help but it was difficult to walk in the field. Finally, she reached the other vehicle.

“Amber? Is that you?” Megan took stock of the other woman. She didn’t seem hurt but there was no way to tell for sure.

“Megan. Are they okay?” Amber started walking toward the farm house.

“Where are you going?” Megan moved quickly to catch up with her.

“Bathroom!”

***

Cecilia enjoyed driving out in the country. She had been out this way before and had always found the area beautiful. She hoped that in the near future, she might be making such trips on a more regular basis. She smiled as she pulled into the long driveway. The house was beautifully situated. She’d always thought so. There were fields for the horses on either side and a lot of land behind the house. It really was an impressive house. She sat in the car for just a moment enjoying the view.

Finally, she climbed out and approached the front door. She’d considered bringing something with her. Something sweet? A pie, perhaps. Ultimately, she had decided against it. She knew Gordon was a tad fastidious about his weight.

She rang the bell and waited. Maybe she should have called first? She’d considered it but didn’t think it would be necessary. She, of all people, knew his schedule. He should be home. She tried the bell again. After several moments, she chuckled. Of course. He must be out in the barn with the horses.

She smiled as she walked toward the large structure. It really was huge. It looked more like a house than a barn. There were copper cupolas across the roof. The large garage-sized doors were designed to look like old carriage house doors.

She stood and admired it for quite a while before continuing to the entrance. She opened the door and stepped inside. She could see the long row of stalls. Some of the beautiful horses were watching her. She could hear others in their stalls. They seemed to be moving around a lot as though disturbed by something. She shook her head. She was probably imagining it. What would ever disturb them in such a lovely place?

She could see their nameplates near each of the stall doors. She stepped up to the first stall and spoke to the massive animal inside.

“You really are lovely, aren’t you Cedar?”

The horse moved around the stall, back and forth. It seemed like some sort of nervous habit. Cecilia moved on to the next stall.

“Well, hello Lady.” This one had her head out of the stall. Cecilia stretched her hand out slowly until her fingertips skimmed over the silky surface near Lady’s muzzle. Lady shook her head from the touch and retreated into her stall.

Cecilia looked into the third stall. This horse was also pacing nervously. She wondered why. Maybe it was time to feed them? Where was Gordon, anyway.

“Gordon?” She barely heard her own voice over the din of the horses. She cleared her throat and tried to speak louder. “Gordon? Where are you?”

She continued down the row of stalls until she came to a crossway of sorts. She could either go straight to the very end of the building or she could turn in either direction. She looked to the left. She could see bridles and other things hanging on the wall in the distance. She looked to the right. It looked like there were large barrels of some sort. She wondered if that was where the food was kept.

She turned toward the right and walked to the end where the barrels were. She saw what looked like a feed bag or something on the floor next to one. No, that wasn’t a feed bag. She was certain of it. There were feet with men’s boots. That was when she heard the screaming. It took her a while to figure out that the sounds were coming from her.

***

The first thing he noticed as he neared the Teaberry Farm was the car in the field. He barely had time to register that when he saw that a truck had plowed into a tree on the side of the road. That was when Dan noticed the lights on the emergency vehicle in his driveway. He pulled in quickly and flew from his truck before it had barely come to a rest.

“Megan!”

“Here.”

He ran around to the back of the house and quickly enveloped her.

“I’m okay, it wasn’t me.”

He realized he was crushing her. “Sorry.” He loosened his hold but didn’t let go completely. He scanned the area around them over her head.

He saw a pregnant woman that looked vaguely familiar but he didn’t know why. She was sitting in one of the chairs on the back porch near them. He heard Ethan’s voice and turned toward the ambulance.

“Tom?” Dan glanced at Megan then back at the ambulance. Ethan was standing at the rear of the ambulance arguing with someone inside.

“Yeah. He’s pretty banged up but he doesn’t want to go to the hospital.” Megan glanced at Amber again.

Dan followed her gaze.

“You remember Amber Brandt? Her husband is Lewis.”

Dan nodded a greeting. “Is that your car in the field?”

“Yes. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it, but I’m not sure.” Amber’s hand went up to her stomach.

“Did the ambulance check you out?” he asked.

Amber dropped her eyes.

“She said she doesn’t want them to,” Megan said quietly.

Dan felt his brows go up. “The baby could have been hurt. I think you should let them check you. Just to be safe.”

Amber shook her head. “I can feel the baby. I’m sure we’re fine. I just need to get my car out of the field. Can you help me?”

Dan looked down at Megan. She shrugged. “Let me check on Ethan and Tom first.”

He quickly crossed to the ambulance. He could see some dried blood in Ethan’s hairline above his forehead. There were large splatters on his shirt. Dan put his hand on Ethan’s shoulder.

“Are you okay?” He checked Ethan’s eyes for clarity. He seemed fine.

“Yeah, I’m good. I think Grandpa should go to the hospital.” Ethan looked into the ambulance again.

Dan looked inside also. Tom had more blood smears than Ethan. He could see Tom getting ready to argue. “I agree.”

Tom closed his mouth. His eyes went to the EMT standing next to him in the van. He nodded his head. The EMT flashed Dan a look of gratitude and began prepping Tom for the drive.

“We’ll call Caro and let her know,” Dan said. He looked at Ethan. “You want to go with him to make sure he’s okay?”

Ethan nodded and jumped into the emergency vehicle with them. Dan watched the ambulance pull away before returning to Megan and Amber.

“I’ll check on your car if you give me your keys. If I have to, I can pull it out of the field with my tractor. I suggest you check with your doctor immediately.”

Amber gave him a smile as she handed him her keys but she didn’t answer him.

Chapter Six

Megan stood next to Dan on the side of their house. It was still early enough in the morning to hear the birds singing their morning songs. She leaned into him as they stood staring at what remained of Tom’s truck. Dan had pulled it into their driveway the previous evening after everyone else had left.

“It’s totaled, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it is. Other than maybe parting some of it out, he’s probably going to have to just scrap the rest.” He reached for the basket of eggs that Megan had just gathered from the hens then turned to the house.

Megan walked slowly next to him. “I hope Amber was okay last night.”

“I imagine she’s feeling stiff and sore today though not nearly as bad as Tom must feel. I still don’t understand why she wouldn’t go to the hospital.” Dan climbed the steps of the back porch and opened the kitchen door for Megan.

She stepped inside. “I don’t either. She seemed scared though. I felt bad but I didn’t know what else to do.”

“I think we did everything we could. I just feel bad about Tom’s truck.” Dan set the basket of eggs on the counter then picked up the hot pads. After taking the casserole dish from the oven, he set it on the table where Megan could easily reach it.

She took her seat. “He didn’t seem to be driving it as much lately.”

“That’s the thing.” Dan sat at the table across from her. “He told me he was giving it to Ethan.”

“Oh.” Megan’s hand paused temporarily as she spooned the breakfast food to Dan’s plate. “That is so sad.”

Dan set his plate on the table but his eyes were still on Megan as she filled her own plate. “I can tell that brain of yours is going about a hundred miles an hour. What are you thinking about?”

She set her plate down. “I was wondering what we were going to do with our truck?”

He grinned but ducked his head to hide it and immediately forked up some eggs. He narrowed his eyes while chewing as though taking it under consideration.

“We could try to sell it,” he suggested.

She looked up from her breakfast. “Hm.”

He forked up some sausage. “We could try to hold on to it. Maybe our kids will want it when they grow up?”

Megan frowned at him. “I think it would take a lot of upkeep in the meantime.”

“There really aren’t a lot of choices here. We either get rid of it or we keep it,” he said.

She pointed her fork at him. “You’re making fun of me.”

“I am not.” He grinned. “Okay, maybe a little.”

“So, what do you think?”

“About what?” he asked.

She shook her head at him but smiled before taking another bite.

“Okay, seriously. If you want to give it to Ethan, I think it’s a good idea. There are a couple of things I might suggest though.”

She raised her brows in question as she chewed.

“One issue is that the truck has been giving us trouble lately,” he said.

She nodded agreement. “I can check with Gabe. See if he thinks it’s a good project for a teenager or if the problems might end up costing too much.”

“Good idea.”

“What else?” she asked.

Dan pushed his empty plate away. “He is a young teen. Rather than just giving him a truck, I think he should earn it.”

She hadn’t considered that. “Like, how?”

He leaned back in his seat as he considered it. “There’s the feed store.”

She pushed away her plate. “He’s been helping Casey out at the veterinarian’s office and he has chores with the animals at his place.”

“Yeah, that’s the thing. He does a lot now.”

“I wasn’t arguing that way,” Megan said. “School is out soon. What I was thinking was that working at the feed store would give him a different aspect of the same theme. He likes taking care of animals and farming in general.”

“He would have the opportunity to learn a lot, that’s true.” Dan stood and cleared the table. “Either way, it could be his choice.”

“You wouldn’t expect him to work full-time. He’d just be putting in some hours each week.” Megan tilted her head to make it easier for Dan when he leaned down for a kiss. “I think it’s a good idea but I’ll check with Gabe first.”

***

“What do you think?” Jerry dropped his notebook on his desk.

Erica shook her head. “We don’t have any options here.”

Jerry wiped his palm across his mouth. “This isn’t going to be good.”

Erica walked back over to the murder board and pointed. “There was a witness.”

“Yeah.” It came out a sigh. Jerry stood and crossed the room to join Erica. He folded one arm across his stomach and propped the other one on top then clasped his chin with two fingers. “We have the victim, Gordon Fletcher at his home outside of town.”

“Far outside of town,” Erica muttered. “Not a lot of witnesses out there.”

“But the doctor’s receptionist conveniently becomes a witness,” Jerry pointed out.

“You’re still trying to get out of the fact that we need to question a pregnant woman.”

“Yep. A very pregnant, pregnant woman.”

“Who was seen in the area just before the witness found the victim.” Erica turned to him. “We have to question her.”

“I know, I know. I just think we should do it at her home. Not drag her in here.”

Erica didn’t argue. “We need to find out what she was doing at the doctor’s private residence.”

Jerry turned to get his notebook from his desk. “Did you get anything else worthwhile from anyone you spoke with at the doctor’s office?”

“No, you?” She followed him out of the main office.

“Not this time. I think we should try talking to them again.”

“Agreed.”

***

Megan was on her way to the kitchen when the doorbell rang. She changed course and went to the door. She could tell through the side panel that the person on the other side was about her size. She opened it to find Amber staring at her with large eyes.

“Please.”

Megan motioned behind her. “You know where the bathroom is.”

“No. I mean, yes. I have to go but that’s not why I’m here.” Amber stepped inside the house.

“Tell me when you come out,” Megan said as Amber walked past her on her way to the guest bathroom. She went into the kitchen and made a tray with some crackers and cheese. When Amber joined her, Megan suggested they sit on the back porch. Amber held the door open as Megan carried the tray out.

“I wasn’t sure what you’re allowed to drink,” Megan said.

“The water is fine, thanks.” Amber looked down at her hands. “I need help.”

“You’re having problems with your pregnancy?”

Amber shook her head no. “Well, yes.”

Megan waited her out.

Amber sighed. “My husband lost his job yesterday.”

“Ah.” Megan connected the dots. “Insurance?”

“Yes, exactly. I called my doctor’s office and they said they wouldn’t see me until I get new coverage.” Amber lifted her hands then dropped them back to her belly. “And only then if it’s one his office accepts.”

“Still, there are options.”

“I know. That’s not all. My rent was raised. And I did something really stupid. I went out to my doctor’s house to talk to him and now he’s dead.” The first tear was soon followed by others.

Megan went into the kitchen and grabbed a box of tissues before returning. When Amber seemed calmer, she began asking questions.

“When you were in an accident yesterday, were you on your way home from the doctor’s house?”

Amber nodded as she dabbed her eyes. “Yes.”

“What did he say when you saw him?”

“No. I didn’t. That’s just it. I rang his doorbell, but no one answered.” Amber leaned forward. “You have to believe me.”

“Did the police ask you questions?”

“Yes. Someone saw me in the area and recognized me.” Amber glanced at the tray of crackers and cheese.

Megan pushed the tray closer to her. “Do you know who?”

Amber looked at Megan with large eyes. “No, but I was in such a hurry I know I almost hit someone after leaving the doctor’s driveway.”

Megan tried to map it out in her head. “Does he live near here?”

“I have no idea. That’s the thing. I found his address in one of the magazines in his office. I used my GPS to get there but I got lost when I left.”

“Do you still have his address?”

Amber put a cracker in her mouth and dug into her purse. When she found the card, she handed it to Megan. Megan glanced at the card.

“I need your help,” Amber repeated. “I’ve heard about you. I know you’ve helped the police sometimes.”

Megan began to shake her head. “The police don’t need my help.”

“But I do. Please?”

“What are you hoping for?” Megan asked.

“I need you to prove I didn’t do it.” Amber’s hand went to her stomach again. “I can’t deal with all of this right now. I need to figure out a way to pay our bills without an income. I need to get insurance. I need to find a doctor. I’m due any day. Please.”

***

Chloe stood next to the nurses’ station listening to them talk as she waited for the rest of the team. Scott arrived first. Chloe took a few steps away from the nurses and turned her back to them.

“Did you hear?” she asked.

“About Gordon? Yeah. What have you heard?”

Chloe was about to answer when she saw the others coming toward them. She nodded to Scott and walked toward the others. She glanced at the nurses’ station then looked pointedly at the others. They followed her down the hall to a small waiting area.

“What happened?” Avery asked. “Everyone was talking about it on the elevator ride up here.”

“I have no idea.” Zach looked around the group. “Why is everyone looking at me?”

“Don’t be an idiot,” Scott said. “No one is looking at you. We’re just trying to figure out what happened.”

“How would I know?” Zach lowered his voice when someone walked by. “Listen. The guy had a lot of enemies. It isn’t surprising someone would kill him.”

“That’s for sure,” Scott said.

“Could have been something random,” Darius said.

“I agree.” Avery looked around the group. “I’m sure the police will figure it out.”

“That’s right,” Chloe said as she looked around the group. “We just have to be quiet and let them do their job. Agreed?” She waited until everyone nodded.

“We need to get to work.” Darius turned and walked away.

Scott shared a look with Avery before following him.

Chapter Seven

She finished the work on the web site that absolutely had to be done for a client then began looking up any information she could find on Gordon Fletcher. She found a photo of him on the web site that listed the names of all the doctors who worked in the same medical building where she went for her appointments. She didn’t recognize him but she wasn’t surprised. It was a very large building with multiple floors. There were a lot of doctors in it as well as a lab for diagnostic work and another area for x-rays.

When her phone buzzed on the table next to her, she picked it up and read the text response from Lauren. It sounded like Justin may have some information. Megan responded that she would see them soon then shut down her computer. Emma stirred beside her. Large green eyes opened with an accusing stare.

“I have to go.”

Emma sat up and turned her back on Megan, a sure sign that she didn’t agree with the decision. Megan pushed herself up from the couch. Several minutes later, she was climbing into her SUV. She glanced at Tom’s wrecked truck in her rear-view mirror as she pulled away.

***

Caitlyn separated several stems then pulled the flowers she’d selected from the large vase in the fridge before letting the door close behind her. She carried the flowers to the large work island in the center of the room and set them down. The sound of the bells on the front door caused her to poke her head out long enough to see that it was her mom who had just entered the front room. She returned to the work island and Susan joined her a moment later.

“What’s up?” Caitlyn continued working on her arrangement.

“Just in the neighborhood. I was thinking of running out to the nursery and picking a few things up. I wanted to see if you needed anything first.” Susan leaned against the counter that lined one of the walls.

“What are you getting at the nursery?” Caitlyn glanced up at her mom. Her yard already looked like the front cover of a magazine.

“I was going to get a few things for Ross. His yard needs a little sprucing.”

“Sounds like you’re trying to keep busy.” Caitlyn glanced at her mom again. “Have you heard from Bev and Vince?”

Susan crossed her arms. “I am not jealous.”

Caitlyn grinned.

One corner of Susan’s mouth turned up. “Okay, maybe just a little.”

“You could do the European tour thing too, you know.”

“Actually, Ross and I talked about it.”

“And?” Caitlyn slid another flower into the arrangement.

“That’s the thing. Once we started talking about it, we realized there were a lot of places we would like to go. At the moment, we’re enjoying that phase of the process.”

“Trying to decide? Sounds like a good problem to have,” Caitlyn said.

“I agree.” Susan looked at the time. “Speaking of which, I should get to the nursery. Are you sure you don’t need anything?”

“I’m good. Have fun. I’ll see you this afternoon when you come back to cover for me during my deliveries.”

“Have you gotten many applications for the summer?” Susan asked as she pushed away from the counter.

“Yes. I shouldn’t have any problems finding someone to work part-time. You’ll be free to wander with Ross.” Caitlyn smiled at her mom.

“I’m looking forward to it.” Susan flashed a finger wave before leaving.

Caitlyn slid another flower into the arrangement. She heard the bells on the door as her mom left. They rang again a few moments later. She wondered what her mom had forgotten. It took several moments before she realized her mom hadn’t appeared in the work room. She stepped through the door into the front room.

She didn’t recognize the woman standing there. She was probably in her early forties. Her blonde hair was mid-length and pulled into a stylish, messy bun. She looked upset. It was an aspect of Caitlyn’s business that she was accustomed to. Her customers were typically either celebrating or mourning. This one was most definitely not celebrating.

“Can I help you?” Caitlyn stood behind her counter.

“Hi, yes. Thanks.” The woman looked at the flowers in the refrigerated display case on the wall. “I don’t really know what to do.”

“That’s okay. Sometimes things can be confusing. You’re here to pick out flowers?” Caitlyn prompted.

“Yes.” The woman dug a tissue from her pocket and dabbed her eyes. “Excuse me. They’re for my husband.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.” Caitlyn reached down and pulled up a binder from under the counter then pointed to the far side of the shop. “There’s a table and a place to sit over there. You can look through the binder and see what you might want.”

The woman hesitated then pulled a plastic card from her purse. “Maybe you could just tell me what is normally done?”

Caitlyn looked at the card. “You’re Riley Fletcher?”

Riley nodded as she dabbed at her eyes again.

“Okay, Riley.” Caitlyn flipped over to a page and pointed. “This is fairly typical. Do you know anything about the casket yet?”

Tears formed and were quickly dabbed. “No. Should I have gone there first?”

“It’s okay. We can go with some standard items that will work either way.”

After another twenty minutes, Caitlyn had the order entered into her system. Mrs. Fletcher had been relieved that the task was complete. She asked Caitlyn for some advice on the next phase of the process then left. She was working on another arrangement in the back room when the bells on the door rang again.

This time, she wasn’t expecting her mom so she immediately stepped out into the front room. What she saw surprised her. While she was able to easily tell that Mrs. Fletcher had been in mourning, the woman in front of her should have been exuding more of a celebratory air. Instead, she looked anguished.

“Jennifer? What’s wrong?” Caitlyn went around the counter to stand with Jennifer.

“I lost the hall.”

“Excuse me?”

Jennifer waved her hand. “I’m sorry. I know I’m not making sense. The hall for the wedding. They rescinded the contract.”

“Can they do that?”

“They can if they’re in violation of multiple codes.”

“What are you going to do?”

Jennifer wrapped her arms around herself. “I have no idea. The invitations were sent a long time ago. Everything was set. The caterer, the ceremony, the flowers. I had it all planned. Now it’s all ruined”

“Okay.” Caitlyn nodded slowly as her mind sped. “It’s not all ruined. Everything will be fine.”

Jennifer’s eyes flashed to hers. “How?” She began pacing.

“Well.” Caitlyn made a face as she ran various ideas through her head. “There’s the town square.”

“Excuse me?” Jennifer stopped pacing and stared at Caitlyn like she was crazy.

“Now, hear me out. There’s plenty of space. The weather reports are all good.”

“Yeah, but…”

“There’s the gazebo.”

“Oh.” Jennifer narrowed her eyes.

“You could order some of those large tents to have the tables and chairs under. You can probably even get the tables and chairs from the hall. It sounds like no one else will be using them that day. The caterers could still deliver to the town square just as easily as the hall.”

Jennifer took a deep breath. “The band could still play. They have bands there in the evenings during the summer.”

Caitlyn nodded. “People still dance at those.”

“There’s a paved walkway. My dad could still walk me down the aisle.”

“You would still be getting married to the man you love.”

Jennifer reached for Caitlyn and gave her a hug. “Thanks for talking me down.”

“No problem. You’ll have your chance to reciprocate in a few months when it’s my turn.”

***

Justin answered the door holding Grace.

“Look at you!” Megan said as she tickled Grace’s belly.

Grace laughed and kept her eyes on Megan over her father’s shoulder as Megan followed Justin through the house to Lauren’s work kitchen. She then passed him a small container.

