The bells over the diner’s front door chimed, and Kristy walked in. Actually, waddled in would have been a more accurate description. She waved to a couple of people as she made her way across the room. I had to note no one stopped talking when she walked in the door like they had for me. That had been special treatment just for me.
She hoisted herself onto the stool next to me. “I’ve been looking for you.”
“How did you find me? I forgot to give you my cell number yesterday.”
“I know. Luckily, Wes shot me a text that you were here. I’m glad he did, because I went to Bellamy Farm looking for you. Girl, I haven’t been back to your family farm since you left. It’s a mess. You have your work cut out for you.”
Before I could say anything in response, she pointed at the cinnamon roll. “Are you going to eat that?”
“No,” I squeaked.
Kristy grabbed the plate and another fork from the jar and dug in. She moaned after her first bite. That only made me feel even worse for letting the treat go. I consoled myself with the reminder that I could zip up my jeans this morning.
“That is so good. I would take a bath in that icing if I could. Sugar heaven.”
“Why were you looking for me?” I asked.
“I wanted to make sure you were all right.” She studied me over another forkful of cinnamon goodness. “Are you all right?”
“I think so.” I didn’t sound convincing.
She frowned. “Wes told me what Minnie was saying too. Don’t worry about her. Minnie is never happy. She’s going to be horrid to live with as long as the police have her booth. She has texted me four times already this morning asking if she could get a refund back for the farmers market season since she has no honey to sell or booth to sell it in.”
“What did you tell her?”
“Nothing yet. I’m going to let her sweat it for a bit. I’m seven months pregnant with twins in the middle of July. Everything hurts. I was finally able to fall asleep at five this morning, and I got awakened by her text less than an hour later. I’m not doing her any favors.” She stabbed the cinnamon roll with gusto.
I didn’t argue with a woman eating a cinnamon roll like it was her very last meal.
She licked her fork and set it on the now empty plate. “I had another reason to look for you too. Chief Randy was asking about you after you left the farmers market yesterday. He wanted to get my take on you now that you’re back.”
My stomach twisted into a knot. “What did you tell him?”
“I said the Shiloh Bellamy I knew would never hurt a soul. I said you were a quiet person who loved books more than anything.”
I frowned. To my ears, it sounded like I was a crazy Unabomber type. I wasn’t sure that was the perception I wanted Chief Randy to have of me.
“And I told him,” she went on, “that you wouldn’t have any reason to want to kill Jefferson Crocker. You’ve been in California. He didn’t even live here when we were kids. You don’t know him. You have no motive at all.” She dropped her fork on her plate as if that was case closed.
Would Minnie get her way? Could people in Cherry Glen seriously think I could kill someone? What impact would that have on the farm if my reputation was ruined?
Kristy leaned closer to me. “I’ve never seen that happen before, but all the color drained from your face.”
“I’m fine,” I said and sipped my coffee.
“I know you’re worried Minnie’s jabber mouth, but I’m sure this will all blow over, Shi. You had no reason to kill Crocker. Chief Randy is just doing his job by asking.”
The door to the diner opened again, and the mayor came inside.
Kristy wrinkled her nose and whispered, “If anyone has a motive to take out Crocker, it’s that man.”
Mayor Loyal smiled at the people in the diner. He shook hands, patted people on their backs, and asked them about their work and children. I would have thought he was in the middle of a campaign.
“Is he running for office this year?”
She shook her head. “I think he has three more years on his term. Not that there will be any doubt he will win again. He’s been the mayor for fifteen years.”
That was interesting to hear. “He’s acting like he’s in the middle of an election.”
“He’s always in a race to win public approval, I guess.” Kristy got up and walked around the counter to help herself to some of Jessa’s coffee. She filled up my mug and two others sitting at the counter. “She won’t mind. I do this all the time.”
“Why do you say that about the mayor?” I asked.
“I’m sure I’m not the only one who thinks he has the biggest reason to want Crocker dead.”
I lowered my voice, afraid someone would overhear. “What would his motive be?”
“Jefferson Crocker owns the town hall. He had the ability to make the town council do whatever he liked. A man as self-important as Mayor Loyal wouldn’t want to be booted from his comfy office.”
I opened my mouth to ask another question. Kristy gave me a slight shake of the head, and I snapped my mouth closed.
“Kristy!” The mayor called behind me. “It’s so good to see you. I hope Saturday’s shock doesn’t take a toll on the little ones.” He stared at her stomach and laughed. “I would say that the babies are looking well by the size of you.”
Kristy’s eyes narrowed. If I were the mayor, I wouldn’t make any more comments about her size.
