ELEVEN

They didn’t skimp on happy hour at 86 Cannon. Nate poured us each a glass of Veuve Clicquot while I put together a small plate of cheeses, sliced baguette, nuts, and fruits from the cheese board. Then we went out to the second-floor piazza. It was decorated similarly to the one below, but with more seating, and white grommet drapes around the perimeter, pulled back and tied at each column with a length of rope.

To the right, Tanna and Eric Mullinax occupied two chairs against the rail with a small table between them. Across from them on a sofa was a couple we hadn’t met. Mo and Jim Heedles were seated on one side of an outdoor sectional sofa on the end of the porch to our left. On the other side of the sofa, two women were taking turns telling a story. We were late to the party. We smiled and waved in both directions. The wicker chairs directly in front of the door were available, but not what we needed at that particular moment. They were isolated from everyone else.

“Let’s head over here,” I murmured to Nate and gestured right with my head. I wanted to speak to the folks from Travelers Rest. “Hey, y’all.”

“Hey,” said Tanna.

Eric stood. “Here, have a seat.”

“Oh no, thank you.” I waved away the notion of taking his chair. “I’ve been sitting in the car. I need to stand for a while.”

“I insist.” He smiled, held onto the chair as if holding it for me.

“You are a true Southern Gentleman,” I said. “Thank you so much.” I sat and placed my glass on the small table to my left. I glanced to the couple I pegged at mid-fifties across the porch. They were sipping something red. From the hue, I gathered it was the pinot noir. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Liz, and this is my husband, Nate.”

“Wynonna and Sam Williams.” She slurred the last name slightly. How many glasses of the pinot noir had the plump, sandy-haired woman had? “We’re from Dayton, Ohio.”

“How long y’all in town for?” asked Nate.

“We just got here yesterday afternoon,” said Wynonna. “We’re here ’til Wednesday, then we’re headed to Savannah.” One down. They hadn’t been here Sunday night.

Sam rattled the ice in his rocks glass. Apparently he’d been to the honor bar in the library for a stouter libation. “Hot out here. Think I’ll grab another.” He stood and headed towards the doorway.

“Tanna—it’s Tanna, right?” I took a sip of my champagne. “Such a lovely name.”

“Thank you.” Her smile was warm and genuine.

“You said y’all are from Travelers Rest, right?”

“Uh-huh.” She nodded.

“We met someone from Travelers Rest not too long ago. I’m trying to recall where. You remember, sweetheart?”

Nate furrowed his brow. “Young guy?”

“Yes. I believe his name was Brantley…” I looked up, like maybe I was searching for the name on the porch ceiling. “Brantley Miller. Now where did we meet him? Do y’all know the Miller family?”

Tanna paled, looked at Eric.

Eric cleared his throat. “I wouldn’t say we know them. We know of them.”

I gave Tanna an inquiring smile and took a bite of cheese.

Her hand went to her chest. “It’s a sad story, I’m afraid. Most of the Miller family passed away in a fire about six months ago. Mr. and Mrs. Miller. Their two teenagers. Brantley was the only one who survived.”

“Oh dear Heaven,” I said. “I had no idea. I’m so sorry to bring up sad memories.”

“Well,” said Eric, “it’s not like we knew them well.”

“It was just sad, is all,” said Tanna. “I understand they were very nice folks. The story on the news was filmed outside the Methodist Church during the funeral. It was overflowing with people.”

“I wonder how on earth Brantley was able to survive,” I said.

“The newspaper said he wasn’t home at the time of the fire,” said Tanna. “He’s in college now. Clemson, I think.”

“Do the authorities know what caused the fire?” asked Nate.

“A clogged dryer vent, of all things,” said Tanna.

I was hoping hard that was exactly what happened. But I couldn’t help but wonder if Darius’s son was a seriously disturbed young man. Imagining the worst was an occupational hazard for me.

“I’m terribly sorry to have bought it up,” I said. “Please, let’s talk of more pleasant things. What did y’all do this afternoon?”