“Iced tea?” He asked her when she settled in a chair.

“Sounds great, thanks. I can hold her if you want.” Megan reached her arms out to take Grace.

“Just for a bit.” Justin set Grace in Megan’s lap. “She just woke up and she’s full of energy. When she gets to be too much, let me know.”

“Have you settled on a cake for Jennifer’s wedding yet?” Megan asked Lauren.

“I have it all pictured in my head,” Lauren said. “I can’t wait to see it when it’s done.”

Megan laughed. “I’ll bet Jennifer feels the same way.”

“She just texted me that there’s a change for the venue.” Lauren cracked an egg into the mixing bowl.

“Really? Why?” Megan reached for the tissue box on the table and pulled one out before dabbing at Grace’s nose.

Lauren explained the issue with the hall. “She seems okay with Caitlyn’s suggestion.”

“Good. At this point, she probably doesn’t have a lot of other options.”

Justin set the glass of tea close to Megan but out of Grace’s reach. Grace strained toward it anyway. Megan tried to distract her with another tissue. She pretended to pat Grace’s nose until she got the chile to laugh.

“What’s in the container?” Lauren asked.

“I’m craving carrots, for some reason. I made a carrot salad with pineapple and raisins for you to try.” Megan tickled Grace’s ear.

Justin opened the container and pulled out a fork. “This is good.” He crossed over to Lauren and fed her some.

“Oh, that is different.” Lauren nodded at Justin. “I like it. I think the kids would eat it too.”

“Tricky way to get them to eat carrots,” Justin agreed. “I’m all for it.”

“It’s super easy to make.” Megan said. “Lauren mentioned that you might know something about Dr. Fletcher?”

Justin leaned against a counter and picked his coffee cup up. “Yeah. I used to see him at the hospital quite a bit.”

“Did he tell you anything that might explain his death?”

“No. I can’t say that I talked to him a lot.”

Megan frowned in confusion at his words. The expression on Grace’s face changed. The sides of her mouth pulled down. Megan blew in her face and smiled again. Grace smiled too.

“He supervised some of the residents though.” Justin drank the rest of his coffee and turned around to pour another cup.

“I can imagine residents ask the nurses a lot of questions when they’re working,” Megan said.

“They can. They also stand around and talk to each other. They’re so used to seeing us around that they forget we’re there.”

“What did Dr. Fletcher’s residents have to say?”

Justin leaned back against the counter holding his coffee. “They’re usually not happy with him, that’s for sure. Different doctors have different teaching styles.”

“And Dr. Fletcher?”

“He used competition as a motivator.”

“He pitted them against each other?” Megan guessed.

“Big time.”

“I guess I can see how that might work.” Grace twisted around in Megan’s lap to look at her father.

“Maybe.” Justin set his coffee down and crossed over to get Grace.

“Maybe competition makes them better doctors?” Megan let go of Grace as Justin took her.

Justin swung Grace up in the air. “I don’t know about that. But I do know they seemed to hate him for it.”

Chapter Eight

“As you can see, he’s a little cranky.” Caro’s eyes shifted to Megan’s.

Tom huffed out a laugh. “Okay. I deserved that.” He looked over at Megan. “I’m sure you’ll understand.”

Megan nodded. “I’m pretty fond of my truck.”

“She lasted a long time. Worst part of it is, I had just promised her to Ethan.” Tom gingerly lifted his leg and rested it on the stool in front of him.

Megan saw him wince. “How are you feeling.”

“I hurt in places I didn’t know I have.”

“He can’t seem to find a comfortable position,” Caro added. “He can’t lie down, he can’t sit up.”

“I’m a grumpy old guy.” Tom smiled. “Enough of me. I’ll heal. I’m sure you’re wondering when that wreck will disappear from your driveway.”

Megan shook her head. “That’s not an issue. I know it will happen when it happens. I just wanted to stop by to see how you were doing. We figured you’d be pretty sore by now.”

“That he is,” Caro agreed.

“But I also had a thought about Ethan.” Megan explained the idea she and Dan had come up with.

“That’s so sweet,” Caro said.

“Yes, it is,” Tom said. “Are you sure?”

“I am. We just wanted to check with you to see if you were okay with the plan for him to work it off.”

“I think it’s a great option. It will be up to Ethan to make the decision.”

Megan left Caro and Tom to give Tom a chance to rest. Soon after, she walked into Anderson Florist. Caitlyn popped up from behind the counter.

“Hey, what brings you in?”

“I went to visit Tom.” Megan explained the accident in front of her house.

“Wow, that’s pretty crazy. You’ll never believe who just left.” Caitlyn motioned to Megan to follow her to the back room.

“Who?”

“Mrs. Fletcher.” Caitlyn took two bottles of water from the fridge and handed one to Megan.

“The doctor’s widow? Isn’t that pretty fast?” Megan removed the cap.

Caitlyn shrugged. “She seemed pretty lost. I got the feeling that she was going through the motions because she knew she was supposed to do it.”

Megan thought about as she drank her water. “What was she like?”

“She’s probably in her early forties, blonde. She seemed nice but I was seeing her at a very bad moment in her life.”

Megan capped her bottle. “Could be more telling.”

“True. Her name is Riley. She seemed pretty distraught to me.”

***

Megan walked out of Anderson Florist and nearly knocked over someone.

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Megan reached out and put her hand on Mandy’s arm.

“I’m okay.” Mandy took a step back. “Did I hurt you?”

Megan laughed as she looked at the petite young woman who was probably even smaller than Caitlyn. “No. Not to worry. I’m fine. Are you on your way to Olde Tomes?”

“I was going to stop in there.” Mandy glanced down the row of shops. “I was thinking I might spend some time drawing today too.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Flowers. I would like to draw some flowers.”

“There are a lot in the town square,” Megan suggested.

Mandy’s eyes widened. “Good idea. There’s a water fountain too.”

Megan smiled at her enthusiasm. “I can walk to Tomes with you. How are things going with the book signing?”

Mandy shrugged as she fell into step with Megan. “My publisher handles that.”

“I’m hoping to stop in when you’re here for the signing Saturday. There’s going to be a wedding that day. It’s in the town square, actually. I should be able to pop over at some point and have you sign my copy.”

Mandy offered a shy smile. “I can sign it anytime.”

“If I can’t make it Saturday, I might take you up on that.” Megan passed through the door that Mandy held open for her. She saw Tia sitting in one of the chairs near the front window, so she crossed over to take another seat.

Tia smiled a greeting. “If you’re here working on a puzzle, I didn’t know him.”

Mandy looked from Tia to Megan. Her brows went up in question.

“Did you hear about the doctor that was killed?” Megan asked. She assumed the answer would be no.

Mandy wrapped her arms around herself and she nodded.

Megan noted her body language. “Did you know him?”

Mandy drew in a breath then closed the distance between them and sat next to Megan.

“No. But I found out that he owns the apartment where I live.”

“He does?” She hadn’t found that when searching his name earlier.

“I guess he’s part owner somehow. You know, some company actually owns the complex.”

“Did you ever see him there?” Megan asked.

“I don’t know. And I just moved in not that long ago.” A small frown formed between her brows.

“What?”

“From what I’ve heard, my neighbors aren’t very happy with him.”

“Why?”

Mandy shrugged. “I’ve heard some of them say that the owners don’t take care of the complex the way they should.”

“Do you agree?”

Mandy made a face. “It could use work, but the rent is low. I mean, was low.”

“Was?”

Mandy nodded. “We all just got letters. They are increasing the rent.”

Megan remembered Amber saying the same thing. At the time, Amber didn’t mention that Gordon Fletcher was one of the owners. Megan asked Mandy several more questions including the names of the people who had complained. Mandy didn’t know them.

“Would you be able to describe the people who complained for me?” Megan asked.

Mandy smiled and pulled her drawing pad from her back pack. A few minutes later, Megan had a couple pages of composite sketches.

***

Bella was the first one inside Rhys’s house. Galen met them at the door and she scooped him up for hugs.

“There you are. Did you miss me?” His warm body was quivering with excitement as he tried to lick her face.

Ava closed the door behind them and carried the two grocery bags to the kitchen.

“You should probably let him out. You can leave the doors open too. We’ll let the house air out with the breezes through the screens. I love this time of year.” Ava walked over to a window to open it as Bella took Galen out the sliding glass door in the rear. Ava put some of the things away in the kitchen and then began working on dinner. She had a salad ready by the time Bella came back in with Galen.

Bella washed her hands and took two plates from the cupboard. She was getting the cutlery when she turned to her mom.

“I was thinking.”

“Yes?” Ava put some chicken slices in a pan on the stove.

“Do you want me to work for you this summer?”

“What?” Ava stopped and looked at Bella. “Why would you ask that?”

Bella shrugged. “It would help with money.”

Ava let out a breath. “Yeah, it would. But that’s for me and Rhys to worry about. We’ll have two salaries now. And my business is doing well. If you want to work, you should. But it doesn’t have to be cleaning houses. It can be anything you want.”

Bella finished setting the table in silence.

Ava got a fork for the chicken. “There’s always the classes at the old elementary school building too. You said you really liked what you took last summer.”

“I did. I’d like to do that again. If we can afford it, that is.”

“We can afford it,” Ava said.

Bella smiled. “I might still like to do something else though. Ham and Joni won’t be living here anymore.”

“You’re worried that you’ll be bored sitting around all day?” Ava guessed. “What might you enjoy doing.”

Galen chose that moment to attack Bella’s shoe lace. Bella laughed and picked him up again. “I like working with animals.”

“Do you think Dr. Adams might let you spend a few hours a week there?” Ava turned the chicken over in the pan.

Bella buried her face in Galen’s fur. “I don’t know. Maybe. I could ask.”

***

The music coming from the ice cream truck that slowly drove around the town square was maddening. Brianna knew what was coming next.

“Mom! Can we buy some ice cream?” Sheldon pulled on Brianna’s arm.

“Sorry, sweetie. That’s not something we can afford all the time now. Maybe on some special day.” Brianna watched the sides of his mouth turn down.

It happened a lot lately. On the one hand, she knew he was relieved that the tension he was accustomed to living with was no longer the norm. On the other hand, he didn’t understand why their new house was so different or why they could no longer afford things.

She had hoped that walking around the town square would keep his mind occupied. After leaving the town square, she planned to walk down to the park and let him play on the swings. She knew he missed his old neighbors, in his own way. For her part, she was happy to leave them all behind.

She looked down at her son. She loved him with all of her heart. But she knew that the relationship he’d had with his former neighbors wasn’t one of friendship. Her husband had seen to it that his namesake had grown to be as mean as he was. Sheldon Junior only knew how to torment the other children. He’d never learned to play with them.

“Mom, what’s she doing?” Sheldon pointed at a young girl on a park bench. She was a tiny thing, with nearly white hair. The light of the sun hitting it made it glow even lighter. She had a drawing pad in front of her.

Before Brianna could stop him, Sheldon ran over to the girl. “Sheldon, no.”

Brianna moved quickly to catch up with her son. When she reached the park bench where the young girl sat, she reflexively put her hand on Sheldon’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

The young girl was older than Brianna had thought from a distance. Because of her size, she’d assumed the girl was more of a child. She realized with a pang of guilt that she’d been worried about what Sheldon might do when he reached her.

“We didn’t mean to interrupt you,” Brianna said.

The girl smiled. “That’s okay.”

Brianna’s eyes fell to the drawing pad in her hands. “Oh, that’s beautiful.”

“Thanks.”

“How do you do that?” Sheldon sat down on the bench next to the girl.

The girl shrugged. “I don’t know. I think it’s magic. Want to see?”

Sheldon nodded his agreement but with a wary look in his eyes.

The girl flipped over to a clean page. Several strokes later, an image of Sheldon dancing in the water fountain with dolphins appeared. She signed the bottom of the page and tore it off before handing it to Sheldon.

“What do you say Sheldon?” Brianna said.

Sheldon looked up from the drawing. “Wow!”

Chapter Nine

She was halfway to the kitchen before she realized that she hadn’t automatically slid her feet into her slippers after leaving her bed. It was a sure sign that warm weather was here to stay. Megan went to the stove to fill the tea kettle. She looked out the kitchen window as she did. Dan wasn’t near the barn or the paddock. Not that she could see.

The sound of Henry’s strangled crowing pulled her attention to the garden area. Now she could see Dan. He had the gate to the garden open and was no doubt planning his first pass of the season with the rototiller. Apparently concerned about the fact the Dan was in Megan’s territory, Henry was doing everything he could to alert her to the danger.

She smiled as something silky and warm wrapped around her ankles. She set the tea kettle on the burner and turned it on before looking down at Emma. Green eyes looked back and a loud purring started.

“Good morning. I’d pick you up but I’m not sure it’s an option. Not for a while longer, I’m afraid.”

The purring continued. Megan chose to believe Emma wasn’t feeling slighted. When her tea was ready, she filled her mug and carried it out to the back porch allowing Emma to slip out the door with her. They both sat on the thickly padded rattan sofa and watched the drama unfold as Henry blocked Dan’s exit from the garden.

She could tell that Dan was speaking to Henry. Whatever it was he said, Henry was having none of it. The small rooster flapped his wings and crowed again. Dan turned and walked farther into the garden. Henry followed, no doubt believing he had Dan on the run. Instead, Dan made a quick circle and made it safely through the gate. He closed it behind him, leaving Henry in the garden. Megan laughed as Dan walked to the house.

“Saw that, did you?” Dan climbed the porch steps and stood facing Megan.

“I thought he had you.” Megan lifted her tea mug with both hands and took a sip.

“Not happening. That bird just thinks he owns the barnyard.” Dan turned to point at Henry but couldn’t find him.

Megan pointed toward the chicken coop with her chin. Dan turned to see Henry looking for bugs in front of the chicken coop.

He shook his head before turning back to Megan. “What did you have planned today?”

“I was thinking of going into the medical building where my doctor has an office.”

“That’s where the doctor that was killed worked also?”

“Yes. I’m hoping to talk to some people there. Someone should be able to tell me something about Gordon Fletcher.”

***

“What did you think of Gordon Fletcher?” Chloe kept her focus on the chart in front of her.

“What kind of question is that?” Darius frowned across the patient at her. He glanced down. The patient was a newborn and currently sleeping.

Chloe looked up from the chart. “I was just asking. You seem a little defensive.”

“I am not defensive,” Darius said. He saw the infant flinch at the sound of his voice. He made an effort to lower it. “I am not defensive.”

Chloe wrote something on the chart and hung it back on the hook. “Whatever.”

Darius followed her from the room. “What does that mean?”

Chloe stopped in the hallway. “Look. I was just trying to have a conversation. I don’t know why you’re so freaked out about it.”

“I am not freaked out.” Darius saw heads turn toward them. “Listen. I just don’t think it’s a good idea, okay. The man was murdered. The police are investigating.”

“Yeah, I know. They questioned me,” Chloe said.

“Me too,” Scott said as he joined them. “Not that I have anything to hide.”

Darius looked from Chloe to Scott. “What? Why are you both looking at me? Neither do I.”

Chloe began moving down the hall. She stopped when she reached Avery. “Did the police question you too?”

Avery glanced at the others. “I’m sure it’s standard procedure.”

“What is?” Zach stopped next to Chloe.

“The investigation,” Avery said.

“Specifically, the police asking us all questions.” Scott looked around the group.

“Yeah, that.” Zach took a step closer. “What did you guys say?”

“The truth,” Scott said quickly. “He was a wonderful doctor.”

Avery turned a wry smile toward him. Chloe looked down at the floor. Zach shook his head.

“What? It’s true, isn’t it?” Scott’s voice grew louder. “His death will be a loss to the program. We’ve learned a lot from him.” He looked at each of them in turn before walking away.

Avery shook her head and presented the others with another wry smile before leaving. The rest of the group split up also. Chloe was the last to walk away after she flashed the group at the nurses’ station a smile.

***

She found an empty parking spot in the small lot next to the medical center. She had to check the directory board when she first walked in. Although she knew that Dr. Fletcher’s office was somewhere in the building, she didn’t know exactly where. After a quick stop at the restroom, she found her way to Dr. Fletcher’s suite.

There were several women in the waiting room at various stages of pregnancy. According to the directory, three other doctors also held office hours in the same suite where Dr. Fletcher used to work. Megan figured out which window handled his patients and stepped up to it. There wasn’t anyone else in line.

“I’m sorry. We aren’t taking patients today.”

Megan saw the nameplate on the counter. It read Cecilia Masterson. Given that the woman in front of her looked as though she’d been crying, she guessed it must be her.

“Cecilia?”

“Yes.” A tissue appeared in Cecilia’s hand. She dabbed at her eyes.

“I was hoping I might speak with you,” Megan said. She saw the bereavement in Cecilia’s eyes quickly replaced by suspicion.

“Are you with the press?” Cecilia’s eyes dropped to Megan’s stomach.

“No.” Megan gave what she hoped was a sincere-looking smile. “No, I’m not.”

“We aren’t accepting new patients at this time,” Cecilia said.

“I’m an acquaintance of Amber Brandt.” Megan watched Cecilia’s mouth turn down in a frown.

“She is no longer a patient here. I’m sorry, I can’t help you.”

Megan leaned against the counter. “The thing is, she was in an accident in front of my house yesterday.”

Cecilia’s eyes widened.

“Technically, she caused it. A friend of mine totaled his truck.”

Cecilia’s lips pressed together. “I’m not surprised.”

Megan nodded knowingly. “My friend’s grandson was in the truck at the time.”

“The way she was driving when I saw her.” Cecilia shook her head. “Were they hurt?”

“Luckily, no. My friend is in a lot of pain right now though.” Megan frowned. “You say that you saw her too?”

“Oh, yes.” Cecilia leaned forward. “I’m the one. You know, that found poor Gordon.”

Megan watched as the tissue returned to dab Cecilia’s eyes. “You must have been very close to him.”

“I was. In fact, I was on my way to see him. That’s why I went looking for him in the barn when he wasn’t at the house.”

“And you saw Amber as she was pulling out of Dr. Fletcher’s driveway?” Megan asked.

Cecilia frowned. “No. When I saw her, she was on the road in front of one of his fields. He had quite a lot of land with fields next to his house. Horses, you know.”

Megan brought her hand up to her chin. “I must have misunderstood something Amber said. I thought she nearly hit you.”

Cecilia shrugged. “Maybe it was the other car that she almost hit.”

“Other car?”

“Oh, yes. I saw one of Gordon’s residents in front of his house too.”

Megan straightened. “From the hospital? Are you sure?”

Cecilia straightened also. A cooler tone crept into her voice. “Yes, of course. His name is Scott Nelson. I knew exactly who he was as soon as I saw him. He spent a whole day here shadowing Gordon.”

Megan looked appropriately impressed. “I’m sure you must be right. You were obviously very close to Dr. Fletcher.”

The tissue returned to dab her eyes. “You just have no idea how painful it is for me to even be here today. I keep expecting Gordon to come over and talk to me about our plans for the evening.”

Chapter Ten

Dena glanced at the time as she drove away from the house she had just finished cleaning. Her job working for Ava at Maid in Teaberry had been like a gift. Not only was she earning a decent wage with benefits now, she had a great boss. All the other workers she’d spoken to had said the same thing. The fact that Ava had experience cleaning for years before she started a company meant that she knew exactly what their work was like. She was great at scheduling them, that’s for sure. She was also very clear about her expectations when it came to what she expected of her employees.

Dena was not only on time with her routine for the day, she had a few minutes to spare. Then it was technically her lunch time. That was another nice thing about Ava. She insisted that the workers take their breaks. Dena didn’t need to be at the next house until after her lunch was over. She glanced at the passenger seat and contemplated eating her sandwich as she drove. She decided against it and began running alternative lunch venues through her mind.

Although sitting by the lake at the Teaberry park sounded like a good idea, she wasn’t really in that general location. In fact, the only place she really knew in her current location was Gabe’s Garage. She began wondering how he’d been doing since the last time she’d spoken to him. As she drew closer to his garage, she slowed her car to take a look.

What she saw surprised her. There were several cars in the parking lot. Obviously, they were cars that had been left there for Gabe to work on. The large doors to the bays were open, as usual, and she could see that all of the bays were full.

That had to be good news for Gabe but only if he was actually tracking everything the way she had asked him to. Unused to running a business, he still had not grasped the importance of writing everything down and billing customers correctly. Most importantly, he had yet to systematically assess and collect the taxes he would need to submit.

She glanced at the time again and debated stopping. If nothing else, she would get to eat her lunch. She was about halfway between her last house and the next one she needed to clean. She even had a few extra minutes to spare. Her hands turned the steering wheel before her mind even registered that she was doing it.

The music was blasting out of the garage as she approached. She entered through one of the bay doors and immediately lowered the volume. Gabe popped out from under a vehicle a moment later.