A woman in the next booth muttered to her friend, “Moron.”
I had to agree with that.
“I know it must have quite upsetting to put the market on hold,” the mayor went on. “But it couldn’t be helped. When a prominent citizen dies in such a way, we have to stop and take note.”
I frowned. I hadn’t known that the farmers market had closed after I left.
“The farmers market will be back in business on Wednesday,” Kristy said. “The chief has already told me that. Of course, we feel horrible over what happened, but it won’t have any lasting impact on the market.”
“That’s good news.” Mayor Loyal smiled at me. “Hello, who’s your friend?” He held out his hand to me. “Mayor Fred Loyal. Are you visiting our charming little town? If you are, I suggest you take in the play this coming weekend. It will be quite the production if I do say so myself.”
I removed my hand from his clammy grasp as soon as I thought it was polite but felt relieved that he didn’t appear to recognize me from the murder scene on Saturday. I was proud of myself for not wiping my hand on my shorts, but goodness knew I wanted to.
“I’ll be playing the lead, Julius Caesar. Stacey Bellamy, our director, told me I was perfect for the lead role.”
I thought it was best not to make a comment on this. Or that Julius Caesar was the title character but that general literary consensus was Marcus Brutus was the lead of Shakespeare’s tragedy.
“Mayor Loyal, Shiloh knows Stacey. This is Shiloh Bellamy, Sully’s daughter.”
He blinked. “Well, there you are. I didn’t put two and two together that you were Sully’s girl. It’s been a stressful few days, and my memory is not what it used to be.”
“Well, I moved away fifteen years ago,” I said, nonplussed. I was thirty-eight and was often told I looked young for my age. I didn’t believe the mayor thought the same. It made me wonder if all the people who had said that through the years had been lying. Or it could be the mayor was just a jerk. I’d put my money on the latter.
“Did you just arrive into town? Sully told me you were moving back. I think it’s a great show of support for your elders that you’ve moved back. My son did the same. I couldn’t be more proud of the boy.”
Before I could ask who his son was, he went on to say, “Of course, Cherry Glen is a little different than you remember, I would wager. We are an up-and-coming town. The theater is a great improvement and the brewery too. We are really starting to attract tourists visiting Sleeping Bear Dunes and Traverse City. Why, I think in no time at all, people will be coming to quaint Cherry Glen to vacation and go to the dunes and the city for day trips. I’m proposing that we build an inn. It has to be country-simple yet state-of-the-art.”
“Sounds impressive,” I said.
“It’s just one of the many improvements we plan to roll out.”
“Who’s going to pay for it?” Kristy asked. “I mean if Jefferson Crocker is dead, wasn’t he bankrolling most of these improvements?”
The mayor tugged on his collar. “Yes, Crocker was an important part of revitalizing Cherry Glen, and I speak for all the city officials when I say we are deeply saddened at his passing. Even so, I believe that Jefferson Crocker would want us to continue on in the improvements and his good works.”
Kristy picked up my coffee mug and drank from it. I thought that was comment enough from her.
The mayor tapped his chin. “Wait! I do know you!” He snapped his fingers as if a thought just came to him. “You’re the one who found Jefferson. What a dreadful sight it was. You have had a quite a shock. I hope Jessa gave you one of her cinnamon rolls. There’s nothing those rolls can’t fix. She’s given me quite a few over my years as mayor.”
“I ate it for her,” Kristy said with no apology in her voice.
I sighed. I could have really used that cinnamon roll right now.
“I hope you’re not upset the police consider you a suspect.” He smiled. “It’s just part of the investigation.”
I glanced around, and diners sitting at the tables around us had perked up when they heard that. I bet everyone in town was interested in this conversation. I would be surprised if a single person in Cherry Glen didn’t know what happened and my involvement in it.
“That’s ridiculous,” Kristy said. “Why on earth would she be a suspect?”
The mayor cocked his head. “I was told Jefferson was an investor in her farm. If that doesn’t make her a suspect”—he raised his eyebrows and turned toward me—“you are certainly a person of interest, right?”
Kristy’s mouth fell open, and I jumped off my stool. It toppled over on the linoleum floor.
“I’m so sorry,” I said, scooping up the stool. “It was so nice to see you both, but I need to get back to the farm.” I forced a smile. “Farm work is never done.”
I tossed a few bills on the counter for the coffee and for the cinnamon roll I didn’t eat. Jessa told me not to pay her, but I wasn’t going to look like I was running out of the diner without paying when I was already a murder suspect. I didn’t want to look like a cheat too.
“Shi!” Kristy called after me, but I scooped up Huckleberry from the corner of the diner and was out the door before she could utter another word.