“We had lunch at Cru Cafe over on Pinckney and then took a carriage tour,” said Tanna. “How about y’all?”

“Oh, I adore Cru! Their catering side did our wedding reception, didn’t they, sweetheart?” What we’d done that afternoon wasn’t very touristy.

“Well, you and your mamma put an awful lot of work into that menu, if I recall. But it was outstanding,” said Nate.

“Where all else have y’all eaten?” I asked.

“Saturday night we ate at Hank’s. Eric had to have fried seafood or he was gonna bust something. It was delicious. Then Sunday we spent the day on the beach over at Isle of Palms and grabbed a burger at Poe’s on Sullivan before we headed back. Monday was Poogan’s Porch and Tuesday was BBQ at Smoke. It sounds like all we’ve done is eat.”

“It all sounds delicious,” I said. “I’d love to have a day just to hang out on the beach and relax. That sounds heavenly to me. But being in the sun all day purely exhausts me.”

“Oh, me too,” said Tanna. “We came back here and fell into bed. I don’t think I even turned over ’til 8:00 the next morning.”

Two down.

Nate said, “Darlin’, I’m just going to step over here and speak to Jim.”

“Oh, wait,” I stood. “Y’all excuse us, please. We do need to go say hello.”

“Of course,” said Tanna.

Nate and I made our way to the other end of the porch. The two ladies were still talking in animated fashion, over the top of each other, while Mo and Jim smiled and nodded. We stood at the end of the sofa smiling.

The two women were maybe in their early forties, one blonde, one brunette. The story involved a sunrise kayak tour they’d taken from the marina at Isle of Palms, dolphins, and an alligator.

“It sounds fabulous,” said Mo when the blonde paused for breath. She looked at Nate and me. “Have you guys met Faith and Paige?”

We all said hey and exchanged pleasantries.

“We actually live on Stella Maris. We take the ferry ride from that same marina every time we come into town. Where are y’all from?” I asked.

“Atlanta,” said Faith, the blonde. “We came for a long weekend but decided to extend our stay.”

Why had they done that?

“You are so lucky,” said Paige.

“We are indeed,” said Nate. He looked at Mo and Jim. “Did y’all have a nice afternoon?”

“We did,” said Mo. “We had lunch at Five Loaves, then went on a walking tour. We just love all the historic homes.”

“Ah—Rainbow Row, the Battery. I especially love the houses along East Bay,” said Faith.

“Have y’all done any of the Plantation tours?” I asked.

“We have,” said Paige. “We left early Sunday and started at Middleton Place—the gardens are breathtaking. Then we went to Magnolia Plantation. I loved the gardens there too. I can’t decide which I liked better. Anyway, we had reservations at The Peninsula Grill, but we were so tired when we got back, we ordered takeout and crashed.”

If she were telling the truth, and I had no reason to suspect otherwise, Jim and Mo were our witnesses.

“Where’s everyone headed for dinner?” asked Nate.

Faith looked at her watch. “We need to change. We changed our reservation for Peninsula Grill to tonight.”

“Y’all enjoy,” I said. “If you like scallops, theirs are fabulous.”

They stood, said their goodbyes and left.

“What about y’all?” Nate and I slid into Faith and Paige’s recently vacated spots on the sofa.

“We thought about trying to get into McCrady’s,” said Jim.

“Restaurant or Tavern?” asked Nate. “The Tavern closed back at the end of July.”

“No, we were thinking about the restaurant,” said Mo. “The tasting menu sounds out of this world.”

“We’ve actually never been.” I looked at Nate. This was true. Charleston hosted a great many superb restaurants. We had our favorites and a long list of those we’d like to try. McCrady’s was on the list. But their single long U-shaped table was not the ideal setup for conversation amongst a party of four.

Nate lifted a shoulder, gave me a skeptical look. “Middle of the week in September. It’s possible, I guess. How would y’all feel about some company?”