“Hey. Long time no see.” He rolled himself back under the car.

“It looks like you’re doing better with the number of jobs you’re getting,” she said to the two legs that extended out from beneath the car.

“Yeah. A lot of those are for inspections. I’m getting a fairly regular amount of those now, thanks to Megan.”

“Megan?” Dena heard a loud clank as something metal hit the floor.

“She created a web site for me. Dan wasn’t kidding when he said she’d drive business to me with it.” Gabe pulled himself back out and sat up on the creeper. “What brings you in?”

Dena crossed her arms. “I needed someplace to stop and eat in between my jobs.”

His eyes widened in surprise. “Actually, that sounds like a good idea. I brought a cooler down with mine. We could sit outside.”

She had noticed a bench of sorts out front when she walked into the garage. “I’ll get my cooler from the car.”

He was already sitting on the bench when she returned. “This is nice.”

“I thought it might give people a place to wait when I’m working on their vehicle.” Gabe opened a bottle of iced tea and drank half.

Dena pulled her sandwich out of her cooler. “You are writing all of your jobs down, right?”

Gabe grinned as he unwrapped his sandwich. “Yeah. I’m probably not doing it as well as you do, but I am doing it.”

“What’s with the camper? Are you inspecting that too?” Dena stared at it as she bit into her sandwich.

Gabe shook his head as he finished chewing. “That I don’t know how to write down. Someone gave it to me for payment.”

“Seriously? What are you going to do with it?”

Gabe shrugged. “I have no idea.”

“It’s a toy hauler, right? There’s space in the back for a four wheeler or something?”

“Yeah.” He ripped open a bag of chips and offered her some.

“Thanks.” She pulled a chip out of the bag and used it to point to an oversized pickup truck. “That’s one of those trucks for the off-road trail, right?”

“Yeah. I’m not getting as much business with that yet as I would like.”

She chewed the potato chip slowly as she considered it. “What if you used the camper to set up a remote shop out there?”

“What?” He held the bottle of tea in front of his mouth and stared at her for a minute.

“Yeah, you know. You’d have a presence right there with some of your tools. There’s room in the back of the camper for that, right? You’d be able to sleep in the front if you wanted to spend the weekend there.” Dena grabbed the wrapper from her sandwich and put it back in her lunch cooler. “It was just a thought. Feel free to ignore.” She grinned at him.

“Are you kidding me? It’s a great idea.”

***

Megan pulled into Gabe’s Garage and followed the sound of the music into the open bay door. There was no one around. She checked under the vehicles to see if he might be working on one of them. She checked the small office area to the side of the bays. She walked out to the front of the building and then around to the side. After staring at the steep staircase that led to the upper floor apartment, she decided against it. She was on her way back to her car when she heard him call her name.

“Megan!” Gabe popped out of a camper.

Megan waved and then crossed the large parking lot to join him. “Thinking of doing some camping?”

Gabe laughed. “I am now. Dena suggested I set up a mobile shop at the off-road trail.”

Megan eyed the large camper in front of her. It was old, that was true, but it looked usable. “She’s pretty smart that way.”

“So I’ve noticed. What brings you by?” Gabe walked around to the back of the camper and opened the rear door.

Megan followed him around and peered inside. It was huge. “I wanted to ask you a couple of things. The first one was about my old truck.”

“What about it?” Gabe walked up the ramp and into the back.

Megan stayed where she was. “I was thinking of giving it to Ethan. Do you think it would be too much work for him? You know, keeping it running.”

Gabe turned to look at her. “I would have been thrilled to get a gift like that at his age, are you kidding? He needs to have something he can get his hands on like that. Take it apart, see how it works.”

“See if he can put it back together again?”

He tilted his head. “Part of the learning curve.”

“And the fun?”

He grinned. “For some of us.”

Megan nodded. “Okay. I think we’ll do it then. If he gets into trouble, he can bring it here.”

“Works for me.” Gabe walked back down the ramp. “What was the second thing?”

“This one might be a little trickier.” Megan reached into her purse and pulled out the composite sketches that Mandy had drawn for her. She shuffled through them until she found the one with the truck. “This reminds me of the ones I see parked here.”

Gabe looked at the sketch. “Wow, did you do these?” He flipped through the pages. “These are amazing.”

“I know. No, I didn’t do them. The artist is also an author of children’s books. Do you recognize the truck she drew?”

“Yeah. I’ve seen it out at the off-road trail. Guy put a lot of money into it.” Gabe scratched the stubble on his jawline. “Bill something. No, Billy. Billy Hughes. I remember because a guy I worked with on a crew in the racing circuit had a similar name.”

***

She lifted the bag of feed and put it onto the cart for the customer. “Is that all?”

“I could use some help with some salt blocks too.” The woman began pushing her cart toward another aisle.

Brianna followed behind her with her hands clasped together in front of her trying to stop them from shaking. She couldn’t help it. She looked down each row as she passed it expecting to see her husband again. She’d been doing it ever since he had surprised her earlier. She had been bringing new supplies out from the back to restock the shelves at the time and had practically run into him.

He had laughed at her response, of course. Scaring her had always amused him. It had been his favorite pastime for years. Of course, once she’d dropped the mask into place that she’d perfected over those years, he switched from humor to threats. He hated it when she hid her feelings from him. Hid her fear. He felt cheated. That was why she did it. She knew how much it bothered him.

“Don’t you think?” The woman waited for her response.

“I’m sorry?” Brianna hadn’t heard the original question.

“They seem to like the blocks with a little sugar mixed in.”

Brianna had no idea. “I’m sure you’re right. How many would you like?”

When the woman responded, Brianna dutifully loaded the matching number onto her cart then followed the woman to the counter so she could pay. After that, she went out and loaded everything into the back of the woman’s truck. She was using muscles that she didn’t know she had, but the stiffness she’d felt when she’d first begun working at the feed store no longer bothered her.

She began pushing the empty cart back to the feed store but stopped when she heard honking. She told herself not to look around but she couldn’t help it. She did anyway. She had to know for sure. She dropped the mask into place as soon as she saw him. Her husband was sitting in his car at the edge of the parking lot. He was smiling. It was the scary kind of smile that only a horror movie director would love. She’d seen that smile before. It always meant something bad was about to happen.

Chapter Eleven

She could hear the sound of barking as soon as she entered the office. She knew it was coming from the rear of the veterinarian’s office. Back where Casey had kept Galen when he was recuperating. Bella looked around the waiting room. There was an elderly couple with a gray and black tiger-striped cat. The cat was sitting on the older gentleman’s lap with his back to the small brown dog of mixed parentage three chairs down. Bella could see the cat’s tail flicking periodically, a sure sign that it was annoyed.

Unaware of the cat’s disdain for it, the small dog pulled at its leash, trying in vain to escape the owner’s grasp and get to the cat. From what Bella could tell, the small dog only wanted to play. If it somehow managed to free itself and reach the tiger cat, she doubted it would end well.

There was a younger couple with a Boston Terrier. He looked more like a black and white rabbit than a dog. She guessed that the young couple might be in their early twenties. They were talking quietly among themselves as the small dog hopped from one lap to the other non-stop. She wondered at first what was keeping him contained there until she saw the leash. He looked like he would hop all over the reception area without it.

“Can I help you?”

Bella turned toward the receptionist. She could only see the top half of the woman because she was behind a window opening. “I was hoping to speak with the doctor.”

“I’m sorry, he’s with a patient.”

Bella looked past the receptionist when Ethan appeared behind her in the window.

“I thought that was your voice. Come on back.” Ethan motioned to Bella before turning to the receptionist. “It’s okay. She’s with me.”

Bella passed through the door and met Ethan on the other side.

“I wondered when you’d get here.” Ethan asked. “Did you talk to your mom?”

Bella nodded. “She said it was okay with her.”

Ethan smiled. “Good. Come on back. Casey is back here. Someone found a small rabbit and dropped it off here. It looks like it may have been attacked by something.”

Ethan opened the door to one of the examination rooms and walked in. Bella followed him and stopped at the examination table where Casey was currently working.

“Hello, Bella.” Casey looked at Ethan. “I wondered where you’d gotten off to. Can you get me some more gauze?”

“Sorry,” Ethan said to him. He nodded to Bella. “We keep the gauze here.” He opened one of the cupboards and took out a roll before passing it to Casey.

“How’s she doing?” Ethan leaned over the table.

The rabbit began to squirm.

“Can you hold her?” Casey asked without looking up.

“I’ll do it.” Bella moved to the other side of the table and slowly put both of her hands on the rabbit. She leaned over and quietly began crooning an unending list of meaningless words to it. The rabbit stopped squirming.

Casey finished what he was doing and stepped back. “She has a better bed-side manner than you.”

Ethan grinned. “Told you.”

Casey watched as Bella carefully lifted the small animal and cuddled it close to her. “He tells me you’re interested in spending some time here.”

Bella nodded but kept her focus on the small animal to make sure it was okay.

“It isn’t always fun. There’s a lot of work involved with it too,” Casey warned her as he washed his hands in the sink.

“Like cleaning the cages out,” Ethan added.

Bella smiled. “I think I can handle that.”

Casey nodded once then walked over to the door and opened it. “In that case, Ethan can show you where to put our little guest in the back.”

She flashed him a smile as she passed through the door. Ethan followed her out.

“It’s not a wild rabbit,” she said. “She’s white.”

“Yeah. Casey says it’s not unusual to see them around this time.” Ethan opened the door at the end of the hall and held it for her.

“Why is that?”

“Easter.” Ethan opened the door of a cage.

“Oh.” Bella carefully placed the rabbit inside the cage and bent down so she was eye level with it. She kept her hands around it for a moment longer. “Looks like you’re going to need a new home.”

“Luckily, the people that brought it in said they’d keep it.”

“It was theirs?” Bella closed the door.

“No, they found it in their back yard.” Ethan pointed to one corner of the room. “I’ll start here and work my way around the room to tell you what needs to be done.”

Ethan was finishing when the door opened and Megan poked her head in. “There you are. Hey, Bella.” She stepped into the room. “Mind if I interrupt?”

“Sure.” Ethan retreated further into the room to give Megan space. “What’s up?”

“I wanted to ask you about the accident.” Megan was happy to see that Ethan looked fine.

“You were in an accident?” Bella asked.

“Grandpa’s truck was totaled.” Ethan turned to Megan. “He said he’s pretty sore but mostly he’s just upset about his truck.”

“What can you tell me about the accident?” Megan asked.

Ethan leaned against an empty cage. “Not much. We were on our way back to the farm. The other lady came at us from the opposite direction. I think she was going too fast and couldn’t make the turn. You know, that last curve just before your place?”

Megan nodded.

“She went into our lane. I’m sure Grandpa just didn’t want to hit her. He pulled on the steering wheel and aimed away from her.” Ethan shrugged. “That’s about it.”

“She did admit to going too fast,” Megan said.

“Why was she driving too fast?” Bella asked.

“The first thing she said when I reached her was that she needed a bathroom.” Megan’s hand went to her belly. “Amber is due any day.”

“Oh.” Bella’s eyes widened. “Was she hurt?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t she go to the hospital when Grandpa did?” Ethan asked.

“She’d just lost her insurance because her husband had just lost his job.” Megan took a few steps away from the door when it opened and Casey stepped in.

“Are we having a meeting without me?” Casey joked.

“No.” Megan smiled with the others. “But now that you’re here, I do have another question. It’s actually for Ethan though.”

“Oh?” Ethan straightened.

“You know that I got a new car. We figured it was time now that the baby is almost here. The thing is, we’re not really going to need two trucks now.” She looked at Ethan to check his response.

He was starting to smile. “Seriously? I have some money saved. Probably not enough though.” He started to frown.

Megan held her hand up. “We talked about that. We were thinking you might work some of it off.”

“You mean at your farm?” Ethan was looking hopeful again.

“Possibly, but mostly we were thinking about the feed store.” Megan glanced at Casey. Casey was nodding. “We thought it might be somewhat educational. It would be a different aspect of farming, so to speak.”

Ethan looked at Casey. Casey shook his head and waved him off. “Your call. You’re the one who would be doing the time.”

“You wouldn’t be expected to work at the feed store full time,” Megan said quickly. “We know you still have your chores at the farm and you’re helping Casey out here.”

“I’ll understand if you can’t be here as often,” Casey said.

Ethan looked at Bella. She smiled but didn’t say anything.

“Yes.” Ethan blew out a breath then turned to Megan. “Thanks.”

***

The sound of the bells on her front door surprised her. Jennifer rose from her chair and walked out to the reception area of her office. She nearly collided with Jim.

“Hey, stranger. What brings you in?” She leaned into his kiss.

“I wanted to talk about options,” Jim said. “Since we can’t use the hall now. I’ve been calling around.”

Jennifer smiled and framed his face with her hands. “Caitlyn figured it out.”

“She did?” Jim leaned back to look into Jennifer’s eyes. “You’re okay with whatever it was?”

Jennifer nodded. “I just got off the phone, actually. I managed to get the paperwork submitted that the town needed. I was going to call you next.”

“Paperwork?”

She explained the idea about the gazebo in the town square. “What do you think?”

“We’d still be getting married. I don’t care where it is,” he said as he pulled her back in. “I would marry you anywhere. The parking lot of the Station Pub & Grill. The sidewalk in front of the fire station. Even down by the old mill stream.”

She pulled back. “We have an old mill stream?”

“Not that I know of but if we did, I’d marry you there.” He smiled at the look on her face.

She knew she looked happy. “Those are all great options, but I think we’ll be good with the gazebo in the town square. Your best man and my maid of honor will be there to do their thing, your uncle can still marry us when he gets here, the band can still play, the caterers can still cater, Caitlyn can still decorate with flowers, and Lauren will have a place to deliver the cake.”

“We’re getting a tent with some tables and chairs, I take it?”

“Already handled,” she said. “Our little bump in the road is fixed. We should be good to go from here.”

Chapter Twelve

She turned the map in her hand upside down and studied it again. Dan leaned over her shoulder, then pointed at the far corner of the garden.

“If we use the fence running around the outer perimeter of the garden for the climbing cucumbers, we might be able to free up some space to tuck in some more hot peppers.”

Megan laughed and held up the map. It was so detailed, it must have taken weeks for him to draw it all out. “You did all of this for more hot peppers?”

He gave her an innocent look. “A man can’t live by homemade bread alone. He must have more of your canned hot peppers too.”

She nodded her agreement. “You did go through last summer’s jars of hot peppers faster than I expected. I was hoping to can more this summer.”

“Music to my ears,” he said as he motioned toward her. “Now check this out.”

She followed him around to the outside of the new addition. He pointed at an area marked off with small wooden stakes and some rope.

“What’s this?” Her eyes widened with excitement when it occurred to her. “A greenhouse?”

It was his turn to laugh. “Some people wouldn’t get this excited about a greenhouse.”

“They’ve obviously never eaten anything made with fresh picked scallions months earlier than I might get them in the garden,” she said as she brought her hand up to her side.

“Someone wants their breakfast?” he asked.

She nodded. “I think we have a big breakfast eater in here.”

He took her hand as they walked to the house. “Comes by it naturally on my side”

She followed him into the kitchen and washed her hands as he took the casserole dish from the oven. He took his turn at the sink and filled his coffee cup half full before sitting across from her.

“What’s the game plan today?”

Megan finished filling his plate and passed it over to him. “I think I’m going to stop at my doctor’s office this morning.” When he looked surprised, she continued. “For the puzzle, not the baby. I want to talk to the receptionist in my doctor’s office.”

“You were just there, weren’t you?”

She nodded as she finished filling her plate and set it down. “But I talked to the receptionist that worked for Dr. Fletcher. I was thinking that the workers from the different doctor’s suites probably all know each other.”

“Makes sense. It’s a large medical center, but they probably see each other every day.” He glanced over at the loaf of bread on the counter and raised his brows. When she nodded agreement, he got up and crossed the room. “You’re thinking that your doctor’s receptionist can tell you something about Dr. Fletcher that his own receptionist didn’t know?”

She pushed the food around on her plate. “I don’t know about that. But something about Dr. Fletcher’s receptionist seemed off for some reason.”

“Like how?” He put bread on each of their plates then got some jam from the fridge.

She opened the jar of jam he set in front of her. “I don’t know. That’s what I’m hoping Patsy can tell me.”

A couple of hours later, Megan walked into the medical center and navigated the halls to her doctor’s suite. Patsy was at the front check-in window. She frowned when she saw Megan and began typing into the computer. Megan stepped up to the window.

“I think you’re here on the wrong day,” Patsy said. “I’m not seeing an appointment for you.”

“Actually, I was just hoping to ask you some questions,” Megan said with a backward glance. She saw someone else approaching the counter. “I’ll wait my turn.”

After Patsy checked the next person in, Megan stepped back up to the counter.

“I’m sure you heard about Dr. Fletcher’s death,” Megan said.

Patsy nodded. “There’s been a lot of talk here about it. What’s the world coming to, I ask you?”

“I spoke with Dr. Fletcher’s receptionist, Cecilia. Do you know her?” Megan asked.

Patsy’s face lost some of its friendliness and became a little more reserved. “Of course.”

“From what she said, she seemed to be…” Megan looked to the ceiling for a moment as she searched for the word. “She gave the impression that she and Dr. Fletcher were rather close.”

Patsy shook her head. “She’s been using a lot of tissues lately.”

“You don’t think she needs them?”

“That relationship was all in her head. None of the doctors here have relationships like that with their employees. Can you imagine the nightmare that would be?” Patsy looked around the waiting room and lowered her voice. “It just isn’t done. What if an employee filed a complaint against them for harassment? Think how much they would lose.”

“I wondered about that,” Megan said.

“Besides, this week she thinks she’s in love with Dr. Fletcher. Last week, it was some actor in a television show she watched. I’m sure by next week she will have moved on.”

“It did seem a little odd given that he was married.” Megan glanced behind her and saw someone else approaching.

“Exactly my point. When would the man have had time?”

***

Megan pulled into the apartment complex where she knew Mandy, Amber, and Cecilia lived. She also knew that Billy Hughes, the man with the souped-up truck that Gabe had identified, had an apartment in the same complex. Thanks to a search engine and a few minutes on the Internet, she also knew his exact address.

She parked near the building Billy was in and approached the front door just as someone was coming out of the building. The man exiting looked down at Megan’s stomach and automatically held the door open for her. She thanked him on her way in and proceeded to Billy’s apartment, happy that she didn’t have to buzz Billy to be let into the building. She knew he was home. She’d seen his truck parked in same lot she’d parked in.

She pressed the doorbell several times before it was finally opened. The man in front of her was probably in his mid to late twenties. He was wearing jeans hanging low on his hips and no shirt. He leaned against the edge of the door he’d just opened.

Billy’s eyes raked up Megan from her feet to her face. “I ain’t buying.”

“Good to know. I’m not selling. Mind if I ask a few questions about the owners of this apartment complex?” Megan watched a brief spark of interest replace the bored look on his face.

“Why?” He scratched the stubble on his chin.

“I’m following up on several complaints against the owners about potentially incorrect practices for rent increases.”

Billy straightened. “Yeah? They just sent us a letter out of the blue. I wasn’t expecting it, you know? I have bills to pay and I needed that money for something else.”

“It helps when you can plan,” Megan said.

“Exactly. I’m working on a new career. I want to make it in the off-road trail circuit and I need to beef my truck up.”

Megan nodded. “Business expenses.”

He gestured with his hand. “Exactly! That’s what I’ve been telling everyone.”

“Did you tell the owners?” Megan asked.

“What? No.” Billy glanced down the hall. “I mean, I don’t even know who owns the place. But I’ve talked to others here. Some of them feel the same way.”

“You’ve told other residents that you didn’t agree with the rent increase?”

Billy shifted his weight. “Sure. I mean, I probably shot my mouth off a little more than I should have but I wasn’t the only one saying it either.”

Megan took her phone out. “Can you confirm the name of the company that owns the apartment complex so I can file your comments correctly?” She looked up from her phone to wait for his answer, her hand poised to enter it into the phone.

Billy shrugged. “No. Like I said. I have no clue who owns it.”

***

Megan drove to the first building in the apartment complex and parked again. This time, she didn’t have to worry about gaining entrance to the building. It was the manager’s office. She found Ray Vaughn in his office watching television. He turned the volume down when Megan entered.

“Can I help you?” Ray was middle aged and dressed in jeans and a colored tee.

“I’d like to ask you a few questions about some of your residents.”

“You aren’t with the police,” Ray said.

Megan smiled. “No, I’m not. Have you already spoken with them?”

Ray looked surprised. “No, why?”

“If they haven’t been here yet, I’m sure they will be. Some of your residents have ties to a man that was recently killed at his home.”

Ray glanced at the television. “I saw that. He was a doctor, right?”

“Yes. As you might imagine, he knew a lot of people. The police follow up on things like that.”

Ray nodded. “They do that on the shows I watch.”

“One of the doctor’s employees lives here too, I understand.”

Ray pulled his brows together. “You mean Cecilia?”

“Yes, Cecilia Masterson. I spoke with her recently about Dr. Fletcher.”

“I knew she worked for a doctor. I just didn’t know it was him.”

“Do you talk to her a lot?” Megan asked. She watched as color crept up his neck to his face.

“Sure. She’s like me. She doesn’t get out much, you know? Once she gets home from work, she pretty much just stays here. But she likes to take walks for exercise so she stops in here to talk to me a lot.”

“She’s close by the office?” Megan guessed.

“Oh, yeah. She’s just a few doors down.”

“She wasn’t one of the people grumbling about the rent increase, was she?”

“Who, Cecilia? No.” Ray looked out the window as a car drove past them. “A lot of others did. They think I can do something about it. You know how that is.”

“The owners didn’t talk to you about the increase before they sent the letters?”

Ray laughed. “Hardly. I’ve never even met them.”

Chapter Thirteen

Jennifer finished typing the notes from the case she’d just finalized and clicked save. Her mind immediately returned to thoughts of her impending wedding with Jim. Now that they were back on track with the new venue in the town square, there shouldn’t be anything but minor details to deal with as they arise. That, and the typical dramas two families might encounter when they first meet and emotions are running high.

She was sure none would be serious. After all, it wasn’t as though they were two kids taking their families by surprise and eloping. On the contrary, with both Jennifer and Jim in their forties, their families may well have assumed that neither of them would ever marry.

It wasn’t that she had never planned to do so. Work had just somehow always managed to get in the way. When she was young and going to college, she focused on classes and part-time jobs to pay for her schooling. Once she graduated, she had to focus on getting her career on track. One day, she simply woke up to discover that decades had gone by.

She hadn’t gotten married, hadn’t started a family, had barely managed the time to make and keep friends. And she hadn’t done a particularly good job with that. In fact, it had been very difficult just deciding on a maid of honor. When Piper’s name had popped into her head, it wasn’t because they’d ever been particularly close. They’d simply studied for many of the same classes while sharing a room during college.

Jennifer wasn’t sure which one of them had been more surprised. Piper for getting the call from Jennifer some two decades after college or Jennifer when Piper had agreed. They’d chatted briefly on the phone when Jennifer had called her. Piper’s life had taken much the same track that Jennifer’s had but in a much larger way. Rather than burying herself in a small town like Teaberry, Piper had moved to New York City.

She smiled when she heard the bells on her front door. She knew it was Jim coming with lunch. She could smell the food he carried into her office before he even passed through the door. He leaned in for a kiss before taking the seat across from her desk.

“Two days and counting,” he said. “Two days from now we’ll be man and wife.”

“I’m glad we picked Saturday for our wedding. It will make it easier to use the town square.” Jennifer cleared her desk as Jim emptied the bags.

“Not as much traffic from the town employees on a weekend,” he agreed.

Her phone rang just as she reached for her sandwich. She recognized the number immediately.

“Piper, I was just thinking of you.” Jennifer listened for several moments before speaking again. “No, that’s all right. I understand. Yes, you too. Good luck.”

Jim bit into his sandwich and watched as Jennifer set her phone down. She took a sip of the iced tea he’d brought for her.

“Everything okay with Piper?” he asked.

“Mm, hmm. The judge just granted her request to introduce some new evidence in a high-profile case she’s working on.”

“Good for her.”

“Yeah. It means she won’t be available this weekend though.” She set the tea down on her desk.

“She can’t be your maid of honor?”

“Nope.”

He put his sandwich down. “What are you going to do?”

She blew out a breath. “I have no clue.”

***

Megan found Trey Rogers working at a lumber store on the edge of town. After checking with the clerk at the counter, she went outside and found the young man on a fork lift. She motioned that she wanted to speak with him. He nodded agreement and held up five fingers. She waited for ten minutes before he finally shut his ride off and climbed down.

“Can I help you?” He pulled the plugs from his ears as he walked toward her.

“Sorry to bother you at work. I’ll only be a minute.”

His brows pulled together as he looked around. “I can’t really stand around and talk.”

“Yes, I know. I’ve been talking to some of your neighbors at the apartment complex where you live.”

“Yeah?” He motioned toward the closest outbuilding then began walking toward it.

She began walking with him. “There have been a lot of complaints about the recent rent increase.”

He paused long enough to look at her more closely. “What’s that to you?”

“I was wondering if you knew why the owners chose to do that?”

He made a noise and continued walking. “Who knows? It’s not like we can ask them. As far as I know, no one evens knows who they are. We just get these letters every now and then telling us it’s going up again.”

“I guess that makes sense.” They reached the entrance to the building.

“Why’s that?” Trey opened the door and passed through. He let it close behind him.

Megan opened the door and followed him in. “Everything else goes up in price, right? Makes sense that rent would go up too.”

“Yeah, I don’t have a problem with that.” Trey took a clipboard from a nail on the wall and began leafing through the pages of orders.

“What do you have a problem with then?” Megan stopped next to him.

He looked at her. “Who says I do?”

“Several of your neighbors have heard you complain about the rent increase.”

His eyes dropped back to the clipboard. “Yeah, so? I’ve heard a lot of my neighbors complain.”

“Why complain if you agree it’s expected?”

He hung the clipboard back on the nail. “If they want to raise the rent, the least they can do is keep the place looking good, right? Have you seen the carpeting there? Where it isn’t worn away, it’s torn away. The place is turning into a dump. What do they do about it? Raise the prices.”

She watched as he walked away then returned to her car. On the drive to her next stop, she thought about what she’d learned from the residents of the apartment complex. If what they said was true, none of them actually knew who owned the complex. The chances of one of them killing Dr. Fletcher because of a rent increase seemed slim. As she pulled into the long driveway of the Fletcher farm, she remembered that there was at least one resident who knew where Dr. Fletcher lived. Amber had been on his property on the day he was killed.

When she reached the house, she saw a woman coming out of the front door. The woman matched the description of Riley Fletcher that Caitlyn had given her. Megan got out of the car as quickly as she could. The woman stayed where she was and waited.

“Riley Fletcher? I’m sorry to bother you at home. I was hoping I could speak to you for a few minutes?” Megan stopped when she reached her. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

A flash of pain crossed Riley’s face and she looked away toward one of the fields for a moment before turning back to Megan. There was moisture in her eyes. “What did you want to talk about?”

Megan glanced toward the large barn. “Were you on your way to the barn? I own the Teaberry Farm Bed & Breakfast. Have you heard of it?”

Riley looked surprised. “Yes, actually. I have.” She glanced at the barn.

“I can walk with you, if you don’t mind. I love animals. I understand you have horses here?” Megan fell into step with Riley.

“Yes. They were my husband’s pride and joy. He was always the one who cared for them.”

“I’ve thought about getting some horses.” Megan put her hand on her stomach. “Maybe when the baby is older. Right now we just have sheep, chickens, and two miniature donkeys.”

“Sounds like enough.” Riley opened the door of the barn.

Megan followed her inside and crossed over to the first stall. She saw the nameplate near the door. “Hey, Cedar. You are beautiful.”

“He misses Gordon.” Riley stood next to her.

Megan checked out the condition of the stall. “Looks like you have your work cut out for you.”

Riley gave a wry smile. “A little much for me to handle. I’ve hired someone to come out and deal with the horses but they just called and said they were having problems with their truck. They weren’t sure when they would be here. I wanted to make sure the horses have enough food and water in the meantime.”

“I can help.” Megan looked around. “Where do you keep the feed?”

Riley pointed. “He always kept it over there.”

Megan began walking in that direction then realized that Riley wasn’t following her. She turned around and saw the look of anguish on the other woman’s face. “Are you okay?”

Riley wrapped her arms around herself. “I haven’t been in here since before. You know, before Gordon was killed. That’s why I hired someone to handle the horses. I just couldn’t do it. That’s where the police say he was killed. Over by the bags of feed.”

“I’m sorry. I can get the feed for you if you’d like?”

Riley shook her head and wiped at her eyes then motioned toward Megan. “I can’t let you do that in your condition.”

“It’s okay. I won’t carry them. I’m sure there’s a wheelbarrow here somewhere. What am I looking for with the feed?”

Riley let out a breath. “Green. The bags of feed are green.”

Megan had just reached the bags of feed and was looking for a wheelbarrow when she heard Riley talking to someone. She began retracing her steps and found a young man telling Riley about his truck.

“Here he is.” Riley pointed to the young man. “He’ll handle everything from here.”

Riley looked ready to bolt from the barn. Megan followed her out and they walked back toward the house together.

“Thanks for offering to help. I really appreciate it. I just feel so confused with everything that’s been happening.” Riley glanced at Megan.

“I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to lose a husband,” Megan said.

“You’ve probably already heard this, but Gordon and I were having some issues. He was seeing someone that he worked with.” Riley stopped when they reached the house.

“He was?”

“We were working it out, though. We both agreed to put it behind us and move forward.” Riley wiped at her eyes again. “I know if he had lived, we would have been very happy together.”

Chapter Fourteen

Brianna stood next to the cash register with a cart full of bags of lawn treatment. As the woman next to her paid the bill, Brianna’s eyes returned to the clock on the wall. She needed to get going.

“Ready?” She said to the woman next to her.

She didn’t wait for an answer. Pushing the cart from the feed store, she looked around the parking lot trying to guess which vehicle belonged to the woman inside. A moment later, the woman came out still tucking her card away as she scrambled to catch up with Brianna.

As soon as the woman pointed at her vehicle, Brianna began briskly walking toward it, pushing the cart of lawn treatment in front of her. She off-loaded it as quickly as possible and nearly ran back to the store dragging the empty cart behind her. She was pulling her work vest off as she approached the computer in the back of the store to clock out.

“You still have a little time before school lets out,” Dan said.

“I can’t take any chances. He’ll think of some way to get at me. The best way to do that is through my son.” She began walking away.

“Have you thought of a restraining order?”

She slowed and turned around to look at him as she continued to increase the distance between them. “I’m not sure it would matter. He’s good at making sure there are never any witnesses. I can’t afford a lawyer right now anyway.”

“What if I give you an advance on your salary? It would be worth it, to have your peace of mind.” Dan gave her a wry smile. “I’m not sure all of our customers can race you out of the store on the way to their car.”

“I’m sorry.”

Dan held up his hand. “Go. Just think about it, okay? The offer stands.”

***

Holly descended the stairs at the farm house she and Tyler rented, her hair still damp from her shower. It felt good to be home after cooking all day at the Jammin’T. She loved her job, but she loved being with the animals at the farm too. Luna, the kitten she had adopted, was now a full-grown cat and lived in the house with them. Luna’s mom preferred to remain in the barn and still refused to allow anyone near her.

When she reached the bottom step, she heard voices in the front of the house. She knew one of the voices belonged to her brother. She didn’t recognize the other voice. She stepped out onto the front porch allowing the screen door to slap closed behind her. The young woman standing in front of Tyler looked tiny and lost. Holly recognized her from the diner.

“There she is.” Tyler waved to Holly to approach them. “This is Mandy. She’s the artist I was telling you about. Mandy, this is Holly, my sister.”

Holly flashed a friendly smile. The one she got in return was so fast she wondered if she’d imagined it.

“Tyler said you’d like to meet some animals?” Holly stopped when she reached the two of them. She was right. Mandy was tiny. Holly towered over her by about six inches or so and she was only five six. She guessed they were around the same age.

“I would like that. It helps me to draw if I can see something moving.” Mandy looked past Holly.

Holly turned and saw Luna at the screen door. “That’s Luna. Her mom lives in the barn.”

Mandy turned to look toward the barn. “Why do you keep them apart?”

Holly smiled. “I don’t. She’s wild. She had her kittens behind the diner.”

“Can you show her the animals?” Tyler asked Holly. He motioned to the house. “My turn for the shower.”

“Yeah. Come on.” Holly began walking toward the barn. Mandy followed her. “What kind of art do you do?”

“I work with colored pencils a lot, but I like paint too.” Mandy slowed when they rounded the barn and she got her first closeup look of the cows. “Oh. They’re huge.”

Holly laughed. “Big babies, really.” She stepped up to the fence and stuck her arm through. Several cows immediately walked toward it. Holly began petting them. “They get jealous too. I can’t pay more attention to one than the other.”

“You can tell them apart?” Mandy slipped the book bag from her shoulder and took her drawing pad out.

“Sure. This is Buttercup. She’s very friendly.” Holly turned toward the barn and pointed. “There’s Luna’s mom. She’s at the corner of the barn.”

Mandy glanced toward the tiny cat. She was sitting with her tail wrapped around her feet watching them. “She lives in the barn?”

“Yes. Come on. I’ll show you the horses. They’re in the paddock on the other side.” Holly walked around the barn where the tiny cat had been then to the other side. “There’s a pond over here for them and lots of grass.”

“Do they go out into the field?” Mandy stopped walking when she reached the paddock fence and began drawing again.

“Oh, sure. They’re here now because they know this is when I get home from work. I always give them a good brush down and some feed.” Holly opened a gate and slipped inside before closing it again. Both horses walked over to greet her. “They like the attention.”

Mandy continued sketching until she filled the first page. She quickly flipped over to a clean page and began filling it also.

“I’ll get the brush while you’re sketching.”

Mandy’s focus was on the horses in front of her. Her hand never stopped moving. When Holly returned, she found Mandy sitting on the top rung of the fence. Her book bag was hanging from the fence post next to her. Her hand was still flying over the page in front of her. Holly didn’t disturb her. She went back into the paddock with the horses and brushed them down. When she was done, she gave them their feed.

“Ready for some dinner?” Tyler asked.

Mandy looked down at him while Holly slipped back through the gate.

“I should let you two go. I really appreciate this.” Mandy climbed down from the fence.

“Don’t be silly. One thing we know how to do is feed people,” Tyler said. “We’d love to have you join us.”

“You haven’t met Luna yet,” Holly reminded her as they walked toward the house.

Mandy smiled her thanks and followed them inside.

***

Jennifer found Caitlyn in her work room in the back of the florist shop. Caitlyn was just finishing an arrangement.

“Hey, I was just thinking about you.” Caitlyn turned and put the arrangement into one of the large refrigerators behind her. “If you’re worried about the flowers not getting here on time, don’t. I received the shipment and we’re good to go. I’ll have them all ready in time for the wedding.”

Jennifer smiled. “No, actually. That possible catastrophe never crossed my mind.”

“Good. I have some great ideas for decorating the gazebo. I can try to make some sketches if you’d like to see what I had in mind.” Caitlyn stopped talking and frowned at Jennifer. “Are you okay?”

“I’m an idiot.”

“Uh, oh. Is this the part where the bride gets cold feet just before the wedding?” Caitlyn asked. “Not to worry. I can talk you down.”

Jennifer laughed. “No, not that kind of idiot. I’m definitely not having second thoughts about marrying Jim.”

“Excellent. Then why does the bride look like she lost her best friend?” Caitlyn took two bottles of water from her small fridge and handed one to Jennifer.

“That is exactly my problem.” Jennifer twisted the cap off. “I mistakenly asked a woman I haven’t seen in decades to be my maid of honor.”

“That’s Piper, right?” Caitlyn leaned against her work counter.

“Good memory, yes. I mentioned her to you. Anyway, when it came time to ask someone to stand up with me for my wedding, I stupidly reverted to my college days. Like some young girl just getting married out of college.”

“And now you’re realizing you don’t have anything in common with Piper?” Caitlyn guessed.

“Worse. We have everything in common. She’s married to her work and can’t make it this weekend.”

“Ouch.”

“Exactly. But that’s not why I’m an idiot.”

“Okay, I’ll bite. Why is one of the smartest women I know an idiot?” Caitlyn took a swig of her water.

Jennifer sighed loudly. “Because in my misguided rush to return to my youth, I didn’t think about the person I’m practically gaining as a sister. With Jim and Doug in business, we’re technically going to be family.”

Caitlyn smiled. “That we are.”

“Can you forgive me for not asking you before?” Jennifer held her breath.

Caitlyn laughed. “Are you going to make me wear an ugly bridesmaid dress?”

Jennifer exhaled. “I don’t care what you wear as long as you say yes.”

***

Giselle handed the receipt to her customer and told them to have a good day. She watched the two young girls walk out of Togs. Both had a bag in their hand. Since Giselle was taking the advice of her young employee about stock, her sales with that target group had increased dramatically. She stepped around to the other side of the counter just as the door opened again.

“Ian. What brings you in?” Giselle waited for him to close the distance between them. He was in uniform, so she knew he was working. “You look stressed about something.”

“I am stressed about something.” He stopped in front of her. At five ten, he was only a couple inches taller than she was. “I have a huge favor to ask.”

She lifted her brows and waited.

“I don’t know what else to do. She shredded my pillow today.”

Giselle saw the evidence of stress in his face and pressed her lips together.

“I know.” He raised both hands. “I should have done something before. This is all my fault. But there’s nothing I can do right at this minute about getting her trained and if I leave her alone she’s going to destroy the rest of my house.”

“You want me to go pick her up?” Giselle guessed.

He put his hands together in front of him. “Please? She’s really a good girl as long as there’s someone with her. It’s just when she’s left alone that she becomes destructive.”

Giselle mentally shifted her schedule around. “Okay.”

Ian looked ready to continue begging. He seemed surprised by her quick response. “Okay?”

Giselle nodded.

He leaned forward and kissed her. “Thanks. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

Chapter Fifteen

As soon as she spooned the food into Maddie’s mouth, it came back out again.

“I’m thinking she’s done for now.” Erica quickly scooped up the colorful ooze on Maddie’s chin with the baby spoon and began to take everything away.

Maddie made a noise and reached for the spoon.

“Oh, you want this now?” Erica held the spoon in front of her daughter.

Maddie reached out for it and laughed.

“I think Mommy needs to get you cleaned up so she can go to work.” Erica stood and crossed over to the sink.

Maddie made sounds of frustration at the loss of a potential play thing but Brad quickly captured her attention by making train noises as he fed Mason. Erica returned with a wet rag and wiped everything down including Maddie.

“Go ahead. I’ve got this one,” Brad said.

Erica rinsed the rag and left it within Brad’s reach before picking Maddie up from her high chair. “Come with me, little one. We’ll finish getting ready for work.”

By the time Erica was dressed, Kaylee had arrived and took charge of the babies.

“Good luck with your case,” Brad said as Erica kissed the twins goodbye.

“I’m going to need it. So far, we’ve got a whole lot of nothing.”

***

Megan waited until Justin would be awake before showing up on their doorstep. She knew that working the afternoon shift at the hospital meant that he got to bed late each night. As a result, he shifted his morning routine a little later to compensate. He answered the door carrying Grace and a cup of coffee. She followed him to Lauren’s work kitchen.

“That looks like a wedding cake.” Megan took a seat.

“It is a wedding cake. It’s Jennifer’s. Speaking of which, have you heard that Caitlyn is now her maid of honor?”

“Caitlyn texted me,” Megan said.

“I hope for Jennifer’s sake that she doesn’t have any more problems before her wedding.” Lauren poured batter into another pan.

“There’s only one more day. Hopefully, not much else could go wrong.” Megan smiled at Grace.

“How is your puzzle coming along?” Lauren asked.

“That’s one reason why I’m here. I was wondering if Justin heard anything more at the hospital?”

He set his empty coffee cup down. “I’ve heard several comments, including some oddly positive ones.”

“Oddly positive?”

“Coming from one of the residents I told you about.” Grace leaned forward straining against his hold. Justin set her on the floor and she immediately began scooting around.

Megan laughed at Grace’s maneuvering. “I thought you said they all hated Dr. Fletcher.”

“That’s just it. They did.”

“And now they’ve changed their story?”

“Exactly. Suddenly, he was a great teacher who used progressive methods of instruction.” Justin turned around and refilled his coffee cup. “Can I get you anything?”

“No, thanks.” Megan thought about it as she watched Grace scooting toward her. Cecilia had mentioned a resident named Scott Nelson. “Which resident switched their story?”

Justin leaned back against the counter with his coffee cup in his hand. “Martinez. Zach Martinez.”

***

Erica scowled at the sound her stomach made as she stared at the murder board. She smelled her partner arrive behind her and quickly turned to grab one of the bags from him.

“What took you so long?” She opened the bag and pulled out a sandwich. After unwrapping part of it to see what it was, she handed it to him and took out the second sandwich.

“It’s Friday. Long lines.” Jerry set the other bag on his desk.

“What’s in there?” Erica eyed the other bag with interest.