“We’d love company,” said Mo. “Please come. If we can get in.” She sounded eager.

Nate pulled out his phone. “I’ll just step inside and give them a call.”

“We’d be happy to have you join us,” said Jim. “If they don’t have a table, maybe you could recommend a restaurant. You guys probably know all the best places to eat.”

“I think you’d be hard pressed to pick a bad restaurant in Charleston.” I mulled the best place for conversation. “Have y’all ever been to Charleston Grill? They have a tasting menu. But they’d likely be just as hard to get into on short notice.”

“Sounds great,” said Mo. “Really we’re fine with anything. I’m sure you’re right. We couldn’t go wrong. It’ll be nice to have company.”

Mixed emotions wrestled on Jim’s face. What was he thinking?

Nate stepped back to the porch, holding his phone to his chest. “McCrady’s has a spot for two. Shall I reserve it for y’all?”

Mo said, “Would you see if Charleston Grill has room for the four of us?”

“Certainly.” Nate stepped back into the kitchen.

“Oh, I hope they can work us in. Shall we walk?” I asked. “It’s a little more than a mile, but it’s straight down Cannon to King, then a nice stroll down King Street to the Shops at Charleston Place. Charleston Grill’s inside.”

Mo and Jim exchanged a glance. “I guess that’d be fine,” said Mo.

“Or we could drive,” I said, “or take a couple Scoops?”

“Scoops?” Mo squinted at me.

“It’s an electric car service on the peninsula. It’s free. You just tip your driver.”

“How do they do that?” asked Jim.

“Businesses advertise on tablets on the back of the headrests,” I said.

Nate walked back onto the porch. “All set. I hope 7:00 works for everyone.”

“Sure,” said Mo. “It’s fine.”

“We need to change,” I said. “If we want to walk, we’ll need to leave here by 6:30.”

“Let’s just take the electric cars,” said Mo.

“All right,” I said. “I’ll call and arrange for two of them to pick us up at 6:45.”

  

Behind the closed door of room number five, I said, “It has to be them, right?”

“By process of elimination, has to be.”

“What was up with you offering them a table for two at McCrady’s?”

“I was testing to see if they really wanted company this evening. If they’d have gone for it, the table would’ve been snatched right out from under them by a pair of scallywags while we were talking.”

“I can’t believe Charleston Grill had a table available at 7:00. I was prepared to have to eat late this evening.”

“There’s a story there, but I can’t tell it. Wouldn’t be in my best interests. Best to let you think I pulled a rabbit out of a hat.”

“Well done,” I said.

“All in a day’s work.”

“Listen, you know Jenkins told them not to talk to anyone about what they saw. In particular, he probably said, don’t talk to any other investigators who approach you.”

Nate winced. “I know. They seem like such nice folks. I really hate to play them, but I think we’re gonna have to.”

“I can’t see any way around it either. The second we tell them who we are, they’re not going to talk to us at all anymore.”

Nate reached up, held my chin, and smoothed his thumb across my lip. “Stop biting that gorgeous lip of yours. This can’t be helped. Darius’s life may depend on it. We have to do our jobs.”

His blue eyes went smoky. He kissed me once, slowly, then propped his forehead against mine. “You’d best get in the shower if you’re going. I’m happy to help if you need me.”

“If you help me, we’ll miss dinner.” I grinned, pulled away.

“There is that.”

I grabbed a quick shower, redid my makeup, then slid into my navy and white dot poplin shirtdress and navy sandals. A simple silver starfish necklace and a pair of medium hoops completed my ensemble. I ran a brush through my hair and fluffed it a bit with my fingers.

“I’m ready whenever you are.” I moved away from the bathroom mirror and walked into the bedroom.

Nate waited by the door in his traditional khakis and a soft blue button down with the sleeves rolled up. “You look gorgeous,” he said.

How had I gotten so lucky? I walked over and placed a hand on his chest. “So do you.”