“All kinds of healthy stuff. Salad, fruit, and yogurt. Nothing you would want.” Jerry bit into his sandwich.

“That’s not true. I eat vegetables and fruit.”

He raised his brows at her as he chewed.

“I have to. I’m a parent now. I have to set a good example. And, hey! I even figured out which twin made me eat Megan’s homemade apple sauce three meals a day for most of my pregnancy.”

“Wait, let me guess.” He took another bite. “Mason, right?”

“How did you know that?”

“I’ve seen him trying to gnaw on apple pieces.”

Erica laughed. “He does that a lot.”

Jerry pointed at the murder board with his chin before taking another bite. “Did you get anything this morning?”

She turned around to stare at the board again. “I’m glad we split up. We need to keep hammering away at this until something breaks.”

Jerry read the notes she’d written since the last time he saw the board. It didn’t take long. She hadn’t added much.

“I talked to the receptionist at his office again,” he said.

“Yeah, how’d that go?”

“She’s still pretty shaken up about his death. Says she doesn’t know how she’s going to go on without him.” He reached for the phone on his desk when it rang. “Yeah. I’ll be right out.”

“What’s up?” Erica called back to him as she stared at the board.

“Megan’s out there. I’ll get her. Don’t touch the other bag. They didn’t have much to choose from for yogurt where I stopped and they’re both mine.”

“As if I’d steal your yogurt.” Erica balled up the wrapper from her sandwich and threw it away before picking up the marker to write another note on the board.

When Jerry returned with Megan, Erica was eating one of the containers of yogurt she’d found in the second bag.

“Hey!” Jerry went to his desk.

Erica took the last bite of yogurt and smiled at him. Jerry opened the bag and took out the second container. “You could at least have taken the lemon one.”

“The peach was really good.”

He ripped open the lemon yogurt as Megan took the seat next to him. She looked over at the murder board.

“What brings you in?” Erica asked as she returned to her desk.

“Just wanted to share what little I’ve learned.” Megan finished scanning the board.

“Not having much luck with this one?” Erica took her seat.

“There are a lot of possible suspects. I think it will take a while to wade through them all.”

Erica glanced at Jerry. “Yeah, we know what you mean. What have you come up with so far?”

Megan tilted her head. “Dr. Fletcher seemed to make a lot of enemies but not all of them could name him.”

Erica shared another look with Jerry. “Come again?”

“Take the apartment complex. He’s a co-owner but from what I can tell, most of the tenants didn’t know he was involved with it.”

“Most?” Jerry asked.

Megan made a face. “Amber knew, for one. I’m not sure about others.”

“Interesting that she chose not to share that with us.” Erica looked pointedly at Jerry. He nodded his agreement.

“I spoke with some of the tenants there. Another tenant, Mandy, had told me about them. You know her.” Megan pointed at Erica. “She’s the author of the children’s book I gave you.”

“Yeah, she’s doing a signing at Olde Tomes tomorrow, right?” Erica nodded. “I want to try to get over there but I’m not sure I’ll be able to pull it off.”

“I can take your copy and get it signed if I make it. If not, she promised to sign another time.”

“That’s nice. Go on. Mandy told you about tenants. You’re saying she lives there too?”

Megan nodded. “Just moved in recently. She wasn’t able to tell me their names.”

Jerry threw his yogurt container away. “I don’t get it. How’d you figure out who they were to talk with them if your friend didn’t know their names?”

Megan pulled out the sketches Mandy had given her.

“These are awesome.” Jerry passed them to Erica. “What are their names?”

Megan told them and how Gabe had helped her figure one of them out.

“I asked them in more than one way if they knew who the owners were. I really don’t think they do.”

Erica set the sketches down on her desk. “Anything else?”

Megan pointed at the murder board. “That thing with Cecilia?”

Erica swung around and looked at the board. “The girlfriend?” She turned back to look at Megan.

Megan shook her head. “From what I’ve learned, that’s all in her head. I talked to the receptionist for my doctor and the apartment manager where Cecilia lives.”

“At the apartment co-owned by the deceased?” Jerry said.

Megan nodded. “Patsy said Cecilia goes through imaginary boyfriends on a fairly regular basis. The apartment manager says she’s always home. From what I can tell, he has a serious crush on her.”

Erica leaned back in her chair. “Okay. Anything else?”

“The wife claims Cecilia is an item,” Megan said.

“Yeah. That’s what she told us too.” Erica watched Megan’s face. “What?”

Megan gave a half shrug. “I don’t know. Just a hunch. Nothing concrete. I could be wrong.”

“You think she knows something she isn’t telling us?” Jerry asked.

“I think I’d keep asking her questions,” Megan said. “Then there’s Justin.”

“Justin? What’s he got to do with it.” Erica scowled. “The hospital. You’re saying he’s seen something there?”

“Seen, no. Heard, yes. The residents at the hospital also had reason to dislike the doctor. He pitted them against each other.”

Jerry dug into his bag again. “We heard some of those grumbles too.”

“The thing is, one of them has switched his story. Before Dr. Fletcher’s death, he complained about the man all the time. Now, he has only nice things to say about him.”

Jerry began peeling an orange. “Let me guess. Scott Nelson. The resident that Cecilia says she saw at the doctor’s residence at the time of his death.”

“Nope. It’s Zach Martinez.” Megan pushed herself up from the seat. “See you both tomorrow at the wedding.”

Chapter Sixteen

The woman she found sitting in the hospital cafeteria looked surprisingly awake given that she’d been on shift since long before Henry had issued his first strangled crow for the day. Megan crossed the room and stopped beside her table. Chloe Roberts looked up at her with assessing eyes. Seeing no medical issues, Chloe leaned back in her chair waiting for whatever Megan had to say.

“I know that you don’t get many breaks during your day and I’m sorry to interrupt this one.” Megan nodded to the empty chair. “Mind if I ask you a few questions about Dr. Fletcher?”

Chloe narrowed her eyes at Megan. “The police have already asked me all the questions I need to answer.”

“Understood.” Megan sat anyway. “But one of the people the police suspect of murder is due to deliver any day and she asked for my help.”

Curiosity joined suspicion in Chloe’s eyes. She remained where she was and waited to hear what Megan said next.

“I’ve never met Dr. Fletcher but he works in the same medical center as my doctor. What kind of man was he?” Megan asked.

The expression on Chloe’s face didn’t change. “He worked us until we were ready to drop and then pushed us even harder. It was good for us.”

“What about his private life? Do you know anything about that?”

Chloe shifted in her seat. “Like what?”

“His wife told me that he was cheating on her.”

Chloe’s eyes scanned the room. “Yeah, he told me he was single.”

“He made it a point to mention that to you?”

“He didn’t hit on me, if that’s what you’re asking.” Chloe began clearing her side of the table. “Good thing, too. I would have had to report him if he’d done that. Might have hurt my career.”

“What about the other residents? I understand there are five of you in your team. How did they get along with his teaching style?” Megan watched as Chloe stood.

A smile lifted one corner of Chloe’s mouth. “Talk to Zach. As often as he complained about Gordon, he might have something to tell you.”

***

They planned to take a few days off after the wedding. Jennifer was trying to wrap up her cases as much as possible on her last day of work before that happened. The sound of the bells on her door surprised her. She had no scheduled appointments. She thought at first it might be Jim but realized quickly that he would have already reached her office where she currently sat. She stood and went to the front room. The woman she found there appeared to be half lost, half angry. It was a look Jennifer was sorry to say she recognized. She’d seen it far too many times during her career.

“Can I help you?” Jennifer remained where she was and didn’t suggest they take a seat. The woman in front of her looked as though she might flee any moment.

“I would like to get a restraining order against my husband.”

“Okay. I’m going to have to ask you some difficult questions in order to do that. You will also have to repeat your story at a hearing. Do you think you can do that?” Jennifer watched as the woman’s chin rose another inch.

“Yes.”

“Good. Let’s start with the easy question first. What’s your name?”

“Brianna. Brianna Hagan.”

Jennifer recognized the name. “By any chance, would you be the wife of Sheldon Hagan, the well-known developer?”

“Yes.”

“I know this is going to be a tough question but I have to ask. Do you have proof that your husband abused you?”

Brianna’s lips thinned and anger flared in her eyes. “No.”

Jennifer raised both hands, palms out. “I’m not the enemy here. This process isn’t going to be easy. Getting angry every step of the way isn’t going to help.”

Brianna crossed her arms. “He’s good. Too good about hiding it.” She shook her head. “I shouldn’t have come here.”

“That’s the wrong attitude. I already told you this was going to be difficult,” Jennifer warned. “I wasn’t kidding.”

“You can’t help me. No one can.” Brianna began pacing in the small reception area. “He always knows when someone is watching. There have never been any witnesses.”

“Tell me what you’re worried about the most,” Jennifer said.

“My son. I want to protect my son.” Brianna stopped pacing and glared at Jennifer.

“Okay. That’s a good start. If you can hold on to that feeling, we just might get through this together. Can you do that?”

A tiny ray of hope flared in Brianna’s eyes.

“I need to take some information down so I can get the process started. Are you ready to go through a wringer?” Jennifer asked.

Brianna took a breath then nodded once.

***

“Have you been out here much yet?” Rhys slowed to take another turn before accelerating again.

“The off-road trail? A couple of times. You?” Ian looked out the passenger window.

“No. Just for work. Ava and Bella aren’t really into this.”

“I didn’t mind it. There were a lot of people both times I was here but there weren’t any problems.”

Rhys pulled onto the property. “Big crowd already considering it’s still fairly early and this is just an exhibition.”

“I’m telling you. This was a great idea for the community. It’s pulling in a lot of out-of-towners for the weekends.” Ian opened the passenger door and got out. “Giselle said her sales are up and several people have mentioned they were in the area because of this place.”

“I hear the restaurants in town have been packed.” Rhys nodded to a group of people as he passed them.

***

Gabe pulled onto the grounds of the Teaberry Campground. After parking off to the side, he went into the office to talk to the manager.

“Gabe! You made it.” The grizzly looking man stepped from behind the counter to shake Gabe’s hand.

“Zeke Banner, as I live and breathe. I thought you died.” Gabe slapped the other man’s shoulder.

Zeke laughed. “Rumors. Just rumors.” He looked out the front window and pointed. “That the camper you called about?”

“You think it’s doable?” Gabe figured if anyone could make it happen, Zeke could.

Zeke returned to the other side of the counter and picked up a map. He unfolded it across the counter and waved Gabe closer.

“This is the campground here. As you know, we butt up against the off-road trail property.” Zeke put his finger on the map. “I’m thinking if you set up camp right here, you’ll be at the closest possible location to the off-road trail land without actually being on it.”

Gabe studied the map and nodded. “I really appreciate this Zeke.”

“It’ll be good for me too. Most people probably wouldn’t want to camp that close to the trail. It’s going to be noisy there.” Zeke straightened. “They’ve already started over there for tonight. I hear there’s a big crowd of spectators too.”

“I’d best get to it then.” Gabe took the numbered tag from Zeke.

“Hang that on your mirror whenever you’re here.” Zeke grinned. “Welcome to the neighborhood.”

Gabe followed Zeke’s instructions to his campsite and positioned the camper. He could see some of the action from his site. Zeke was right. There were a lot of people and it was still early in the afternoon. The actual competition hadn’t started yet. He knew the trucks out there now were just doing trial runs. He crossed over the short distance to join the closest group. He could hear engines coming toward him and a ripple of excitement went through the crowd.

“Hey, you made it.”

Gabe turned at the sound of the familiar voice. “Dena?” He looked at the two young boys next to her.

“The boys love this stuff,” Dena said. “I don’t like to keep them out late so we come after school on Friday and during the day on the weekends. Oh, look! Here they come!”

***

“Please tell me you’re kidding.” Jennifer held her phone in one hand and dug the palm of her other hand into her eye socket.

The bells on her front door barely registered with her as she struggled to find a way to argue her case.

“You can’t cancel on me now. We have a signed contract and my wedding is tomorrow.” Jennifer looked up to find Jim standing in the doorway to her office. “No, you don’t understand. How am I going to find someone to feed that many people in less than twenty-four hours?”

Not liking the answer that she got, she disconnected the call and set her phone down. Jim crossed over to her and pulled her up from her chair before wrapping his arms around her.

“We’ll be okay,” he said.

She shook her head. “How? You can’t handle this kind of volume at the last minute. You said yourself that you’ve been swamped on the weekends at the restaurant. It’s not like we can invite all of our guests there after the ceremony.”

“I’ll find a way. Don’t worry. Food is one thing I know how to do.”

Chapter Seventeen

“Excuse me.” Megan moved as quickly as she could to catch up with the man in front of her but she couldn’t do it. Luckily, at the sound of her voice, the man turned and looked at her.

Zach Martinez stopped when his eyes dropped to her stomach. “If this is a medical emergency, you want to go to the front desk. Someone there will help you.”

She managed to close the space between them while he was talking. “No, it isn’t. I’d like to ask you some questions about Dr. Fletcher.”

An unmistakable look of annoyance flashed across his face. “I’ve already spoken with the police.”

“Yes, I know. So have I.” She stopped next to him in the hallway. He’d been on his way out of the building when she’d finally found him.

“If he was your doctor, I’m sure you’ll be assigned a new one in the interim.” Zach’s eyes went to the clock suspended from the ceiling in the hallway.

“Please. I’ll only be a few minutes. I can walk outside with you.” Megan didn’t wait for him to find an excuse. “I’ve been speaking with the other residents who worked under Dr. Fletcher. I already know that he enjoyed an atmosphere of competition between you. I was wondering how well that worked in practice?”

Zach remained where he was. “What is that to you?”

“The faster you answer my questions, the faster I’ll leave you alone. Did he have a lot of enemies at this hospital?”

Zach huffed out a laugh. “He wasn’t universally disliked, no. Excuse me.” He turned to walk away.

“But I’ve been told that you disliked him. I’m sure that’s the same information the police have.” Megan said to his back.

He stopped walking again and turned to her. “What makes you say that?”

She shrugged. “They are talking to the same people.” She took another step closer to him. “But then, I’m told Dr. Fletcher was hard on everyone. Is that true?”

He looked up at the ceiling for a moment as though debating with himself. Finally, he waved one hand in a motion meant to encompass the hospital and everyone in it. “I don’t know about everyone else. I just know how he treated the residents.”

She took another step closer. “Was he equally hard on all of you?”

“No. He wasn’t. He seemed to go easier on the women for whatever reason.” He waved his hand again. “Ask anyone. I’m sure my male colleagues would agree. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

***

Jerry walked into the main office carrying an empty energy drink from Tea & Thyme. He tossed it away as he crossed the room to join Erica at the murder board.

“How did your afternoon go?” she asked.

“It was enlightening.” He glanced at the notes she’d written. “I spoke with the manager at the apartment complex.”

“And?”

“Just like Megan said. Cecilia Masterson didn’t get out much. If she was having some sort of relationship with anyone, it would have to be during the day.”

Erica shook her head. “I spoke with the staff at the medical center.”

“No go?” he asked.

“Nope. They said she often gets it into her head that she’s in love with someone. It lasts for a while until she moves on.”

“Seems pretty coincidental that this crush happened to end in his death,” he said.

“Yeah. And she was on scene at that time,” Erica agreed.

“Bears watching.”

“Agreed.”

Jerry pointed at a note she’d made. “But you’re fairly certain there wasn’t any relationship?”

“Yeah. After I spoke with several of her colleagues at the same office suite and others within the same building, I also spoke with her. I’m not seeing it.”

“That could have made her mad,” he pointed out.

“Agreed. And we already know she has an imagination.”

“Maybe we need to speak with the resident again? The one that Cecilia spotted near the victim’s place,” he suggested.

“Maybe he saw something he was too scared to tell us first?” She tilted her head back and forth as she considered it. “Could be. We’ve given him a little time to calm down. Maybe he has some more details now.”

“My next question is about the wife,” Jerry said. “She claims that the victim was having an affair with someone at the office.”

“I couldn’t find anyone at the medical center to corroborate that.” Erica turned to him.

“What if it’s at the hospital, not at the medical center?” he asked.

She nodded slowly. “Possible. Definitely worth checking into.”

“You want to speak with the residents again?” he asked.

“Yeah. And the nurses and other staff.”

He nodded his agreement. “If anyone knows what’s going on, it would be them.”

***

Matthias carried the tray of grilled meat into the kitchen. After setting it on the counter, he took a bottle of wine from the fridge and filled two glasses. Carrying them both, he moved down the hall to the room they used as an office. It was one of his favorite rooms in the house. It was a well-lit room and had several comfortable chairs situated near the middle. An electric fireplace was on the wall near the chairs. Two of the other walls were lined with bookcases. The ornate desk was near the outside wall which was lined with large windows.

His wife looked up from her computer when he entered. “Is it that time already?”

“Dinner is ready but it will also wait.” He handed her a glass when he reached her desk.

She stood and followed him to the chairs in the center of the room. It afforded them a view of the profusion of blooming colors through the windows and French doors leading outside.

“This is one of my favorite times of the day,” he said as he joined her on the sofa.

“You said that this morning,” she reminded him.

“And it was true then also,” he said with a smile.

Barbara returned his smile then extended it to her granddaughter. “There she is.”

“Sorry I’m a little late.” Kaylee took a wingback chair across from them.

“We weren’t in any rush,” Matthias said. “In fact, we were just enjoying the moment.”

“How are things with Erica and Brad?” Barbara asked.

“Busy. Maddie is crawling and Mason is scooting but he’s started getting up on his knees now too.”

“And the case?” Barbara asked.

Kaylee gave a slight tilt of her head. “Erica seemed a little less frustrated. I think they’re narrowing it down, weeding out the probable impossibilities.”

“Sounds like forward movement,” Barbara said.

“But slow. I think Megan gave them some clues,” Kaylee said.

“And you?” Matthias asked. “How is the internship going?”

Kaylee smiled. “I was given a new coding project today to program. It looks like a nice brain teaser.”

“Sounds like you’re enjoying it so far,” Barbara said.

“I am. I’m glad Matthias suggested it.” Kaylee put her hand on her stomach and grinned. “I’m also starving.”

Matthias began pushing himself up from his seat. “First one in the kitchen gets to set the table.”

***

Jennifer leaned closer to Jim so she could be heard over the noise in the restaurant.

“It looks like your cousin Rory and my aunt Lucy found something to talk about.” She watched her aunt laugh at something Jim’s cousin said.

“Good. I’m glad some of our relatives were able to make it to town tonight. It gives them more of a chance to get to know each other.” Jim looked past Jennifer. “Here comes someone else from my side.”

Jim shook hands with the man that joined them. Like Jim, he was around six feet tall. “Jennifer, this is my cousin, Beau. Beau, this is the bride to be.”

“His much younger cousin,” Beau added. “He let me tag along sometimes though when we were kids and my family came this way to visit.”

“Cut me some slack. You’re ten years younger. That’s like a million lifetimes to a teenager,” Jim said.

Jennifer smiled a greeting. “You’re the one from the west coast?”

“You must have a great memory to keep all of us straight.” Beau looked around the bar side. “Business is looking good.”

“It has been, I’m happy to say,” Jim agreed.

Beau turned when someone tapped him on the shoulder. “Hey, Aunt Ruby. It’s nice to see you.”

The older woman gave hugs to Beau and Jim then introduced herself to Jennifer with another hug.

“Welcome to the family,” Ruby said.

“Thank you. We’re glad you could make it,” Jennifer included them both in her comment.

“I heard you had a last-minute change of plans with your caterer?” Ruby asked.

Jennifer kept the smile on her face. “Yes. It seems the business is changing hands. They’ll be reopening with new management in a month. They offered me a discount if we would consider booking them then.”

Ruby raised her brows. “That was very nice of them.” She turned to Jim. “If I can help with whatever you’re planning instead?”

“Thanks.” Jim waved off the offer with a smile. “I’m sure we’ll be just fine.”

Caitlyn watched Jim and Jennifer from across the room. Doug set a glass of chilled white wine in front of her before sliding into the chair next to her.

“I can see that brain of yours going a mile a minute,” he said. “Are you taking notes?”

She smiled. “I am. I think every girl has a picture of the perfect wedding in her head.”

He laughed. “I guess that’s probably true. That’s why weddings get so stressful. Trying to make sure that those pictures turn into reality can be a difficult task sometimes.”

“Like Jennifer. She’s lost her venue, her maid of honor, and now her food.”

“Hopefully, we’ve got a backup plan for that,” he said as his gaze shifted to Jennifer.

“I’m starting to think I should either get a lot of backup plans for our wedding.”

“Or?” His gaze shifted from Jennifer to Caitlyn.

“Think a little more about the picture I had.”

“Has yours changed?” Doug watched as more of Jim and Jennifer’s family joined the group across the room.

“It has. I’m realizing that the food, the place, and even the flowers aren’t the important part.” She turned to him.

“The food is kinda important,” he said with a wry smile.

“It is,” she agreed. “But the people you share it with are even more important.”

Chapter Eighteen

Megan carried her mug of tea and a cup of coffee to the back porch and sat on the rattan sofa. In the distance, she could see Flora and Dora, the miniature donkeys, in the field with the sheep. The hens were moving around inside their fenced area. Henry was roaming around the barnyard looking for breakfast.

Dan emerged from behind the barn and walked toward the house. As man met rooster midway, they both paused to stare at each other. Both held their ground, neither of them willing to appear weak. Megan wondered how long the staring contest could go on. Finally, Henry’s need for breakfast overrode his desire to assert his sovereignty and he resumed hunting for bugs. Megan wondered if turning his back on Dan held some meaning to the Brown Leghorn.

Dan joined Megan on the porch and sat next to her. “Thanks. I needed another cup of coffee. It isn’t every morning that you get dissed by a rooster.”

She didn’t try to hide her smile. “You think that was what he was doing?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“We have a couple of hours before we need to head into town for the wedding,” she said.

He hooked his free arm on the backrest behind her and held his coffee in the other hand. “Since we’ll be in town anyway, I’m going to stop into the feed store and make sure everything is okay there.”

“It’s Ethan’s first day?” She shifted position and snuggled into his side.

“Yeah. Brianna will be there in the morning along with the cashiers and a couple others, but I’d still like to make an appearance.”

“We can leave a little early. I’d like to stop into Olde Tomes and get the copy of my book signed by Mandy.”

“Are you planning to work on your puzzle today?” He took a sip of his coffee.

“No. I was thinking I would focus on the wedding today and the garden tomorrow.”

Dan looked around the barnyard. “Where did Henry go?”

Megan checked the animals in the field first. Sometimes Henry liked to visit the donkeys. “There he is. He’s over in the garden checking it out.”

“How does he even get in there? The fence is taller than I am.” Dan shook his head.

“I guess some just have special talents that the rest of us can only admire.”

***

Mandy walked slowly down the sidewalk toward Olde Tomes. Each step of the way, she told herself that everything was going to be okay. She’d even try to enjoy herself, no matter how sick to her stomach with nervousness she might be. She was having her first book signing. With any luck, it won’t be her last. She enjoyed writing books and loved that she could include her own drawings with them. She couldn’t imagine trying to describe something she wanted drawn to someone else. Somehow, her own hand always seemed to know exactly what to do to transfer the image in her head to the medium.

She stopped outside of the bookstore and took a deep breath before opening the door. She’d assumed that she would be one of the first to arrive. Instead, she found several people inside. Unsure if she was interrupting anything, she stood off to one side. It took a few moments before she realized that she knew some of the people.

“Mandy! There you are.” Tia crossed the room to join her. “You know Everett, of course. He’s the one who helped you get published. This is his wife, Luella.”

Mandy offered a shy smiled to the woman with kind eyes standing next to Everett.

“It’s nice to finally meet you in person,” Luella said. “Everett has talked about your work so much, I feel as though I already know you.”

Mandy smiled again and turned to two women who were obviously twins. She knew they were older, probably in their fifties, but they were dressed in a similar style of clothing. She doubted it was done on purpose. Rather, she supposed it was just that both women liked the same sort of clothes. She supposed that technically they were considered identical twins. Aside from the side on which they parted their hair, she could also see a million other differences. The lines on their faces created by time weren’t exactly the same. The expression in their eyes was slightly different. One seemed more forward than the other, as though eager to learn about the people around her. The other was slightly quicker to smile though both appeared friendly.

“This is Janice and this is Jill. I don’t imagine you can tell the difference between them,” Tia said. “Not to worry. Most can’t, but the twins forgive us for it.”

Mandy nodded a hello and turned to the next person. Although she wouldn’t be considered classically beautiful, she possessed a handsomeness that Mandy knew would serve her well over time. It was partly due to her bone structure but the one aspect that shone through was her intelligence. As though she possessed some special knowledge of the ages that transcended time. Mandy imagined that the woman was not only smart, but also very resourceful. She would be the kind of character Mandy would create who was a leader of other characters in her story. A leader of someplace far away set in a time long ago.

“This is Leah,” Tia said. “She owns Vintage Teaberry, the antique store next door.”

Mandy smiled her greeting just as the front door opened again. Her smile faltered when she saw her publisher, Del Langley, enter the shop.

“There you are. We need to get you set up. It’s nearly time to get started.” Del turned to Tia. “You have everything in order, I take it?”

“I was just about to explain to Mandy that I have a table set up over here.” Tia turned to Mandy and motioned. “There’s a chair behind it for you. I put some bottled water out for you. As you can see, there are some books on the table for you to reach easily. I have more in the back if we need to get them out.”

“The more we have out, the better,” Del said. “We want to sell them, not keep them in storage.”

Mandy’s eyes shifted from Del to Tia. She could tell the smile on Tia’s face was no longer natural. She didn’t blame the other woman. It was difficult to smile naturally when Del was around.

***

“The town square looks nice,” Brad said as he pushed the stroller down the sidewalk.

“With the flowers all in bloom like that, and even a lot of the trees, I think Jennifer will like getting married there,” Erica said with a quick glance at the gazebo. “I know Caitlyn is doing something with flowers up where they’ll be standing too.”

“Jennifer was lucky she could find enough tables and chairs to rent at the last minute.” Brad pushed the stroller around a large tree following the sidewalk that navigated around it.

“I’m glad we decided to get here early and walk over to the bookstore before the wedding. We ended up with a good parking spot.” Erica scanned the area around them as they walked.

“You want to put the book in the buggy?” he asked as he negotiated the corner crossing.

“No, I’m good. It isn’t that heavy.” Erica glanced at the town square again. “They’ve got the tents up for the wedding. That’s a good sign.”

“I don’t see anything else yet though.” Brad pushed the stroller up onto the next sidewalk.

“Yeah. You would think the tables and chairs would be here by now.” Erica checked the twins to make sure they were okay. Shortly after, they reached the bookstore. They weren’t the only ones approaching it.

“Let me get the door for you,” Jessilyn said as she walked toward them. “There you go.”

“Thanks.” Brad pushed the stroller inside.

Erica stepped in behind him. “Good thing we got here early too. There’s a lot of people behind us.”

Megan stopped on her wait out of the door. “I got mine signed.”

“We’ll be over in a bit. Looks like we got here just in time. There’s going to be a long line of people behind us any second.”

***

Jennifer sat in her office chair trying to hold her head as still as possible.

“Somehow I never imagined getting dressed for my wedding at my office,” she said.

Irlene slid another bobby pin into Jennifer’s hair. “Whatever works, right? It’s close to the town square. Hold still now, I want to get the head piece on around the hair I already have in place.”

“Does that mean we’re getting closer?” Jennifer asked hopefully.

“It means once I have the head piece in place, I can finish doing the rest of your hair.” Irlene carefully maneuvered the piece into place. “That looks nice. I just need to finish up here now.” Irlene grabbed another handful of bobby pins.

“I haven’t had a chance to ask. How is your remodeling project coming along?” Jennifer wondered if she’d chosen a bad subject when Irlene didn’t answer her right away. “Irlene?”

“The thing is, I discovered that Carson has decided... Well, that is to say.” Irlene dropped a bobby pin. “Oh, bother.”

“Irlene, are you trying not to tell me that you and Carson are involved?”

”Is it really so obvious?” Irlene slid another bobby pin in place.

“I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks. I’m starting to think that I might be happy for me too.” Irlene slid another bobby pin into place then picked up a mirror and handed it to Jennifer.

“It’s a small mirror. You might have to take my word for it that you look beautiful.” Irlene stepped to the other side of the desk. “Do you need help with your wedding gown?”

Jennifer looked over at the door to her office. She had her wedding gown hanging from the door frame.

“If you don’t mind. I don’t think I can do the back on my own and Caitlyn is probably working on the flowers in the town square.” Jennifer stood.

Irlene waved a hand. “Oh, I don’t mind at all. Do you have everything else that you need?”

“Need?” Jennifer glanced at the matching shoes sitting on the floor by her office door.

“Sure, you know. Something old, something new?”

Jennifer felt the icy chill of a momentary panic then looked down at her hand. “The ring. I have my ring. It’s the one Jim bought back without knowing that it had been originally passed down through my family.”

“What about your earrings. Those look new,” Irlene said.

Jennifer’s hand went up to her ear. “Yes. They are.”

Irlene scanned her eyes around the room quickly. “Oh, I know. Here. This is perfect.” She pulled something from her purse and turned to Jennifer. “This was my grandmother’s. It’s hand embroidered. Some of the flowers around the edges are blue. Every bride needs a hanky.”

“Oh, Irlene. Are you sure?” Jennifer took the hanky from Irlene and pulled her in for a hug. “Thanks for everything. You helped make my wedding day a memory that I’ll always treasure.”

Chapter Nineteen

Caitlyn carried another box to the gazebo. After climbing the steps, she set the box on the floor and took out another spray of flowers. She’d already fastened the mate to the other pillar on the left of the entrance. She needed to now fasten one to the right pillar. After that, there were still some arrangements to be placed at each corner of the first step on the ground. She glanced over at the tents. She also needed to decorate those but there was a slight problem.

“Need help?” Megan climbed the steps and joined Caitlyn in the gazebo.

“I think I’m good up here but I don’t know what to do next.” Caitlyn began fastening the spray onto the pillar.

“That doesn’t sound good. In fact, I don’t ever remember you saying something like that. Not when it comes to flowers.”

“It’s not the flowers I’m worried about.” Caitlyn pointed toward the tents with her chin. “The tables and chairs haven’t arrived yet.”

“Seriously?” Megan took her phone from her purse and checked the time. “Seriously?”

Caitlyn nodded. “I know, right? It’s almost time for people to show up.”

Megan pulled up a search engine on her phone. “Does the phone number still work for the hall that’s supposed to be dropping them off?”

Caitlyn shrugged and kept working. Megan found the number on their old web site and called it. It took several rings for someone to answer.

“I’m calling to check on the tables and chairs you’re supposed to deliver to the town square.”

Caitlyn finished attaching the spray and stood with her hands on her hips. They looked at each other in surprise when the voice on the other end made up an excuse for why the tables and chairs hadn’t been delivered yet. Caitlyn held her hand out for the phone.

“This is Caitlyn Anderson, the owner of Anderson Florist. I understand that you’re the new owner of the wedding hall. My customers often ask me for suggestions for wedding venues. When people ask me in the future if I would recommend your business, which answer would you like me to give?” Caitlyn stood with one hand still propped on her hip. She disconnected when she got the response she wanted.

“She said the truck was loaded but the driver hadn’t shown. She’s going to drive them over herself now.”

Megan looked over at the tents. “Let’s hope they get here soon. If they’re actually leaving from the hall and not some other location, it shouldn’t take long.”

“In the meantime, maybe you can help me with some things in the tent where the bridal couple will be. We’ll do what we can until the tables and chairs arrive.”

“I can help carry the boxes of your stuff to the tents,” Megan suggested. “That way, they’ll be where you need them when everything else arrives.”

Megan followed Caitlyn down the stairs. As they reached the tent, Emmet approached them from the other side.

“I was sent to check on things here. Where are the tables and chairs?” he asked. He was already dressed in a tux.

Caitlyn held up a hand. “I think we have that handled. They should be here soon.”

Emmet rubbed his hand on the back of his neck.

“I’m sure it will be fine,” Megan added.

“It’s not that.” Emmet closed his eyes. “Jim’s uncle can’t make it.”

“Uncle Nolan? The uncle that was supposed to perform the ceremony?” Caitlyn shot Megan a look.

“Yes.” Emmet looked blindly into the closest empty tent. “I don’t know what to do. We haven’t even told Jennifer yet. Jim just found out. I guess his uncle decided to drive here. He got confused with the GPS directions and took the wrong lane on a highway. He didn’t realize his mistake until he reached a state line and it wasn’t anywhere near Pennsylvania.”

Megan held up a finger and pulled her phone out again. She stepped away from Caitlyn and Emmet as she found the number she needed. When she was done with the call, she joined them again.

“The mayor can do it. She said she’ll be here shortly.”

Emmet’s face lit up. “Thank you. I’ll let Jim know right away. We won’t even tell Jennifer.”

He pulled out his phone and walked away.

***

Bella finished cleaning out one cage. Before moving on to the next one, she spent some time with the occupant of the current cage. He was an older beagle that had learned the hard way to stay away from porcupines. At least, Bella hoped he’d learned his lesson.

“There you go, Samson. Your family is supposed to pick you up after work today. I’ll bet you’ll be glad to go home.” Bella gently rubbed the space between his shoulders. She figured it might be one of the few spots where he didn’t hurt. She was rewarded with a half-hearted wag of his tail.

“Making friends with our guests?” Casey asked as he entered the room.

“I think this one is homesick,” she said.

“I don’t doubt that. His owner is probably worse off than he is. He would have slept here last night if I had let him. They’re two of a kind, I think.” Casey stopped at another cage. After opening the door, he pulled out a tiny black cat.

“What’s her story?” Bella gave Samson one final rub and closed the door to the cage before moving on to the next one.

“Her regular checkup.” Casey turned to leave the room with the small cat still in his arms. “We have a system that lets the owners drop the pets off in the morning and pick them up after work.”

“That sounds like it should make things easier.” Bella reached into the next cage to pet the cat orange inside.

“It does. A lot of people use the web site Megan designed for me to make their appointments and pay their bills too. That’s an improvement over what was done when I first became a vet.” Casey rubbed the tiny cat’s ears as he cradled it in his arms.

Bella could hear the purring from across the room. “Wow.”

Casey laughed. “Nothing wrong with her purring.”

“This one still isn’t looking happy.”

“It’s a stubborn tooth infection, that’s for sure. The antibiotics I gave should do the trick. He’ll be more himself tomorrow.” Casey opened the door. “I’ll be back to check on the tooth infection when I’m done with this little one. I hope Ethan is doing as well at his first day on the new job.”

Bella smiled at the thought as she began cleaning the cage. She missed having him around but knew that he was excited at the thought of owning his own truck. She hoped that he was having a good day also.

***

Brianna frowned. “I don’t think that’s right.”

Ethan checked the numbers on the small tag on the shelf then looked at the items he’d just stocked there.

“The numbers match.” He stood to look at Brianna.

“They do? Then I did it wrong the other day.” Brianna shook her head. “I thought the numbers matched a tag on one of the end caps.”

“Let’s go check,” Ethan suggested.

Brianna led the way to the end cap. “This one.”

Ethan leaned forward and checked the numbers. “No. You were right. These are the same numbers.” Ethan glanced around. “Maybe Dan just had some over here too because it’s something people would normally buy together.”

Brianna looked at the other items around it. “Yeah. That does make sense.” She gave Ethan a rueful smile. “Okay, I don’t feel like such an idiot now.”

“You’re definitely not an idiot.” Ethan returned to the row where they’d started. “It takes a long time to learn all this stuff.”

“How did you do it?” Brianna waved around them. “You seem to know exactly what everything is.”

Ethan laughed. “Not everything, no. But when you work on a farm, you end up using a lot of what Dan keeps stocked here. Once you use it, you understand what it’s for and even why one brand might be better than another.”

“I thought people would just always want whatever is cheaper?”

“Not necessarily. Stock is expensive. You want to be sure that you’re feeding them or taking care of them with something you trust to do the job. Sometimes it’s the brands you trust or the quality you’re after.”

Brianna glanced at the clock. “It’s time for me to go. I want to take my son to see someone. I’ll see you next weekend. Thanks for your help today.”

“No, problem,” Ethan said as she began pulling her work vest off.

Brianna clocked out and walked the short distance to her mother’s house. It took some convincing, but she finally got Sheldon to agree to go with her. She walked back to the middle of town with him. As they passed the town square, she wondered what the event was. There were several tents set up and some people milling around.

“Why do you want to go here?” Sheldon asked for the fifth time as they neared the book store.

Brianna put her hand on his shoulder as they took their place in line. “The artist is supposed to be here.”

“What artist?” Sheldon looked up at his mom. She was looking at someone inside the book store.

“Never mind. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea,” Brianna muttered as the front door opened.

Jessilyn stepped out. The two women looked at each other for a moment. Finally, Jessilyn offered a smile and walked past them. Brianna let out a breath.

***

Caitlyn took a step back and assessed what they’d been able to accomplish.

“It’s going to have to do,” Caitlyn said.

“It looks good,” Megan said. “Now we just need the tables and chairs.”

They walked out of the tent and saw that some people had already arrived. Caitlyn recognized several of them. They were volunteer firefighters. She felt Megan’s hand on her arm.

“There’s a truck blocking traffic,” Megan said. “Do you think it’s the tables and chairs?”

“One can only hope,” Caitlyn muttered before quickly crossing the town square to reach the truck.

The woman who had driven the truck didn’t get out. She pointed behind her. “You’ll need to unload them yourself.”

Caitlyn stared at the woman for several tense moments before turning around and walking back to the group of firefighters. Within moments, the back of the truck was open and being emptied. Megan remained near the tents and explained where everything needed to be positioned.

Caitlyn carried in two chairs. “The tablecloths are in those boxes over there.”

Megan nodded her understanding then continued to direct everyone until the tents were nearly full. Then she asked the firefighters to split the boxes of tablecloths up and help put them where they needed to go. Within minutes, everything was in place. Megan went around to the members of the group to thank everyone while Caitlyn began decorating the tables.

“What can I do?” Megan asked Caitlyn when she returned to the tent. Caitlyn motioned toward another box and Megan took the cue and began distributing the arrangements to the tables.

Erica and Madison appeared in the entrance to the tent. “What can we do?”

“I need to get the empty boxes out of here and back to my van so I can move it out of the way,” Caitlyn said as she continued to work.

“Toss me your keys,” Erica said as she approached Caitlyn.

Caitlyn pulled them from her pocket and flipped them to Erica. As she emptied each box, Caitlyn began flattening them to make it easier to carry.

Megan came in and looked around. “We’re getting there.”

Caitlyn took a deep breath as she looked around. Her part was nearly done. Now they just needed everything else.

Chapter Twenty

Lauren pushed the cart closer to her van then carefully transferred the wedding cake from the van to the cart. There was no way around it. She was going to have to leave her van where it was while she moved the cake to the right tent. She eyed the walkway warily. It looked smooth enough until you tried to push a cart with small wheels and a multi-tiered wedding cake on top.

Moving as slowly as possible, she began pushing the cart the long distance from her van to the tent. She saw people moving in the distance from the tents to Caitlyn’s van. She assumed they were helping her with the flowers. As she drew closer to the tents, she saw a tall woman with a fat braid of red hair down her back and knew it was Erica.

She watched as Erica slid into Caitlyn’s van and pulled away. Several minutes later, Erica came walking back. Instead of going toward the tents, Erica veered off and headed toward Lauren.

“Do you want me to move your van?” Erica asked.

Lauren stopped and pulled her keys out. “Are you saying someone would give me a ticket if it isn’t moved?”

Erica laughed. “No promises.”

“Better safe than sorry then.” Lauren continued pushing her cart as Erica quickly walked away.

Finally, she reached the tents. The first one didn’t look like it was waiting for a wedding cake so she continued down the row until she found one that did. It had separate seating for the bridal party and a special table that Lauren assumed was for her.

“You made it,” Caitlyn said from behind her.

“Was there any doubt?” Lauren asked.

“We’re having a lot of curve balls thrown our way today.” Caitlyn helped Lauren navigate the cart to the cake table. “That looks amazing.”

“Thanks. I like your floral arrangements too.”

“I still have a bit to finish,” Caitlyn said. “Now that you have the cake here, I can finish this table.”

After transferring the cake, Lauren looked around. “What about cups, plates, napkins, and all that other stuff?”

Caitlyn gave a wry smile. “Like I said. A lot of curve balls.”

“Oh, this looks amazing.” Jennifer stepped into the tent. “How has everything been going so far?”

Caitlyn turned to face the bride. “Wow. I love that dress.”

Jennifer pointed at her. “You’re prevaricating.”

“I am, yes.” Caitlyn smiled.

“Where is Uncle Nolan? I’d like to touch base with him before the ceremony.” Jennifer stepped out of the tent.

Caitlyn and Lauren followed her.

“There was a slight change of plan with that,” Caitlyn said. “But nothing bad. Mayor Reynolds is going to perform the ceremony instead so that part was handled.”

Jennifer’s eyes widened but she didn’t say anything.

“And here I am,” Barbara said as she joined them. “You make a lovely bride, Jennifer. It’s a beautiful day for a wedding, isn’t it?”

Jennifer nodded her agreement but kept her focus on Caitlyn. “What else?” She looked around the square. “Is the band here yet? They’re supposed to play when I walk down the aisle.”

Caitlyn let out a breath. “We’re still waiting on the band.”

Jennifer narrowed her eyes at Caitlyn.

“And the food.” Caitlyn added. She put her hands up. “But I’m sure Jim and Doug have that figured out.”

Jennifer clasped her hands together. “Yes. I’m sure you’re right. Everything will be just fine.”

Lauren shared a look with Caitlyn as Jennifer turned to walk away. “I’ll get my cart out of here and come back to help.”

Caitlyn nodded her agreement and went to check the other tents.

***

Mandy thought her face was going to break. She’d never smiled so much in her life. She’d also never thought that she would enjoy herself so much. She thought the turnout had been very nice. Everyone she’d met so far had been so kind. She glanced over at Del Langley again. She knew that he wasn’t happy. She didn’t have to guess why. He’d been very vocal about all of his complaints. As she signed her name for the next person in line, she could hear his voice across the book store. At least he wasn’t close enough to actually understand the words.

She smiled again as she held out the signed copy of her book then chatted with the person a little while longer before turning to the last two people in line.

“Hello.” Mandy smiled at the young boy she had drawn in the town square. “You don’t have your dolphin with you today.”

“Dolphins can’t walk,” Sheldon said.

Mandy laughed. “No, I suppose they can’t.”

“Are you a famous author?” Sheldon asked.

Mandy felt her cheeks grow warm. “Not yet. Maybe someday. Once I have a few more books published.”

Brianna handed her copy of the book to Mandy. “I bought this quite a while ago. Your sales were doing well then and I understand they’ve shot up since. You should have earned quite a hefty commission based on the numbers I’ve seen.”

Mandy knew her cheeks must really be red by now. “Yeah. I thought so too, but my publisher said it doesn’t work that way. It’s only a tiny fraction of the net sales and the publisher has a lot of costs.”

“Are we done here?” Del looked pointedly at Mandy.

Mandy’s smile faltered. “Almost. My young friend here has a book for me to sign.” Mandy turned the book around and flipped open the cover.

“You’ll need to learn not to take as much time with each person if you want these events to be more profitable,” Del said.

“We’re the last in line and we didn’t mind waiting since we knew she’d be taking the same amount of time with us,” Brianna said.

Mandy watched as Del’s skin paled in the face of the woman in front of him. She thought the woman’s steely smile was impressive. If she ever had to draw an evil character, that was the smile she’d try to draw. Then again, maybe not. It might scare children too much. Mandy looked back at Del waiting to see what his response would be. She saw his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed.

“Well,” Del said.

“Given her current sales figures, her commission should be at minimum ten times what you’re currently paying her,” Brianna continued. “Her first book has been in the top ten list in her genre for months and was at number one before that. You must be making quite a pretty penny from her efforts.”

“Now, see here,” Del said.

Brianna ignored him and turned to Mandy. “If I were you, I’d look for someone else to publish with. Someone more professional who understands how to treat a winning author who also does her own artwork.”

Mandy smiled as she handed the signed book to the child in front of her. He flashed her a grin before turning to follow his mother out of the book store. Just as he reached the door, he turned and waved to her. She was still smiling when she looked up at Del.

“Well.” His Adam’s apple bobbed again. “Maybe we could discuss revising your current contract.”

***

Caitlyn caught up with Megan and Lauren in the main tent with the table for the bridal party.

“I think we’re as far as we can be at this point.” Caitlyn pulled out her phone and began typing a text. “Where’s Jennifer?”

“She’s mingling with the guests,” Lauren said. “Everyone seems happy where they are at the moment.”

“How far out is the groom?” Megan asked.

“The groom and the food,” Lauren said.

“That’s what I’m about to check on now.” Caitlyn finished sending her text then scrolled through the ones she received. “According to Doug, the food should be here.”

They looked at each other with raised brows. Caitlyn stepped out of the tent first, followed by the others. What she saw made her laugh.

“They sent the food trucks?” Megan asked.

“It would be the best way to keep the food warm in transit,” Lauren said. “It also gives them full access to mobile kitchens. I think it’s brilliant.”

“Now we just have to figure out how to get the food to the tents,” Megan reminded them.

“According to Doug, they have help for that.” Caitlyn watched as the food trucks got into position. Before they’d even cut the engines, the firefighters had left the seating area and were on their way to meet the trucks.

“That’s Tyler and Holly,” Megan said as they watched the pair get out of one of the food trucks.

“Doug’s text said that they volunteered to help with the food when they heard what happened,” Caitlyn said. “The firefighters are going to help also. Do you think you two can oversee getting the food in place? I need to put my other hat on and go play maid of honor.”

“Go,” Megan and Lauren said at the same time.

Caitlyn worked her way through the crowd of people. Since the last time she’d been near the gazebo, the number of people there had grown exponentially. She finally managed to make it to Jennifer’s side.

“We’re almost there,” Caitlyn said when she had Jennifer’s attention. “The food is handled. The groom will be here any moment.”

Jennifer put her hand on Caitlyn’s arm. “I can’t thank you enough for all of your help.”

“That’s what friends are for. About the band,” Caitlyn said.

Jennifer put her hand up. “Given everything else we’ve had thrown at us, it’s not worth worrying about. I’m grateful that everyone I love will be here with me when I say my vows. If it happens without music, I’ll still be happy.”

Caitlyn smiled. “I had an idea.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Caitlyn glanced at the time. She excused herself from the small group of people she was speaking with and returned to Jennifer’s side.

“We should probably get into place,” Caitlyn said.

Jennifer looked around. “What do you mean? I didn’t think there was anywhere else to go.”

Caitlyn motioned to the water fountain. “If we wait on the other side, no one will be able to see us, including Jim. You’ll still be able to make an entrance.”

“That sounds perfect.” Jennifer looked down at her hands.

“Your bouquet,” Caitlyn said. “I’ll get both yours and mine and bring them. Go. Jim and the others should be here any minute.”

Caitlyn watched as Jennifer did as instructed then turned to get the bouquet. As she did, she glanced out at the street wondering if Jim was already arriving. What she saw instead was a small traffic jam. The streets around the square were filled with food trucks and parked cars from attendees of the wedding who were lucky to get a close spot. Others were still walking toward the town square. Traffic was clogged on the streets as drivers were forced to slow for those using the crosswalks. Many drivers appeared to be just gawking at the wedding about to take place.

Caitlyn stopped next to Erica and Jerry and nodded toward the street. Both took the hint and began walking toward the street. Caitlyn heard Erica on her phone calling for uniformed backup to handle the traffic. In the distance, Caitlyn could see Jim, Doug, and Emmet crossing the street on their way to the gazebo. They had not been lucky enough to find a close spot. Caitlyn retrieved the last box from the main tent and removed the bouquets before following Jennifer to the other side of the fountain with Megan at her side.

“I seriously need some pictures now,” Megan said as Caitlyn handed the bouquet to Jennifer.

“Pictures! I’d forgotten all about that. It was supposed to be handled at the hall.” Jennifer looked down at her bouquet. “It’s beautiful.”

Megan lifted her camera. “I’ll take some of just the bride, then I’ll want some with both of you. We’ll use the water fountain as the backdrop.”

She was just finishing when they were joined by Emmet, Daryl, and Vince.

“Jim is ready,” Emmet said. He stopped and stared at Jennifer. “You look beautiful.”

She flashed him a brilliant smile. “You look pretty snazzy yourself.” She turned to Daryl and Vince. “Hey, guys. Glad you could make it.”

“They’re your music,” Caitlyn said. She smiled when she saw the look on Jennifer’s face change from confusion to delight.

“Ready?” Emmet asked as he held out his arm.

“Definitely.” Jennifer flashed another smile.

Caitlyn preceded Jennifer and her father. Vince and Daryl were behind them singing as they followed. Megan moved around and continued to take pictures. As she walked slowly down the sidewalk to the gazebo, Caitlyn smiled at everyone she passed. She could see that Erica and Jerry had returned from impromptu traffic duty. She saw a police cruiser with two uniformed officers directing traffic. From what she could tell, it looked like Rhys and Ian.

When she reached the gazebo, Caitlyn mounted the stairs to join Jim, Doug, and Mayor Reynolds and moved off to the side. Jim went down the steps and held out his hand for Jennifer. Emmet joined the other two singers as Jennifer climbed the steps to the gazebo with Jim. Mayor Reynolds waited until the singers completed the song before beginning.

Caitlyn stood next to Jennifer facing the mayor and listened as the mayor spoke. When the mayor asked the bride to repeat the vows, Jennifer turned to Jim and held up one finger. Caitlyn felt her brows go up. She leaned forward and looked past Jim’s surprised face to Doug’s. He shook his head slightly. Caitlyn looked back at Jennifer. The bride crossed to the side of the gazebo and motioned to Erica and Jerry.

There was a hushed discussion that resulted in Erica pulling out her phone. Both Erica and Jerry turned their attention to the far side of the town square that Caitlyn had been facing with the others in the wedding party. Caitlyn’s focus had been on the mayor during the ceremony so far. She hadn’t paid any attention to what was going on around them. Caitlyn looked across the distance and could see some sort of altercation between a man and a woman.

Jennifer and the others watched as the officers handling the traffic left their positions and quickly crossed the town square headed toward the altercation. Once the officers arrived, Jennifer rejoined the rest of the wedding party. The mayor’s brows went up in question. Jennifer nodded her agreement. The ceremony continued.

At the end of it all, Jim and Jennifer were pronounced man and wife. Jennifer and Jim went down the steps of the gazebo while Emmet, Daryl, and Vince sang another song. Caitlyn walked over to Doug and took his arm. He glanced behind them toward the altercation then looked at her. She shook her head. She had no idea what it was about either. They went down the steps of the gazebo and followed Jennifer and Jim. When they made it past the chairs of everyone in attendance, they stopped to form a greeting line.

Caitlyn remained by Doug’s side making small talk with people as they passed by on their way to the newlyweds to offer their congratulations. When Erica reached them, Caitlyn leaned in to ask her a question.

“What was that all about?” Caitlyn couldn’t see the other side of the town square from her current vantage point.

“Domestic. The wife filed a restraining order. Apparently, the husband wasn’t happy about it and finally did something with witnesses. All of us.” Erica moved past Caitlyn to take her turn with the newlyweds.

Someone stopped behind Caitlyn and Doug to whisper in his ear. Doug listened to them then turned to Caitlyn.

“Sounds like they have the food ready.”

Caitlyn let out a sigh. It may not have been the most traditional of weddings, but they’d managed to make it through.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Erica entered the kitchen early Sunday morning with a baby on each hip.

“That smells awesome.” She stopped next to the first high chair.

Brad turned from the stove and held his arms out for the closest baby. Maddie smiled and thrust herself toward him.

“Whoa, there. Careful.” He caught her easily and took her to the second high chair as Erica got Mason settled into the first one.

She went to the fridge to get some food and drinks for them. He picked up some plates from the table and returned to the stove.

“What was the call from Jerry?” he asked.

“Nothing that would take me away from here today, but he had some ideas about what to tackle first thing tomorrow.” She bumped the fridge door closed with her hip and carried everything to the table.

“You aren’t thinking it’s the girlfriend anymore?” He finished filling one plate and set it on the table by Erica.

“It’s not looking that way at the moment but she’s still a person of interest. She definitely had means. She was the one who found him.” Erica began getting food ready for the twins.

“Weren’t there others who were also close by?” He carried a second plate over and took a seat across from her.

She pushed over some food for him to feed to Maddie. “We’ve been looking at them also but we want to take a closer look now.”

“The pregnant woman?” He held a spoon of food in front of Maddie and began making noises to get her attention.

“She’s on the list. We also want to take another swipe at the hospital employees but widen the net a bit more.” Erica tried tempting Mason with some breakfast. His attention shifted from his sister to the food in front of him. “Here you go.”

***

“You think there’s someone at the hospital that you haven’t spoken to yet that may know something?” Madison added more fruit to her plate and pushed the bowl across to Jerry.

“Someone knows something. We’ve spoken to several residents at the apartment complex the victim co-owned. At least, the ones who were most vocal about a recent rent increase.” Jerry transferred some fruit to his plate. “We’ve spoken to the victim’s staff and colleagues at the medical center where he held office hours.”

Madison poured juice into two glasses. “You’re going to focus on the hospital now?”

“We’ve spoken with several people there already.” He reached for a glass of juice. “But so far, no one claims to know anything about a mistress.”

Madison tilted her head as she considered it. “You’re sure there is one?”

The glass stopped halfway to his mouth. “The wife is convinced there is. They are usually the first to know.”

Madison raised one eyebrow but remained silent as she ate her fruit.

Jerry set his glass down. “You think there might not be?”

“I think it’s worth a What-If Analysis.”

He speared some fruit with his fork. “Okay. Give me an example.”

“What if she’s the one who is cheating?” Madison speared the last strawberry on her plate.

“Possible. Theoretically, someone should know something about it.”

“You’ve spoken to the people she works with?” Madison pushed her empty plate away.

He shook his head. “Riley Fletcher doesn’t work.”

“Her neighbors?”

“The farm is so remote, there really aren’t any other houses within view. No one claimed to know anything about the Fletchers’ activities.”

Her brow went up again. “A little convenient, don’t you think?”

“We’ve talked about it,” he admitted.

“What did Erica think?”

“She thought it deserved more attention. I agreed. We want to hit the hospital early tomorrow though. Dr. Fletcher was usually there pretty early.”

“You’re hoping to catch anyone he may have come into contact with,” she guessed.

He nodded as he stood. “Due diligence. It has to be done.” He took their plates to the sink. “Then we look at the rest.”

***

Dena Baker stood quickly to look out the window over the kitchen sink. Her back yard was fenced in, but she still worried if she couldn’t hear her sons when they were playing. Normally, they kept up a running dialog between them. Often, it no doubt sounded contentious to anyone who didn’t know them. In reality, it was just a lively discourse the two brothers enjoyed.

They were only a year apart in age and acted more like twins. Luke was the oldest at nine. Eight-year-old Asher was every bit as outspoken as his older brother and often dictated the rules he wanted them to follow for some new game the two of them created. Both were extremely creative and developing new activities was something they did often.

After spotting them on the side of the yard near the badminton net with a kickball, she ducked back down under the sink. Picking up the wrench, she tried once more to tighten the connection. Somehow, the strainer flange had become loose. Or maybe it was technically the locknut that connected the flange to the drain pipe. She really had no clue how a sink worked.

As soon as she had discovered that her sink had been leaking, she’d found a web site to try to figure out what to do. Actually, it wasn’t just a leak. Apparently, every time she’d used the sink recently, most of the water had been going under the sink instead of down the drain. As a result, much of what she’d had stored underneath the sink was now ruined.

Her first task had been to send the boys outside to keep the busy. They’d both wanted to crawl under the sink to check it out. After that, she separated the things that could be salvaged from the things she’d have to throw away. Finding a web site to help was the easiest part. Finding the matching tool wasn’t difficult either. Now that she was single, she actually kept pliers and crescent wrenches in a drawer in the kitchen.

The trick was getting the thing tight enough. Dena climbed back under the sink, lying flat on her back. Although she had done what she could to dry the area under the sink, her shirt was soaked in the back. She held her arms up and tried once more to tighten whatever was loose. It hadn’t worked the first several times she’d done it and she doubted if she would be entirely successful this time either. But since there weren’t any other options, she tried again.

The sound of Luke and Asher’s voices grew louder as they reached the kitchen door. Dena panicked when she realized that there was a third voice mingled in with theirs. It was a low voice, a man’s voice. She couldn’t hear clearly from underneath the sink. She struggled to get out as quickly as possible and managed to stand just as the boys entered the kitchen.

Dena grasped the tool in both hands tightly and stood facing the door. Gabe Parker stepped in behind the boys and immediately held his hands up.

“Whoa. It’s just me.” Gabe started at the top of Dena’s head and looked down.

She knew she looked bad. It wasn’t just her backside that was wet. The times she’d tested her handiwork had resulted in the front of her being sprayed as well. She didn’t care. “You scared me.”

“I’m sorry. I stopped in to say hello. The boys saw me and told me you had a problem in the kitchen. I just came in to see if I can do anything.” His hands were still up in the air. He looked pointedly at the tool in her hands. “Want me to give it try? I can’t make any promises. If it doesn’t have four wheels, I’m not usually a lot of help.”

Dena lowered her hands. She sniffed loudly and nodded her head. When he reached her, she held the tool out for him. “The floor’s still pretty wet under there.”

“I’m used to getting dirty when I work,” he said.

“Can I help?” Luke crossed over to the sink and squatted down next to Gabe.

“I could really use a flashlight,” Gabe said. “Maybe one of you could hold that for me.”

Asher grabbed the flashlight from the counter. “Got it.” He squatted down next to Luke.

“Okay, Asher. You’re going to point the flashlight right up here. Got that? We need to be able to see what we’re doing.” Gabe stretched out on his back and worked his way into the sink. “Luke, you’re down here with me.”

Luke got into the same position as Gabe and squirmed his way under the sink. Dena could hear the two of them under there discussing their plan of attack. Asher leaned against Gabe’s legs to get the flashlight in closer.

“Okay, we’re going to give it a try. Ready with the flashlight?” Gabe asked.

Asher turned it on. Less than a minute later, Gabe called to Dena and asked her to turn the faucet on. She crossed the room and did as he asked, expecting to hear everyone yell when they were splashed.

“Looks like we got it,” Gabe said. “Good job, guys.”

She stepped out of the way when the three of them extricated themselves and stood. None of them looked dirty or even wet.

“Thanks. I think I managed to dry the space under there with my clothes for you first,” Dena said with a wry smile. “I’m going to go change.” As she walked away from the kitchen, she could hear the three of them talking as they returned the salvageable items under the sink.

***

“Did Gabe say why he couldn’t make it today?” Megan stood in the middle of the garden holding a container of vegetable plants.

“Nope. Just said he had other plans.” Dan took the plants from Megan and began putting them into the holes he’d made with the hoe.

“Well, that might be a good thing. It sounds like he’s trying to move on from LeAnn.” Megan got another container holding four more plants.

“His business seems to be picking up.” Dan covered the new plants with dirt.

She counted the remaining holes. “I think we’re going to be short.”

He stood and looked around. “I’m not complaining. We could fit some more hot pepper plants over there.”

“I think the map you drew of the garden layout really helped.” She handed him the last four plants. “We definitely are fitting more in this way.”

“It might be a little tight once they’re all full grown,” he said.

She nodded agreement. “You won’t be able to fit the little rototiller in between that last row. We’ll have to weed by hand there.”

He flashed her a smile. “It’ll be worth it for more hot peppers.”

She shook her head but smiled back. “I’ll stop tomorrow and pick up some more plants from the nursery. If I wait too long, they might run out.”

***

“Your wedding day wasn’t too much of a disappointment, was it?” Jim glanced in the rear-view mirror.

Jennifer turned from looking out the passenger window of the car. “Are you kidding? I think it was perfect.”

He looked at her quickly, trying to decide if she was serious. “Are you sure? Absolutely nothing you had planned turned out the way you expected it to. We could do something again, if you’d prefer.”

“What part didn’t you like?”

He thought about it as he drove. “Actually, I’m not sure I’d change a thing.”

She settled back in her seat with a happy sigh. “My father sang at my wedding.”

He smiled as he thought of it. “That he did.”

“Most of our family was there. I am sorry that your uncle Nolan didn’t make it until after the ceremony.”

“Having the mayor marry us worked out in more ways than one,” Jim said.

“It did,” she agreed.

“I really liked the cake. Lauren outdid herself,” he said.

“The flowers were beautiful. Everyone seemed really happy with the food.”

“You helped a woman in need during the ceremony.” He slowed to take a curve.

“With the help of the mayor who took charge of the incident as soon as the ceremony was over. Hopefully, Brianna’s future will be a little brighter now too,” Jennifer murmured.

“Okay, you’re right. It really was perfect.” He pulled into a driveway.

Jennifer sat up straighter. “Where are we?” The driveway was lined with trees.

“This, Mrs. Baxter, is your new home away from home.” Jim stopped the car when they reached the cabin and turned to her. “I found it totally by accident one day not long ago. I hope you like it. If not, we’ll sell it.”

She looked at him with a mix of curiosity and wonder before opening the door and sliding out. The cabin wasn’t too big or too small. It had a nice porch on the front with some comfortable chairs. The opening around the cabin was filled with green grass and wild flowers. She followed him to the porch. After unlocking the door, he lifted her up and carried her over the threshold before setting her down on the other side.

The cabin was an open floor plan. She looked up to a loft where she assumed the bedroom was. There was a kitchen with a small dining area and a living room with a fireplace downstairs. She assumed the door to one side led to a bathroom. He took her hand and led her to the exit in the rear of the cabin. They found a deck on the back of the cabin and a large lake.

“What do you think?” he asked.

“Are you kidding me? This is ours?”

He nodded. “I thought it might make it easier for two workaholics to take some time off if they had a place to hide out together. You don’t mind, do you? Spending our honeymoon here? It isn’t a fancy spa. It’s not even a fancy cabin.”

She leaned against him and looked out over the lake. The sun glittered off the water. There was a small group of geese coming in for a landing. She imagined that the colors of the trees surrounding the lake in the fall would be amazing.

“No, it isn’t fancy,” she agreed. “It’s way better.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

She was beginning to know her way around the hospital very well. Megan nodded to some people as she passed them on her way to the cafeteria. The woman she saw sitting in the corner didn’t look particularly approachable. Megan walked up to her table anyway.

Avery looked up from her notes and narrowed her eyes at Megan. “I really don’t have time for this.” Her light brown hair was cut in a no-nonsense style that suited her. She was tall for a woman and looked athletic as though she somehow managed to stick to a regular exercise routine with her current schedule.

Megan slid into the seat across from her. “I take it you’ve heard about me.”

“That I have from some of my colleagues. I’ve also already spoken with the police.” Avery’s eyes went back to her notes.

Megan nodded. “I know. Did they ask you about the way Dr. Fletcher treated the other female residents?”

Avery looked up to study Megan. “No and I don’t believe you heard that from any of my female colleagues.”

“You’re right, I didn’t. How did you know that?” Megan wondered if anyone could read Avery’s thoughts by studying her face. She seemed to have a very tight control over the emotions she allowed to show.

“It didn’t happen.” Avery’s voice was matter-of-fact.

“Recently? Or ever?”

“Not since I’ve been here and I would have heard if he had a history of it.” Avery tilted her head. “Why do you ask?”

“Partly because I’m trying to learn what kind of person Gordon Fletcher was.”

Avery leaned back in her seat. “And the other part?”

“I’m trying to decide who is telling the truth about the man now.”

“Interesting tactics,” Avery said. She no longer looked as dismissive. “What have you learned so far?”

“I haven’t spoken with everyone yet,” Megan said. “But I don’t believe Dr. Fletcher chased women even though he’s been known to tell them he’s single.”

Avery nodded slowly. “I don’t know about all of that. I do know that he didn’t treat the female residents any different than the males and he never behaved inappropriately with me. Not in that way.”

“He did in others?”

Avery shook her head. “Not in any way you might be thinking. What I meant was, I felt his research interests were lacking.”

“Lacking?”

“The man wasn’t keeping up in his field as well as I thought he should.” Avery glanced around the cafeteria. “I’m just starting out in my career. I need to know what’s happened before, but I want to learn about new research areas in our field.”

“He wasn’t pushing you hard enough? I thought he had a tendency to pit you all against each other?”

“Oh, he pushed. And pitted.” Avery gave a wry smile. “But not toward the future. Not the way I would have wanted him to.”

“Did the other residents on your team feel the same way?”

Avery’s face returned to a more impenetrable mask. “I have no idea. You’d have to ask them.”

“I have heard that some of the residents complained about Dr. Fletcher,” Megan said.

Avery began gathering her notes. “Such as?”

Megan thought of the resident seen near Dr. Fletcher’s house around the time of his death. “Scott Nelson, for example.”

Avery stood. “You might want to speak with Scott about that.”

***

Megan made a mental note to be more understanding of her own doctor’s schedule as she watched the different employees of the hospital go about their duty. After asking a few of the staff about Scott Nelson’s typical schedule, she ultimately ended up back in the cafeteria, trying to catch him on a break. According to the staff she spoke with, he was known to grab sugar and caffeine around the same time.

He spotted her as soon as he entered the cafeteria. She assumed that meant that he had also heard about her from the other interns. She wondered what it was they had said. She watched as Scott went through the short line to pay before he turned and headed her way. She smiled her thanks when he nodded toward the seat across from her.

“They tell me you’re interested in Dr. Fletcher’s death.” He set a large cup of coffee and a piece of pie on the table.

“If I had known you had a sweet tooth, I would have tried bribing you with my own homemade pie.”

He made a face at the triangle on his plate. “This isn’t homemade. Sometimes, I can’t even name the fruit they used.”

“It makes a difference when you grow your own,” Megan said. “My cherry pie isn’t that red.”

He cut into the pie with his fork. “You don’t use food coloring. That’s how my grandmother’s was. You could really taste the cherries.”

“I know you don’t have much time for your break. Can I ask you about Dr. Fletcher?”

Scott gave a half smile as he finished chewing. “Talk about pies. That man had his finger in way too many.”

“What do you mean?”

Scott wiped his mouth. “He should have stepped down. He wasn’t keeping up the way he should have. Not with us, anyway. I can only imagine that his practice was suffering too.”

“I understand that you arrived late for your rounds the day Dr. Fletcher died?”

“I talked to the police,” he said before taking a sip of his coffee.

“I know.”

“Then you should know that I told them I wasn’t the one who was late. Zach was.” He took another bite of pie.

“Zach Martinez?” Megan thought about what Justin had told her. That Zach had switched his story about Dr. Fletcher. Before his death, Zach had complained about him. After his death, Zach had only good things to say. “You told the police that?”

“I did.” Scott took the last bite of pie and stood with the plate and fork in one hand. He grabbed his coffee with the other. “I’m sure the police will have spoken to him about that.”

Megan was sure they would, if they knew. As Scott Nelson walked away, she pulled out her phone and texted Erica, just in case.

***

Darius King didn’t try to hide his impatience. “I really don’t have time for this.”

Megan moved closer to the wall so she was out of the path of traffic in the busy hallway. A gurney went by pushed by a large man in blue scrubs.

“I know you’re busy. I’m sorry. It will only take another moment and I’ll leave.” She held up her hand. “I promise.”

Darius let out an audible sigh and moved to a nearby alcove. “How did you find me anyway?”

Megan didn’t really want to give up her informant. She was afraid the man would take it out on the nurse she had spoken with at the station.

“I don’t want to take up too much of your time. If I could just ask about Dr. Fletcher?”

“What about him?” Darius looked around as though searching for an escape.

“I understand some of the members of your team weren’t happy with him?”

Darius sighed again. “Complaints? Honestly, that’s all I ever hear from them. I wish they would just stop and focus on the real issues.”

Megan wondered why Darius had opted for his current vocation. “Which are?”

“Who cares about the idiosyncrasies of a short-term supervisor? What’s going to happen when our residency is over?” Darius was staring intently at Megan now.

“I imagine you’ll open a practice, right?” She thought about where she was standing. “Or you could work in a hospital.” She could tell by the look on his face that neither option appealed to him.

He automatically reached for his phone when it buzzed. “Sometimes I think I should try getting a teaching job. I don’t really care for the hours as a practitioner.”

Megan wondered as she watched him walk away what kind of a teacher he’d be.

Chapter Twenty-Four

She pulled into Anderson and Cramer Nursery and found a parking spot near the entrance. As she turned off the engine, she realized with a guilty jolt that she’d enjoyed the ride. Her new SUV was comfortable, she had to give it that. It also had an excellent sound system. She liked that she was still higher than a regular car would be. That had been a major selling point. After driving a pickup truck for so many years, test driving a regular car had made her feel as though she was sitting right on the roadbed.

She walked through the main gates separating the parking lot from the inventory and headed for the flats of vegetable plants. As much as the fruit trees called to her to look at them, Megan knew she didn’t really need any more at the moment.

“Hey, Megan. I thought you had everything you needed for your garden?” Trina stopped with a cart full of flowers.

“We thought so too, but Dan came up with a new configuration for the garden so he could squeeze in some more hot pepper plants.” Megan glanced at Trina’s cart. “Looks like a big order.”

Trina nodded her agreement. “It is and this isn’t anything compared to the rest I already have set aside. There’s also a couple of loads of mulch that goes with it.”

“Must be a new housing development?” Megan guessed as she reached for another four pack of hot peppers.

“No, it’s for a regular customer. Well, they used to be anyway. The owner just died, actually. I’m kind of surprised the wife moved back in.” Trina reached for the handle of her cart and started to push.

Megan straightened with another four pack of peppers. “Died? Which owner was that?”

“Dr. Fletcher.” Trina stopped and looked at Megan. “Sounds like he wasn’t your doctor?”

Megan set the peppers down and walked over to Trina. “No, he wasn’t. What did you say about his wife?”

Trina looked around and lowered her voice before speaking. “She stopped here a little earlier to put in her order. She said she was going to the feed store next. Is this one of your puzzles?”

“Yes. This is Riley Fletcher you’re talking about, right? You said she wasn’t living at the Fletcher farm?”

“She moved out of the house quite a while ago from what I remember. We’ve been working out there ever since Jax and Seth initially started the lawn care business. Dr. Fletcher hired us to maintain his lawn and handle all of the landscaping, including the flowers,” Trina said. “His wife used to make suggestions about the flowers until they separated. Before he died, we were making all of the decisions for his landscaping for him. He said it was too much to even think about.”

“Now his wife wants new flowers planted?” Megan asked.

Trina nodded. “She still wants us to handle the grass long-term, but she wants all new flowers and mulch put in now.”

“Interesting,” Megan said.

“I thought the same thing given that he hasn’t been gone for very long.” Trina reached for her cart again.

“And you are certain that she wasn’t living there with him?”

“I’m absolutely positive.”

***

“Have things gotten any easier?” Dan asked as he leaned against the aisle endcap.

“You mean, since my husband was arrested?” Brianna asked. She crossed her arms. “A little. We’ll see how long it lasts.”

“I was sorry to see that happen,” he said.

Brianna’s smile was hard. “I’m not. I’m glad that everyone saw it, including the mayor of the town. He can’t lie his way out of it now.”

“I know. I meant, I’m sorry that it had to happen,” Dan tried again.

Brianna’s smile was softer this time. “Thanks.” She turned when she heard someone behind her. She nodded to the woman who approached them.

“Can I help you?” Dan straightened.

“I’m sorry to bother you. I was looking for special feed for my horses. I’m not finding the green color that matches the bags I have.” Riley glanced from Brianna to Dan.

“You bought them from here?” Dan asked as he started walking toward the aisle with the horse feed.

“My husband always did. I’m Riley. Riley Fletcher. Gordon always bought his feed from here.” Riley turned to follow Dan but he stopped moving.

“Oh, you want the blue bags,” Dan said.

“No, they’re green.” Riley looked confused.

Dan shook his head. “We don’t sell green. Maybe he got them from somewhere else?”

“I think I know what happened,” Brianna said. “It was that morning that I took care of the delivery.”

“There was a problem?” Dan asked Brianna.

“Yes. I didn’t know part of the order was wrong and I signed for it. I’m sorry,” Brianna said. Her smile was gone.

“It happens,” Dan said with a shrug. “Did part of that order go to Dr. Fletcher’s farm?”

Brianna nodded. “All of it. The green bags, that is.”

“Well, I’ll take whatever color Gordon normally ordered then,” Riley said with a smile.

Dan entered the order into the system and took the payment. “I’ll have this delivered to you first thing in the morning.”

He was still standing in the same place with Brianna talking about the delivery when Megan walked in.

“Hey. What’s wrong?” Dan closed the distance between them.

“Nothing. Was that Riley Fletcher I just saw pulling out of the parking lot?” Megan smiled at Brianna.

“Yes. She was here ordering feed for the horses. Why?”

Megan shook her head. “I’m not sure yet. Is that all she asked for?”

“You think this has something to do with the puzzle of Dr. Fletcher’s death?” Dan glanced at Brianna. “Refresh my memory. What day did you say you had a problem with the delivery?”

Megan focused on Brianna. “There was a problem?”

Brianna shrugged. “I didn’t know, I’m sorry.”

Megan smiled again. “That’s okay. I’m just working on a bit of a puzzle involving Dr. Fletcher. Maybe you know a little about it that might help. Can you tell me what happened?”

Brianna glanced at Dan first. “It was last week, on Monday. A week ago. I took care of the delivery from the truck. Part of it was wrong but I didn’t know that. Not until after the truck had left. It took me a long time to go through the entire list of what was supposed to be in the order. The truck driver didn’t want to wait, so I signed off on it.”

“Monday,” Megan said. “That’s the day Dr. Fletcher died.”

“He already had an order in for feed. I sent the green bags that we received that morning for his order,” Brianna said.

“You don’t usually send him green?” she asked Dan.

“No. He always ordered the blue ones. We’ve never stocked green before. Is this important?”

Megan pulled her phone out. “I need to call Erica. The day I was with Riley feeding the horses she told me that she hadn’t been in the horse barn since before Gordon Fletcher’s death. She was too broken up to feed the horses herself. I was going to do it for her until someone else arrived and took over.”

“So?” Dan asked.

“So the only way she would have known that the feed bags were green was if she’d seen them. She was either lying about not being there after he died,” Megan said. “Or she was the one who killed him.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

“It was a nice parade.” Lauren leaned forward and gave another gentle push on Grace’s swing.

“It was.” Caitlyn stood in front of the twins and clapped her hands or made happy noises whenever the babies swung near her.

“I’m just glad it’s over without a major incident.” Erica pushed Mason.

“I liked the changes Jessilyn made to the parade route.” Megan pushed Maddie.

“I agree. The traffic pattern was so much better,” Erica said. “We had a lot fewer problems with it this way.”

“Mom! Mom! The horses let me pet them!” Noah stopped running just as he reached the babies. He pointed back toward the paddock. Mia was still over there with Dan, Justin, Doug, and Brad.

“That’s nice, sweetie. Remember not to make a lot of noise around the horses. They still aren’t used to being here yet.” Lauren smiled as Noah took off again to join the others.

“I can’t believe you’re horse-sitting,” Erica said.

Megan glanced over at the horses. “Casey said it was only temporary. No one knows what’s going to happen with the Fletcher farm yet.”

“They’re better off here,” Caitlyn said. “Until everything else is figured out.”

“How long do you think that will take?” Lauren asked.

Erica pushed Mason. “That’s up to the courts. The police department is out of it at this point.”

“It sounded like there were a lot of possible suspects in this puzzle,” Caitlyn said.

“Dr. Fletcher stretched himself pretty thin and made some enemies along the way, that’s for sure,” Megan said. “The tenants at his apartment complex were mad at him for raising the rent.”

“I can’t believe that Tom’s truck was totaled by a pregnant woman who was lost and trying to get to a bathroom,” Caitlyn said.

“I can,” Megan said.

“Me too.” Lauren held on to Grace’s swing and smothered her in kisses before letting her swing again.

“Me three,” Erica said. “You just wait.”

“I’m actually looking forward to it.” Caitlyn grinned at her.

“We’ll remind you of that at the most inappropriate times,” Erica said.

“No doubt.” Caitlyn laughed as she pretended to grab for Maddie and Mason’s feet.

“Amber ended up having a girl,” Megan said.

“I’m glad she wasn’t the guilty one in this story,” Lauren said.

“How did you figure out it wasn’t the tenants from the apartment complex?” Caitlyn asked.

“Most of them didn’t even know he co-owned the property,” Megan said.

“What about the hospital?” Lauren asked. “I know the residents weren’t happy with him.”

“Yeah, but in normal ways,” Erica said.

“What does that mean?” Caitlyn asked.

“Think about it. Doing a residency is hard on anyone. The residents didn’t like Dr. Fletcher but that wasn’t all that unusual. Gordon rode them hard because he wanted them to be good. Speaking as someone who had a tricky pregnancy, I want the doctors to be good too.” Erica watched Maddie reach for Mason.

“They did seem to point fingers at each other during the investigation,” Megan said.

“I agree,” Erica said. “That threw us off track until we figured it all out.”

“What about the resident that showed up late for rounds?” Lauren asked. “He said he had car problems?”

“That would be Zach. He was late because of a fight with his girlfriend. It checked out, there were witnesses,” Erica said. “The other one was in the area of the victim’s house because he happened to also live in that direction. His times and story checked out also.”

“How did you figure out it was Riley?” Lauren asked.

Megan explained the situation with the wrong feed being sent to the Fletcher farm by accident.

“Why did she kill him? Because he was cheating on her?” Caitlyn asked.

“Turns out, that wasn’t the case. Not that we could discover, anyway.” Erica held on to Mason’s swing for an extra moment before letting it go. He laughed so she did it to Maddie’s next.

“It wasn’t?” Lauren pushed Grace. “Everyone at the hospital seemed to think it was true.”

“That’s the thing. It was common knowledge but only because Riley told everyone who would listen. Fact was, she was the one cheating. He found out and threw her out of the house. She was living with her mom,” Erica said. “She told us it was because she was so distraught over her husband’s death.”

“Makes sense,” Lauren said. “I’d want my family around me.”

“Did she tell you why she did it?” Caitlyn asked.

“Money,” Erica watched Mason reach for Maddie. “She knew if he divorced her, she’d lose everything. She was planning to keep it all and move her boyfriend in at a later date.”

“That is too sad.” Grace twisted toward Lauren’s voice. “Uh, oh. Are we getting tired of the swing?”

“I think mine are too,” Erica said.

Caitlyn swooped in to help free the twins from the swing. She lifted Maddie and followed Erica and Mason to the back porch. Megan followed Lauren and Grace.

“How are you enjoying your new SUV?” Lauren asked.

“I feel guilty saying it, but I like it.” Megan climbed the steps to the porch and took a seat with the others.

“Your old truck has a good home with Ethan,” Caitlyn pointed out.

“True. I’m really happy that he has it.” Megan flipped some cups over and added some iced tea to them before passing them out.

“He’s working at the feed store now?” Lauren settled Grace on her lap.

“Just on the weekends,” Megan said. “He’s also pretty busy with his chores at the farm and helping Casey.”

“I’m glad that Brianna is working out too,” Lauren said. “That was a difficult situation for her during Jennifer and Jim’s wedding.”

“She seems to be handling it,” Megan said. “I guess it was the day for handling things. I know Jennifer was happy with the way Caitlyn handled her wedding.”

Lauren laughed. “Now that was a bit of a challenge. I think Caitlyn deserves a reward of some sort for that.”

Caitlyn held up Maddie’s hand and pretended to count her fingers. “It was a group effort. The volunteer firefighters were amazing. You all helped. There were a lot of others, too.”

“The mayor,” Megan said. “She helped by showing up at the last minute to perform the ceremony when Jim’s uncle got lost trying to get to the wedding.”

“That was another example of someone going in the wrong direction having a happy ending,” Erica said.

“Why do you say that?” Lauren asked.

“There’s Amber who caused Tom to wreck his truck but that ended up with Megan gifting her truck to Ethan,” Erica said. “There’s the uncle who didn’t make it to perform the ceremony.”

“How was that a happy ending?” Lauren brushed a wisp of Grace’s hair from her forehead.

“The mayor of Teaberry made a compelling witness for Brianna Hagan,” Erica said.

“Then there’s Jim,” Caitlyn said. The others frowned at her. “He got lost a couple hours outside of town and found a cabin on a lake. He bought it as a wedding present for Jennifer.”

“Ah!” Lauren kissed Grace’s head. “That is so sweet.”

Megan’s Recipe

Carrot Salad

1 bag carrot sticks (approx. 12-16 ounces or around 3 cups)
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 cup raisins
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup mayonnaise

Carrot sticks should be thinly sliced approximately the size of a match stick. Cut the lengths into manageable bite size, about an inch or so in length. Mix the cinnamon with the mayonnaise then add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well. Serve chilled. Shredded (grated) carrots could also be used or shredded red cabbage could be substituted for part of the three cups of carrots. If you like nuts, add 1/4 to 1/2 cups chopped walnuts.

Books by R. A. Wallace

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R. A. Wallace is the author of two cozy mystery series:

Indigo Investigations Cozy Mystery Series

Callie Indigo is struggling to make ends meet with her private detective agency, Indigo Investigations, while juggling the complexities of an extended family and life in general. When she isn’t working a legitimate case, she’s often talked into helping out friends and family. Just when she’s wondering if she’ll ever turn a profit, her life becomes even more complicated with the appearance of Greyson Divine who has the uncanny ability to appear just as Callie is solving a case. Callie has to admit, however, that sometimes Greyson Divine may actually be helpful. This cozy mystery offers a clean read with a female sleuth, friends, and family.

Teaberry Farm Bed & Breakfast Cozy Mystery Series

Megan is the main character in the series but interacts with a wide range of other characters in the fictional town of Teaberry. A difficult first marriage ended in the accidental death of her husband. She supports herself with her bed and breakfast, produce from her farm, and her tech skills as a web developer. Over time, she discovers that the love of her life was in front of her all along. Main characters in the series are multigenerational.